scene on the court
Occasional Observations from a Pickleball Curmudgeon
By Craig Laughlin
‘ You ’ re wrong !’
It never ceases to amaze me how the players who
are newest to the game of pickleball are often the most certain they ’ ve mastered the rules .
For example , this summer my wife Barbie mentioned to her newbie partner that he was consistently foot faulting when he served , and suggested he might want to make an adjustment . His reply ? “ You ’ re wrong . The rules say only one foot needs to be behind the line when you serve .” He continued to insist Barbie was wrong until a male player stepped in and corrected him . She ’ s convinced sexism was involved , but I ’ m not so sure . I ’ ve had similar exchanges with newbies , and I ’ m a guy .
More recently , we had friends over for some pickleball on the driveway . The guy was an experienced player visiting from California ; the woman was a neighbor who is relatively new to the game . When I mentioned that the head of her paddle was often above her wrist at the moment of impact , and gently suggested she might want to consider adjusting her serve , her reply was , “ No it isn ’ t . Other people have told me my service motion is fine .”
I explained there are several elements involved in executing a legal serve , and the fact that her motion was underhand did not negate the fact that her paddle head was newbie too high . She then proceeded to give us a freeze-frame demo of how she was striking the ball , and the three experienced players all agreed the head of her paddle was above her wrist . She adamantly insisted we were wrong , so we gave up trying to help her and continued playing . To her credit , she did start serving legally ( most of the time ) and actually improved the depth of her serves , but she never said another word about it .
The coup de grâce came last week in rec play . My partner hit a ball and , while the ball was still in the air , Newbie ( not his real name ) says “ Out !” Newbie ’ s partner lets the ball drop and it is , in fact , out . So far , so good . Then Newbie says , “ Just so you know , if my partner had hit the ball , it would have been dead and your point .” I say , “ No , your ‘ out ’ call was player communication , which is specifically covered in the rules . If you had called ‘ out ’ after the ball landed , it would have been a line call , and , in that case , the ball would have been dead .” Newbie says , “ You ’ re wrong ! The ball was dead as soon as I called ‘ out .”’ I tell him I ’ d written a column on this very topic for Pickleball Magazine , and he replies , “ Well , I guess we just have a difference of opinion .”
I should have let it drop , but his tone of voice brought out my inner curmudgeon . As I start to explain that rules are not opinions , our local Pickleball Ambassador chimes in from the adjacent court , tells Newbie he is wrong , and the game resumes . Afterward , Ambassador and Newbie consult the rulebook and , following a long discussion , Newbie sees the light . To his credit , he calls out to me , “ I was wrong .” I offer a heartfelt but bewildered , “ Thank you .” •