Pickleball lessons with
Coach Mario Talatala
From$42.52 per lesson
ā¢
Pickleball lessons with
Coach Mario Talatala
From$42.52 per lesson
ā¢93
Happy Student ScoreGreat
This coach is reliable and responsive. Students are happy and often return for more lessons.
Coach Rating
5.0ā¢6 reviews
93
Happy Student ScoreGreat
This coach is reliable and responsive. Students are happy and often return for more lessons.
Coach Rating
5.0ā¢6 reviews
About your pickleball coach
I've been playing pickleball for over 4 years and currently hold a 4.24 DUPR rating. As a certified coach with the Professional Pickleball Registry, I specialize in helping beginners and intermediates build confidence, master fundamentals, and develop winning strategies. Whether you're brand new to the sport or looking to sharpen your doubles play, I'll tailor each session to your goals. My lessons are fun, approachable, and focused on measurable progress -- you'll leave each session with skills you can use right away. Personally, my preference is an attacking style of play. I try to create opportunities to end the point as fast I can by combining a variety of shots like topspin drives and low bouncing slices. Regardless, the important thing is how we can take your game to the next level. And that takes careful analysis of your stroke mechanics like how you hold your paddle and how you strike the ball. Strategies like creating patterns and baiting. Most important though is determining your goal as a player. Where do you want your level to be at? Let me be a part of that! Let's do it! IMPORTANT: My availability may change at anytime and I may not have updated my schedule on the app. Please send me a message first before booking. TIY.
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Teaches: Kids, Teenagers, Adults, Seniors
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Levels: Beginners, Intermediates
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Lives in: Lewisville, Texas
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Years Playing: 3 years
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Given: 7 lessons
Mario's availability
Find a location and time that works for you
Mario's availability
Find a location and time that works for you
Availability on all locations
Near Lewisville, Texas
No availability for this date
Didn't find a time or location that works with Mario?
We can suggest similar coaches or arrange a different spot (even at home)
We can suggest similar coaches or arrange a different spot (even at home)
Accomplishments
š4.5 DUPR
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Experienced Player
āCertified Coach - Professional Pickleball Registry
Certifications & Badges
šPPR Certified
Reputation
93
Happy Student ScoreGreat
Reliability
Always reliable ā Shows up on time and ready to teach every lesson. You can count on them.
Average rating
5.0
7 ratingsā¢6 reviews
Felix
Mario Talatala Pickleball Tutor Review
Location: Southlake Pickleball
Session: 1 hour
Concentration Areas: Kitchen, Speedup Defense
I met Mario by way of Facebook group "Dallas Pickleball Association". He was offering a free hour of pickleball lesson in exchange for a review of his pickleball coaching. You can easily contact Mario through this link:
https://pickleballcoachmario.com/
Mario was early and he wanted to know what I needed
to work on. The kitchen game and defending the speed
up were my two concerns. Mario was very professional
in first working on the kitchen game with kitchen exercises
target forehand, backhand, back and forth volleying side to side, and also face to face kitchen work. We worked on being more efficient and in the end creating less errors.
Mario does have a great depth of knowledge to share and his experience definitely brought more confidence to my kitchen game. Mario and I also played some singles games to highlight drop shots and speedups. I learned alot about
defensive speed up positioning and got better by the second game. Mario has a great slice, drop shot, and placement control of his pickleball shots. I'm by no means a great singles player (LOL). I play better at doubles.
If you want to improve your pickleball game, Mario Talatala can do that for you. His guidance will strengthen your game and his patient demeanor will lead you to higher level of confidence.
Mario is a very valuable resource of complete knowledge of the pickleball game. I look forward to playing more with Mario and the area pickleball groups. Thank you!
Rainier
My son recently took lessons with Coach Mario, and we were incredibly impressed, Mario broke down the fundamentals in a way that was easy to understandāstarting with dinking and kitchen play, cross-court dinks, patience drills, and mid-court resets.
My son especially enjoyed the movement and consistency drills, which helped him feel much more confident and in control on the court.
Overall, the lessons were incredibly well-roundedābalancing fundamentals, strategy, confidence building, and fun. My son left the session excited and motivated to play more.
Lourdes
I had the pleasure of taking an hour pickleball lesson with Mario and thoroughly appreciated how he broke down the drill we were doing and the why behind it. We then put it into practice in a game and you totally can see how we benefited from our lesson. He observed and pointed out where we could tweak our position or why we lost the point. Highly recommend taking a lesson and look forward to my next lesson!
Amanda
I recently took a pickleball lesson with Mario, and it was a fantastic experience! Mario is not only knowledgeable about the game, but also incredibly patient and encouraging. Whether youāre a beginner or looking to refine your skills, he tailors the lesson to your level and learning style.
Hazel
My lesson with Mario was great! He created a very encouraging environment, the instruction was clear and gave me great tips on how to improve my technique. I highly recommend Mario to anyone looking to level up their pickleball skills!
Jamie
Mario is a great coach - kind and patient and focuses on exactly what you need to improve your game using fundamentals and extremely fun drills! Highly recommended for any level of player or even better a group of players!
Beginner training plan
Your first lessonHereās a streamlined version of your beginner pickleball session description, reduced to about 25 words while keeping the essence intact:
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Beginner pickleball session: Learn game purpose, court layout, equipment, grip, stance, footwork, strokes, serve, and rallies. Drills build comfort, confidence, and enjoyment for future play.
Lesson 11+Lesson 11 and beyond: Transition into competitive play with emphasis on strategy and mental skills. Players refine shot selection, pace, and spin, while learning to exploit weaknesses and shift between offense and defense. Key drills include dropādinkāattack sequences, transition games, lob/overhead defense, and scenario-based points. Advanced doubles strategiesāstacking, Erne, and ATP awarenessāare introduced. Sessions feature warm-ups, progressive intensity, and game play to apply skills confidently.
Lesson 4-10Lessons 4ā10: Focus on consistency, movement, communication, and game awareness. Players refine dinking, resets, and serving variations with placement and spin. Net play develops through volleys and reflex drills, while transition work emphasizes drop shots and third-shot choices. Doubles positioning, poaching, and teamwork drills build communication. Mini-games and match play reinforce tactics, balancing technical growth with confidence and cooperative competition.
Lesson 2-3Lessons 2ā3: Build a strong pickleball foundation by reinforcing grip, stance, and ready position. Players practice the underhand serve crosscourt, return of serve, two-bounce rule, and kitchen awareness. Instruction introduces dinking, scoring basics, and doubles rotation. Drills target serve/return accuracy, forehand and backhand control, and partner dink rallies. Movement at the kitchen line reinforces positioning, consistency, and teamwork, preparing players for advanced doubles strategies.
Advanced training plan
Your first lessonLesson 1: Transition into intermediate/advanced play with assessment and reinforcement of core skills. Players sharpen technique, grips, paddle angles, footwork, and recovery while testing consistency across serves, returns, drops, dinks, and volleys. Instruction emphasizes smart aggression, patience, tempo control, and transition timing. Drills include serveāreturnādrop cycles, a dink consistency challenge, paddle angle control, and mini-game assessments to evaluate decision-making. This session establishes a baseline for growth and reinforces fundamentals for competitive play.
Lesson 11+Lesson 11+: Prepare for tournament-level play by sharpening advanced tactics and mental toughness. Situational drills emphasize pressure points, adapting strategies, and composure under stress. Players refine doubles communication, deception, and unpredictability with lobs, off-speed shots, and no-look dinks. Match prep routinesāwarm-ups, partner discussions, and mindset checklistsābuild consistency. Drills include point games, mini-games, simulated match play, blind-switch exercises, and video-supported challenge matches. Sessions integrate technical mastery, tactical awareness, and resilience for confident competition.
Lesson 4-10Lessons 4ā10: Elevate strategic play, pressure handling, and controlled aggression. Players learn speed-ups, counterattacks, resets, lobs, and overheads with offensive/defensive focus. Advanced third- and fifth-shot options add pace and spin. Tactical positioning expands to poaching, Erne execution, stacking, and switching strategies. Shot pattern recognition helps exploit weak returns through combinations. Drills include speed-up rallies, poaching simulations, overhead defense, patterned sequences, and stacking rotations, sharpening tactical awareness for confident doubles performance.
Lesson 2-3Lessons 2ā3: Improve consistency in transition and kitchen play while introducing team strategies. Players practice third-shot variationsādrop, drive, lobāand learn to read positioning. Dinking drills build control, while communication exercises teach handling middle balls and partner cues. Serve-and-return sequences progress into live rallies, reinforcing teamwork, shot selection, and tactical awareness for doubles play.
Youth players
Working with kidsThis pickleball lesson for kids and young children focuses on fun, movement, and basic paddle skills. Children will learn how to safely hold a paddle, tap the ball with control, and rally with a partner using balloons or foam balls to build hand-eye coordination. The lesson introduces simple court boundaries through games like āLine Tagā and teaches underhand serving and soft hitting through target challenges. Using fun, age-appropriate activities and plenty of encouragement, kids begin to understand teamwork, sportsmanship, and the joy of active play on the court.
Working with teenagersThis pickleball lesson for teenagers focuses on building foundational skills while keeping the energy fun and engaging. Teens will learn proper grip, basic strokes (forehand, backhand, and volleys), and the rules of serving and scoring through partner drills and mini games. Emphasis is placed on movement, positioning, and communication during doubles play, helping teens understand court strategy and teamwork. The session includes fast-paced rallies, target challenges, and short matches to develop consistency, confidence, and friendly competition in a supportive environment.
What you need to bring- pickleball paddles
- water or gatorade
- snacks
- sunscreen
- eye protection
- pickleball or tennis shoes
* no running shoes, flip-flops, crocs or similar footwear please.
What I can bring- pickleball paddles
- pickleball balls
- target zones
- top spin pro
Frequently asked questions
Cancellation Policy
We totally understand that life can be unpredictable and plans might change. That's
why we've got your back with our flexible cancellation policy, designed to give you
peace of mind when booking private sports lessons with our awesome local instructors!
If you need to cancel your lesson, no worries! You can get a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of making your booking. We want to make the process as hassle-free as possible for you.
And if you simply want to reschedule your lesson, change the date and time, or adjust the number of students joining, we've got you covered there too. You can easily make these changes within 24 hours of booking, and up to 72 hours before your lesson starts.
Our goal is to make your experience smooth, enjoyable, and worry-free. So go ahead and book with confidence, knowing that we're here to accommodate your needs every step of the way!
If you need to cancel your lesson, no worries! You can get a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of making your booking. We want to make the process as hassle-free as possible for you.
And if you simply want to reschedule your lesson, change the date and time, or adjust the number of students joining, we've got you covered there too. You can easily make these changes within 24 hours of booking, and up to 72 hours before your lesson starts.
Our goal is to make your experience smooth, enjoyable, and worry-free. So go ahead and book with confidence, knowing that we're here to accommodate your needs every step of the way!
MT
Pickleball with Mario T.ā 5.0 (7 reviews)