PICKLEBALL CURMUDGEON
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T
A
M
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T
THE UL ICKLEBALL
KIDS P
Scene on the Court:
Occasional
Observations
from a
Pickleball
Curmudgeon
BY CRAIG LAUGHLIN
‘ What’s the Score? ’
E
www.usapajuniors.org
74
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ver notice how often players struggle to
remember the score, or how crabby they get
when they “remember” the score differently
than their opponents do? (Heck, most players my
age have trouble remembering who just served
10 seconds ago!) Fortunately, most experienced
players know a trick to help determine the correct
score—and here it is...
In doubles, the first server on each team (the
person who starts the game on the right or “even”
side of the court) is the “even” player, and his or her
partner is the “odd” player. When the “even” player
is on the “even” side of the court, that team’s score
will always be an even number (or zero)—no matter
if they are serving or receiving.
Because teammates switch places every time
they score a point, it therefore follows that when the
“odd” player is on the “even” side, that team’s score
will always be an odd number. In tournament play,
the “even” player is required to wear a wristband so
the referee, based on the score at any point in time,
can easily determine who should be serving and
who should be receiving.
If you make a point of remembering who your
team’s first server is in every game, your position
on the court at the end of a rally will always tell you
whether your score should be even or odd (unless,
of course, you have switched or are stacking, in
which case you probably already know this trick).
If you understand this principle, you’ll never need
to wonder whether your team has 5 or 6 points. If
your even player is on the even side, your score is 6.
If your odd player is on the even side, your score is
5. Now, if you often find yourself wondering whether
your team has 5 or 7 points, Prevagen is your only
hope. •