Lesson 1: Introduction & Basics
Goals: Get you comfortable with the court, paddle, and basic rules. Keep it fun.
โข Quick intro: what is pickleball, court lines, scoring basics.
โข Grip & paddle position (continental grip, ready stance).
โข Dinking demo โ practice dinking at the kitchen.
โข Underhand serve intro โ practice serving into the correct box.
โข Play a few mini rallies (drop & dink).
โข End with a short game to 5 points with lots of coaching
Lessons 2โ3: Core Foundation
Goals: Build consistency with serve, return, and dinking.
โข Warm-up: cooperative dinking (straight ahead, then cross-court).
โข Serve mechanics โ focus on consistency over power.
โข Return of serve โ placement deep in the court.
โข Court positioning (stacking not necessary yet, but teach transition to the kitchen).
โข Introduce 3rd shot concepts (drop vs drive) lightly.
โข Controlled rally drills (e.g., serve/return โ rally at Kitchen).
Goals: Give tools to play a full game with confidence.
โข More depth on the third shot drop (when to use it, drop drills).
โข Driving the 3rd shot โ when a drive makes sense.
โข Transition zone footwork (moving from baseline to Kitchen).
โข Blocking volleys at the Kitchen โ reset drills.
โข Situational play (serve + point play, return + point play).
โข Introduce stacking.
Lessons 7โ10: Game Play & Strategy
Goals: Teach strategy, shot selection, and mental game.
โข Shot combinations (serve deep + move in, return deep + to Kitchen ).
โข Partner communication (who takes middle, stacking if lefty/righty).
โข Simple strategies (hit to backhand, aim at feet, dink cross-court).
โข Defense โ lob defense, resetting under pressure.
โข Introduce offensive lobs & speed-ups at the kitchen.
โข Lots of live play with guided feedback.
โข Wrap up lesson 10 with a mini-tournament among students.