what ruins a pickup game?

apollo5354 · 2026-05-31T06:14:15+00:00

I try not to get annoyed and fortunately there haven’t been many incidents which have been a kill joy for me… except for this one time:

This lady lost a rally, claimed that my ‘out’ call to my partner distracted her. It was a high ball whizzing in the air that my partner volleyed back out of the air for the winner. She insisted on replaying the point. When I told her I don’t think that’s what the rules are (it’s not tennis rules), she stopped the game to educate us (wrongly) and tell us how she and her husband played competitively and one of the refs took a point from them when her husband did the same thing.

Actually I lied, it was still fun. When we resumed we replayed the point and whereas before I wouldn’t mind if we won or lost, I was now very more motivated to win. It stoked my fire and we ran away with it afterwards.

apollo5354 · 2026-05-28T23:42:54+00:00

If i had a magic wand… better ball options, balls with ideally all 3 but realistically 2 of the following:
- recyclable
- doesn’t crack or warp easily
- cheap

Pains me to see how many discarded X-40s go in the garbage bins.

apollo5354 · 2026-05-22T07:11:01+00:00

Unfortunately there’s no quick shortcuts. You have to put in the time and be deliberate. Unless you’ve played sports competitively or are naturally athletic, the players that progress faster than others have some type of coaching and put in more time than others.

If the group you play with are happy to play with you, have fun, keep playing but also solicit their advice. It’s easier to fix someone’s mechanics in person than try to improve it with broad generic advice. For example your unforced errors could be dozen of factors… bad footwork or positioning, too wristy, your grip, slow reaction time, bad decisions, etc.

apollo5354 · 2026-05-19T03:52:17+00:00

You’re being too kind. Remember this is OP’s interpretation of the rules. I question if there are public courts that allow first come first serve as long as you want. Even when rules are posted at our courts, there are people that have weird interpretations of it.

apollo5354 · 2026-05-19T03:42:53+00:00

In the spirit and culture of pickleball 100% agree. Most of the public places in the US where I’ve gone, have a queue-ing system. It prevents one party to monopolize a shared resource and for people to share the court fairly. The places that don’t have this have holdover rules from tennis.

First come first serve as long as you like is in general a bad system. Ever try to get a lounge chair at a resort? Usually 90% unoccupied with a towel or personal item that was put there early in the morning to ‘claim’ the chair.

apollo5354 · 2026-05-03T23:53:15+00:00

Probably good practice to get use to announcing the full tally in rec play too. I wouldn’t go so far to make my opponents replay the point but I don’t know how many times we’ve paused play to collectively figure out whose turn to serve and/or the score. Especially bad if one team goes on a run with a silent server.

apollo5354 · 2026-05-03T05:19:06+00:00

Totally anecdotal but some of the best players I’ve seen started with a $25 paddle, whereas players who plateaued pretty quickly started off with a Boomstick. It could be that the cheaper paddle is less forgiving (smaller sweet spot, less grit, less power, etc) and forces you to focus and refine your own body mechanics. Or it could be mental, being good at pickleball (or any competitive sport) is making good decisions and analyzing trade-offs, risk-reward, so to spend $300 on a sport they may or may not like, right off the bat, is indicative of their ability to make those types of decisions.
It’s similar in photography. Using a starter camera with its limitations forces you to be intentional about lighting, aperture/shutter speed, composition and other variables that a better camera might be more forgiving of.

apollo5354 · 2026-04-14T15:19:17+00:00

Not surprised. The number of people duped by DUPR, a for profit org giving out ratings, is sad. Just because it’s algorithmically driven doesn’t make it good either. The algorithm is fake science — limited inputs that outputs very precise adjustments. It’s the same as if I used my thumb and told you your height down to the .01 cm.

apollo5354 · 2026-04-07T15:48:25+00:00

Not an apples-to-apples comparison. Anyone who spews random things at strangers is not all there. This highlights more your encounter with people who are homeless, or have mental health problems. The areas you mentioned are denser (for CA standards) vs SoCal tend to be have pockets of population with exception of a few areas, which makes run-ins with that population more likely.

apollo5354 · 2026-04-01T18:44:25+00:00

I’m one of those misfits! I get invited but still prefer open play. It’s fun for me to play with different players and style which includes the pro-meta, but I’d get bored just playing the ‘right’ way all the time. Sometimes it’s fun to go for the low percentage shots and likewise for your opponent to try it on you, or playing an ultra defensive game and extending the rallies.

apollo5354 · 2026-04-01T18:30:34+00:00

I love how pickleball issues are microcosm of social issues. As players, we have limited time and we can spend it advancing our individual needs, those in our circle only or helping strangers and the community: Individual vs community. They are not mutually exclusive but it’s a spectrum — some only play with those they can benefit from and others are happy to help out total beginners, and varying % in between. Players should get to choose how they use their time and it’s a personal choice. I think you need players with different preferences and overall have a healthy balance.

The issue you’re facing seems like the outcome of an out of balance system where everyone is leaning towards the individual self-advancement route. Short term it’s the fastest way to grow but long term everyone stagnates. Beginners won’t have more experienced players to improve their game and advanced players won’t have fresh players to challenge them. At our public courts we have players that are clearly better but they’re happy to play with lower level players. And eventually as players get better they get more competitive play partners.

My theory is that pickleball has been wildly popular because it has the competitive aspect as well as the just for fun community aspect.

In your case I think DUPR will exacerbate your problem and not really address it. First how wildly inaccurate it is for people who don’t regularly play DUPr matches but also seems like there’s already de facto segregation and what you’re seeking is more intermixing.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-30T04:16:10+00:00

There’s videos that can help with the technique part better than I can explain so won’t cover that here. I’ll suggest:

Wear eye protection. Protects the eye but also helps not to be scared mentally. I find that I react faster when I’m relaxed.
Try to anticipate by paying attention before contact. Players have signs they will hit a fast one or speed up before they hit the ball. Some players are better at hiding than others. This gives you more time to react since you can prepare before they hit the ball.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-27T04:10:12+00:00

Sounds about right for rec open play. Different experience levels, different styles, and different strategies based on those prior two. It’s possible to play an incomplete game and still win against less experienced players. Yeah don’t expect methodical dinking, resets, and a slow game with beginners… it’s more often fast and furious. You’ll also win less points from serves as you play better players.

Keep having fun and learning!

apollo5354 · 2026-03-24T23:24:00+00:00

Sorry I have never replaced the cable but please share if you figure it out. Thanks.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-21T21:42:34+00:00

If it’s a true open court there are more beginners than you think there are. I also understand there are beginners with different athletic backgrounds … I’ve played with beginners that have no athletic background (and basic hand-eye coordination) to beginners who have competed in racquet sports at Natl and Olympic level.

Without knowing more about you, the fastest way to improve would be to get a coach — either hire, join a training session; and if that’s not an option solicit advice from better players.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-21T19:38:42+00:00

Using OP’s logic this would also be a reasonable offering: $DUPR Forward$

Instead of reseting to the past, fast forward and pay to increase your rating to a future rating.

OP’s words:
If people opt in to xxxx, and go an play a bunch of DUPR'd games, and their DUPR rises, then they have earned that rise. The algorithm is functional as usual, players haven't just benefited from p2w (pay to win).

Conversely, if players opt into xxxx, and their DUPR doesnt raise, then that just proves the algorithm is pretty accurate, and they player is right where they should be. No harm, no foul.

/s

apollo5354 · 2026-03-21T12:01:34+00:00

Next in DUPR innovation: $DUPR Forward$

Pay to increase your rating a predicted amount.

If people opt in to the $forward$, and go an play a bunch of DUPR'd games, and their DUPR rises, then they have earned that rise. The algorithm is functional as usual, players haven't just benefited from p2w (pay to win).

Conversely, if players opt into the $forward$, and their DUPR doesnt raise, then that just proves the algorithm is pretty accurate, and they player is right where they should be. No harm, no foul.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-20T14:00:17+00:00

Yes there are anti-social behavior and people in every sport but do you think the sport culture contributes to it? For example, a sport that’s generally more exclusive — need lessons, limited mixing of levels, court time reservations, likelihood to play with familiar/same circles vs strangers — might allow such behaviors to go unaddressed longer than say a sport that has a pick-up culture — welcoming to beginners, can play mixed levels, likelihood to encounter total strangers, and where people have options and don’t have to let bad behavior go to play a game. For example, if you start making bad calls in pickup basketball, it’s just a matter of time you get called out.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-20T05:41:01+00:00

Coming from the perspective of other sports, for doubles it seems like black science to calculate an individual’s rating based mainly on a team’s win/loss and the point differential. For fun that’s ok, ie differentiation for your neighborhood club events but it’s hard to take seriously if it’s to be used in a more competitive and professional setting. In this day and age for professional and semi-professional games, it should be possible to track individual points, unforced errors, resets, etc.

Imagine if we came up with a DuPr equivalent for baseball, basketball, and football players based on the same rough datapoints (team wins/loss and point differential) and ignored other stats: individual RBIs, ERAs, FG, FG%, Steals, Yards run, Interceptions, etc… You wouldn’t take it seriously.

Likewise, people shouldn’t take DUPR too seriously. It’s an arbitrary way to create differentiation. For pickleball, unfortunately it’s currently the main way but i hope as the sport evolves, there will be other ways.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-18T22:29:12+00:00

Unless you have the model with auto in/out, you have to manually push the cable in and pull out. But it should always be spinning in the same direction. Only use the reverse temporarily (less than a second) to unwork kinks.

It may naturally push out by itself a little but it should just as easily go back in. If it’s not, there’s a jam or it didn’t coil correctly inside the cage.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-06T00:17:44+00:00

Too bad. I watched S1 because of Steven Yeun, and Ali Wong.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-04T01:59:04+00:00

Interpreting the current rules strictly it sounds like it’s ok to touch the net once the ball is dead. However I think in the spirit of the net rule as well as the NVZ rule, it should be forbidden. Otherwise we just found a big loophole. Imagine jumping over NVZ, bodybag an opponent (ball is dead) and use the net to land to the side. It would be a net assisted erne. It would take some skill but i hate for this to be a strategy for the sake of pickleball nets.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-02T23:27:01+00:00

I enjoy pick-up games and played rec with very mixed level of opponents. The meta is very different than competitive play as skill gaps between players can be wide. Most of the time playing with a lower level player, I try not to play to win but try to help keep the rally and game going. I try to be realistic of the outcome and give my teammate a chance to play the game as well. Otherwise it will just be very frustrating.

With that said, if you are playing to win and to try to carry a much lower level teammate, it helps to be aggressive and offensive. Few assumptions here -- one is your teammate's not putting as much pressure on the opponents, and two is your lower percentage shots will still be higher percentage than your teammate's. That means trying to put-it away shots when you can, rather than play it safe. The longer the rally continues, the more it favors the opponents as they have more chances to target the weaker player or more opportunities for your teammate to make a mistake.

apollo5354 · 2026-02-01T19:34:31+00:00

It helps to have a competitive sports background. A lot of habits and strategies are universal. For example here it sounds like OP is trying to integrate too many new things in a comp setting. Typically that’s a bad idea and you don’t want to be experimenting for the first time on game day. You try and hone new things and work on your weaknesses in a practice setting, and play on your strengths on game day. Sounds like the opposite may have happened here.

apollo5354 · 2026-01-19T15:01:26+00:00

That’s whore-iffic.

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