Pickleball Lessons
Pickleball lessons in Los Angeles, at a court near you
Pickleball takes an hour to enjoy and a lot longer to play well. These lessons shorten the second part.
Almost everyone has fun in their first hour of pickleball. The players who keep improving after that are the ones who learn the soft game early instead of trying to hit everything hard.
These pickleball lessons for beginners and improving players cover what actually wins points at the kitchen line: dinks, patience, the third-shot drop and doubles positioning. If you want to learn to play pickleball properly, or your game has stalled at the same level for a year, this is the fast route.
01In detail
The soft game is the whole sport
New players lose points by hitting hard into the net or long. The kitchen rule exists to stop you smashing, which means the team that can dink patiently and wait for a ball above net height wins most of the time.
So the first real skill is control at the non-volley line: a dink that lands low and short, hit with the paddle face open and the legs bent rather than with the wrist. It is not glamorous and it is the difference between a 3.0 and a 4.0 player.
If you play tennis already
Tennis players start ahead on hands and reactions and immediately behind on two things: swing length and patience. The tennis backswing is far too long for pickleball, and the tennis instinct to attack every short ball is exactly what the kitchen rule punishes.
Crossover sessions mostly consist of shortening everything and learning to be comfortable in a slow rally. Most tennis players are competitive at a decent level within a handful of sessions once those two things click.
The third shot, explained properly
The serving team starts at a disadvantage, because the receiving team gets to the kitchen line first. The third shot drop is how you fix that: a soft ball that lands in the opposing kitchen and lets you walk forward.
It is the hardest shot in the sport to learn and the one that separates levels most clearly. We build it from close range first, then back up, then add the run forward behind it.
03Where you will be
- Never played
- Serve, return, the kitchen rule and scoring in the first session, plus real points. Pickleball is the quickest racquet sport to start playing properly.
- Rec player stuck at the same level
- Almost always a soft-game and patience problem. Dinking, resets and shot selection are where the sessions go.
- Tennis crossover
- Shorter swings, a compact paddle path, kitchen discipline and learning to win a slow rally instead of ending it early.
02The session
How a pickleball session runs
The court is small, so a pickleball hour contains an enormous number of repetitions.
01
First 10 minutes
Hands and contact
Paddle grip, contact in front, and short volleys at the kitchen line to get the hands switched on.
02
Next 20 minutes
Dink until it is boring
Crosscourt and straight dinking with targets. This is the block that changes your results the most, so it gets the most time.
03
Next 15 minutes
Third shot and transition
Drops and drives from the baseline, then moving forward behind them to the kitchen line as a unit.
04
Last 15 minutes
Play the points
Doubles points, usually starting from the third shot, so you practise the pattern under a score rather than as a drill.
04Who it's for
- Complete beginners who want to learn to play pickleball
- Tennis players crossing over to pickleball
- Recreational players stuck at the same level
- Couples and friends learning together
- Doubles players who lose the soft-game battles
05What a session may focus on
- Dinks and soft-game control
- Kitchen rules and positioning
- Third-shot drops and drives
- Serve and return depth
- Volleys and hands battles
- Doubles strategy and stacking basics
- Resets under pressure
- Shot selection at the kitchen line
06Courts, paddles and booking
Sessions happen on a pickleball court: a public court near you, a converted tennis court with pickleball lines, or your HOA or apartment court. Court access and any reservation rules get confirmed before the session.
If you are brand new and have not bought gear, say so in your request. A paddle can be provided for a first session so you are not buying equipment for a sport you have not tried.
- Rate
- $125 an hour private, $65 per player semi-private
- Court
- Pickleball court, or tennis court with lines
- Bring
- Paddle if you have one, court shoes, water
- Balls
- Provided
Pricing
$125 / hour (private)
Semi-private $65 per player, per hour. A paddle can be provided for first sessions. No travel fee inside the service area; any court or reservation fee is stated before the session is confirmed.
See all rates08Where this is booked most
Pickleball Lessons in the neighborhoods that ask for it most.
- Pickleball Lessons in Pasadena
Glendale & Pasadena
- Pickleball Lessons in Arcadia
San Gabriel Valley
- Pickleball Lessons in Glendale
Glendale & Pasadena
Not on the list? The full service area runs from Hollywood through the Valley to Glendora.
Pairs well with
- Private LessonsOne-on-one coaching with sessions tailored around the individual player's level, mechanics and goals.
- Semi-Private LessonsTrain with a friend, partner, sibling or another player while still receiving focused coaching.
- Adult TennisLessons for adults ranging from complete beginners through experienced recreational players.