Monetizing Pickleball for Club Professionals

Monetizing Pickleball for Club Professionals is a guide for professionals, directors, and managers who understand how to monetize tennis or other racquet sports, but are not sure how to make money with Pickleball.

The most common comment I hear from professionals in the racquets industry that have just put in lines or dedicated courts is, pickleball players don't spend money on lessons, clinics, and programs. That is false.

However, I thought the same way early in my transition from Tennis to Pickleball.

I look forward to sharing my steps to Monetizing Pickleball.

Message me for more information.

Cheers Craig 

ZONE 123 PICKLEBALL METHODOLOGY

 ZONE 123 PICKLEBALL METHODOLOGY

• Zone 1: Is your feet to your knees. This is your red zone and should be drops and dinks depending on the area of the court.
• Zone 2: Is your knees to your waist. This is your yellow zone and should be dinks, drops, drives, and speed-ups depending on the area of the court.
• Zone 3: Is your above your waist. This is your green zone and should be mostly drives, attack volleys, roller volleys, and overhead smashes.

Zone 123 should be visualized in your mind like a stick figure and should become the way you identify and execute each shot. Write it down on your notecards now and keep it with you in your bag. Review it before, during, and after play. 

Next, let's identify the areas of the court that I want your brain to use for analyzing and executing your shot selection and game plan.

1. The back-court: This is the area behind the baseline. This is area we should drop from.
2. The mid-court aka Transition Zone: This the area in front of the baseline leading up to the No Volley Zone or Kitchen. This is an area we should be based on the height of the ball and positioning of our opponents.
3. The front-court: This is the area right behind the No Volley Line and including the NVZ or Kitchen and areas to right and left of this area. This is an area of the court we will engage in both offensive and defensive shots, and we should choose our shot selection based on height and location.

Your Key Shots to Develop for Execution are:

• The Serve
• The Return of Serve
• The Drop
• The Drive
• The Dink
• The Speed-up
• The Roller Volley
• The Lob
• The Scorpion
• The ATP
• The Erne
• The Passing Shot - Singles
• The Poach - Doubles & Mixed

As we continue to add to our methodology and tips, we will cover positioning, strategy, singles, doubles, and mixed tactics, how to practice, how to pick a partner, and much more.

Thank you for being a part of our journey.

Best Craig

Tips of the Week

Pickleball Tips of the Week: Drop at your opponent's feet more rather than driving. Many players can block a drive, so DROP... After you drop, close and look for the pop up to attack. 

My Zone 1-2-3 Methodology:

Zone 1 - Feet to knees is the red light, so drop & dink, Zone 2 - Knees to Waist, is the yellow light, so know your skill-sets and mix up your shots, Zone 3 - Waist & up, is your green light, so attack! 

Keep your paddle up! Best Craig

Zone 123 Pickleball Intro

Pickleball is such a dynamic sport that I wish I had picked up years ago. My personal transition from Tennis to Pickleball, while maintaining a high level in both sports, can be a bit challenging. The sport itself is growing so rapidly now, and changing daily in the following ways: The volume of people flocking to the sport, better athletes, better paddles, better balls, so many portable options, and more venues to play.

Pickleball is a sport that is multi-generational, social, and can be enjoyed by so many the very first time they step on the court. In most cases, new players first experiences are with a family member, and/or close friend, and they jump in an impromptu game in the driveway, at the local park or their own club. It's a super fun sport that can become highly addictive, because there are fun rules, areas on the court you must understand, and there is so much strategy to the game. Pickleball would not be the game it is today, nor be having the enormous growth worldwide without the following pieces to the game: 1. The No-Volley Zone aka 'The Kitchen', 2. The 2 bounce rule off the serve, and 3. The Underhand Serve with only 1 fault. Once you start to play, you will come to appreciate these 3 pieces to the game.

On the Social side of Pickleball, there are so many venues popping up around the country that offer families and friends the chance to enjoy Pickleball as an outing, much like bowling... with food, adult beverages, and group fun. Look up places to play in your area, and you may discover a #Chicken-n-Pickle , #ElectricPickle , or local places like #HeightsAthleticClub  #Dreamland #AustinPickleRanch , #BouldinAcres , or a private club that has added lines or dedicated courts. Additionally, there are destination trips to cool places that offer you the opportunity to meet new people while learning Pickleball.

On the competitive side, Pickleball players monitor the following sites to plan out their events: USA Pickleball at https://usapickleball.org/ , PickleballTournaments.com and pickleballbrackets.com, plus the 2 major Tour & Tournament Brands in the PPA Tour and the APP Tour - https://www.ppatour.com/ppa-tour/ , https://theapp.global , plus all of the US Sr. Pickleball Tournaments at: https://www.usseniorpickleball.com/ , https://theseniorprotour.com/

The rating side is still under construction as their are several that are prevalent, but different algorithm's: UTPR, #DUPR, WPR, PBR, plus others under construction.

If you're looking to become a Certified Pickleball Pro, the following Certifications are currently leading the pathway to coaching: #PPR - Professional Pickleball Registry is under the umbrella of the PTR, the #IPTPA, and the new #USPTA Pickleball Professional Certification.

Coaching Pickleball has a few similarities to coaching tennis, but has different shots, different strategies, and different positioning as well. On my personal journey, it's taken me a year, plus 2 handfuls of tournaments to really start to get a feel for the coaching and competitive side of the industry. I've been fortunate inside of my first year, to medal in my last few 5.0 and Sr. Pro Events, plus qualify for the USA Pickleball Nationals at Indian Wells later this year by winning the Gold Medal at a Golden Ticket Qualifying Tournament in Mesa, Arizona this past Spring. 

In the coming posts, there will be more content regarding my experiences, my advice, plus coaching tips. Also coming soon will be a Coaching Methodology.

See You on the Courts!

Best Coach Craig

Posted April 2022, Revised July 2023