What is Your Pickleball Happiness Rating?
What is Your Pickleball Happiness Rating?
Hi Pickleballers -
I bet you thought you knew everything there was to know about pickleball! Did you know there’s something called a “Pickleball Happiness Rating” or PHR for short? I didn’t know about it until 5 minutes ago when I made it up. OK, so what is it?
Our data scientists here at Simply Pickleball have been searching for a way to quantify how much fun you can have while playing pickleball. Some players are having more fun than others. Many of these high PHR players are easy to spot - they win the most points.
Alternatively, it’s not hard to identify the low PHR players. 50% of their shots go in the net, 50% go long, and they have a high probability of smashing their paddle on the court. These players are called “bangers”.
How do you increase your Pickleball Happiness Rating?
Over the past few years of playing a lot of pickleball, I’ve found the secret. Some of you may know what I’m about to reveal. The closer you are to the kitchen or non-volley zone line, the more fun you’ll have. Nothing is more enjoyable than a long cross-court dink session ending in an ATP winner.
It amazes me how many rec players are playing tennis on the pickleball court. Some are very good at it, but I can’t see them surpassing the 3.5/4.0 level. And their Pickleball Happiness Rating is capped. If you’re still reading this, I guess you want to be a happier pickleball player. That means you want to be a better pickleball player. So, how do you make the shift?
The solution
We took a clinic with a 6.0 pro over the weekend. The clinic’s goal was to work on efficient ways to get up the kitchen line. Here are a few notes from the session:
Third shot drop drill. Everyone knows about the third shot drop, but many players still resort to banging 100% of the time (or too often). A good drill for every warm-up session is to have one player fixed at the kitchen line. The opposing player (often your partner) moves back and forth from the baseline to the kitchen line, hitting drops into the kitchen. Do this enough, and it will become routine during gameplay.
Move together as a team. When you are on the serving team, getting up the kitchen line is more challenging. Your opponents will often hit a good return, and you’ll hit a good drop shot but not move up! The key is to plan on moving up when you hit a drop and make sure your partner moves up with you. Or better yet, anticipate your perfect drop and start moving up before you hit it.
Practice dinking. Practice or drill every dink you can think of. One of my favorites is a deep cross-court dink with a ton of backspin. Also, don’t shy away from hitting to the better player - especially if they’re cross-court from you. The only way to improve is by playing with better players.
The result
Once you start your journey from banger to pickleball player, your Pickleball Happiness Rating and overall enjoyment of the game will increase. Even if you think pickleball can’t get any better - it can! At first, you may get outplayed at the net by better players. But stay up there long enough, and you’ll hold your own. And you’ll soon be looking for more formidable opponents.
This Week’s Simply Pickleball Podcast
Everyone has a “why I started playing pickleball” story. It could be for exercise, community, mental health, or retirement from another more strenuous sport. Or it could be all for these reasons, as we learn in this week’s Simply Pickleball podcast.
After losing 35 lbs playing pickleball, Brad Cousino, former NFL Player and current Pickleball Ambassador, brought the game to the Superbowl! He shares his inspiring story of growing up in an abusive and dysfunctional family and defying the odds by making it into the NFL. After retiring from football, he found community and purpose in pickleball. He has become a pickleball enthusiast, spreading the word about the sport and making countless friends and connections. Listen in to hear his fantastic story…
This past week’s most popular blogs
Simply Pickleball Discount Codes
Vatic Pro: Save $10 on any order using SIMPLY10.
Bread & Butter: Save 15% on any order using SIMPLYPB.
PCKL: Save 15% off paddles using SIMPLY15.
Spartus: Save 10% on any order using SIMPLYPB.
Legacy Pickleball: Save 10% using SIMPLYPB.
Vatic Pro Giveaway Update!
Want to win a Vatic Pro? Our contest has four days left, and we’ll announce the winner in next week’s newsletter. Sign up here. The more actions you take, the better chance you have of winning!
Thank you for reading our newsletter and supporting us. Please drop a question or comment below. Have a great week on the courts!
- The Simply Pickleball Team
VERY HAPPY!