Senior Pickleball Tips

If you're an advanced beginner (2.5) this is 38 minutes of pure gold. You're probably thinking "Whaaaat? THIRTY EIGHT minutes???" ... then remember you are a senior and (unlike many of our younger generation) you have the patience to do this...!!! Paddy and Coach Jeff (Limitless Pickleball) take advanced beginners through the 10 essential shots they need to know about - from the serve, return, third shot, through to the forehand and backhand drives, and then the dick, lob, smash and the (all important) re-set shot. All from the perspective of the Advanced Beginner. We know this is a long episode (and we did consider splitting it into two parts) but listen at your leisure - maybe in two or three goes. But listen to it you must ... to improve your game and enable you to have MORE fun. Coach Jeff goes through each shot with Paddy steering the conversation - but they have some fun along the way too!!!   Check out Jeff's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@limitlesspickleball For more tips and advice check out seniorpickleballtips.com

This is the episode for all beginners - especially those who are new to the sport. Paddy & Coach Jeff Gehm (Limitless Pickleball) systematically go through each of the 10 essential shots in pickleball, aimed specifically for new beginners. Starting with the serve, return of serve and the third shot, then moving on to the forehand and backhand drives, then the dink, the lob and the smash and ending with the tricky re-set shot. It's all here in one episode! So grab the dog for 'walkies' or maybe listen on your way to play - this will give new beginners the confidence to just give it a go! Oh - and we have a bit of fun along the way!   For Jeff's YouTube videos click here: https://www.youtube.com/@limitlesspickleball For more tips and support click here: seniorpickleballtips.com For a Beginners Guide click here: https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/2f1f5a4d23      

In this episode Paddy meets Karen Thomas from Seattle, who came to the sport 10 years ago (through her mother!), was the head of marketing at Pickleball Central for some time and is now the Marketing Director at US Senior Pickleball.  They chat about everything pickleball - including the growth of indoor facilities in the States, the costs of membership and playing, the continual growth still of seniors playing the sport and the importance of spreading the message to as many seniors as possible to consider pickleball as part of their own on-going health and wellbeing. Paddy even mentions his pickle-related coffee mug! Karen explains what USSP is all about and what members can get for only $20/year (see notes below for more details) and her call-out for more USSP Ambassadors to spread the word - if you're interested contact Karen direct at USSP. So if you know of any seniors wanting a great new activity to make sure they 'use it, not lose it' - then get them to contact USSP https://seniorpickleballtips.com https://usseniorpickleball.com/     A US Senior Pickleball (USSP) membership costs $20 per year. USSP is a non-profit organization focused on providing affordable tournaments and a dedicated circuit for senior pickleball players.    Membership Benefits As a member of the US Senior Pickleball organization, you gain access to a dedicated community and specific benefits tailored for senior players: Affordable Tournaments: Access to low-cost tournaments designed specifically for age and skill groups within the senior demographic. Dedicated Circuit: Participation in a national circuit of events for seniors who want to compete. Community Focus: The organization is run by seniors for seniors, ensuring the events and structure meet the needs of its members.    How to Join To become a member and support the largest senior circuit, you will need to register via the official website. You can find information on joining the organization and registering for events on the US Senior Pickleball official website. https://usseniorpickleball.com/  The membership is a great way to stay active, compete, and connect with other senior pickleball enthusiasts

In this last episode in the 'Singles Series', Paddy goes through the importance of having a 'mental edge' - having those steely nerves when the chips are down. The importance of the mental side of singles matchplay cannot be overemphasised. It is SO important. If you can become mentally strong in singles (and doubles!), you can win more competitative matches and maybe even tournaments as well. Most pickleball players are not mentally strong and this will definitely give you that 'edge'. Paddy explains techniques to help get mentally stronger - like breathing techniques and tricks to avoid distractions - everything YOU need to get better, win more competitative matches and enjoy your poickleball even more (AND win tournaments!!). So, if you're into singles, this is a must-listen podcast. https://seniorpickleballtips.com  

In part 3 of this 4-part series, Paddy explores the arsenal of shots that you need to focus on to win at singles. Surprisingly you don't need a whole aray of different fancy shots - but you do need some of the basics and you need to get them right technically. And you need to know when to play them. Serve, return, volley, 3rd/5th shot, lob, smash, re-set - all the usual suspects are there - but for singles it's about placement (even more so than for doubles!). Paddy goes through each one and explains their importance in the singles game - especially from a seniors' point of view! https://seniorpickleballtips.com

In the second part of this 4-part series, Paddy explains why the return of serve is (in his opinion) THE most important shot in singles pickleball - especially if you're a senior. He goes through all the options for the return of serve, including what to do and what NOT to do!  Then Paddy talks about court positioning and the importance of predicting where your opponent's shot is going to go - and how to do this. He explains how, as seniors, we do NOT have to running around like complete idiots - how we use our experience of sport and life to enable us to be in the right place at the right time. Throughout the episode Paddy tells us about breathing techniques, using the timeout and gives all kinds of hints and tips to help YOU win on the singles court. https://seniorpickleballtips.com

How on earth did they do it? How did they get to the 3.5 (65+) English Open final? The largest pickleball tournament outside USA! And did they win? Listen to this episode and find out! And also discover how they both helped each other through it, how they communicated and how they changed tactics suddenly when they needed to. Go through their trials and triumphs on that day last summer. You might learn something. You might take something away that helps YOU in your next tournament - or just to improve your game. https://SeniorPickleballTips.com

In this episode we meet Gustavo Alonso Gonzalez who was (un)lucky enough to be paired up with Paddy for the English Open 2025 3.5, 65+ doubles tournament. Having never met each other, they met one minute before their first match!!! Bearing in mind that the English Open is the largest tournament outside USA, this is quite a big deal! In this two-part podcast describing their journey in that tournament, we first meet Gustavo and get to know him a bit. He is the founder of Senior European Pickleball Players, plays as many tournaments as he can, is a qualified tournament referee and is basically all-round, bloody excellent bloke! In the second episode they go through the matches in the tournament, the mistakes they made, how they got on as partners, how they helped each other in every match and how they (somehow) got through to the final... ...and that is when you discover if they got the gold or not.....!!!   Find Senior European Pickleball Players Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/169839999456871   Join our membership here: https://seniorpickleballtips.com  

Paddy starts his deep dive into pickleball singles. This is the first of four episodes to help YOU not just compete in singles, but to WIN in singles. Many seniors shy away from singles, but for many of us we love the independence of doing things for ourselves and the friendly competition with other similar 'singletons'. There is no doubt that singles attracts the more competitative player, so these episodes focus on strategy, tactics and especially the mental aspects of the game in regard to playing in competitions (for example, breathing techniques, how to avoid distratctions etc.). Paddy draws on his own experiences winning national gold and international bronze singles medals (for his age group). Doubles players would also gain from listening to these as well. In this first episode, Paddy argues againt the notion that 'singles is not for seniors' and explains why. Then he starts the ball rolling on the importance of the serve and why it's different from doubles, including the importance of the willingness to take risks as, generally speaking, consistency may not be enough to get to singles' knockout stages. Note: This podcast is part of the course on Singles Play. For this, and many other courses, check out: www.seniorpickleballtips.com

Paddy has found a segment from his interview with Coach John Gill (aka Aussie John Pickleball) where they talk about keeping safe from injuries and mishaps on the pickleball court. They discuss the main things like court shoes and eye protection, about what to do and (maybe more importantly) what NOT to do! You may feel you've heard this all before - but it is well worth a recap, to keep you on the court and playing. We've all witnessed on-court injuries and we know that they are 90% preventable - so listen up and keep yourself active and playing. https://www.youtube.com/@AussieJohnG www.seniorpickleballtips.com

Please find in this episode, 8 minutes of mindfullness and calm - to listen to before you go on court. Whether you're going to play for a bit of fun with your pickle friends or about to play in a major tournament - you may find it useful to have this 8-minute moment of peace, to help you focus your mind. Keep it with you wherever you go - play it in the car, walking to the courts or just before you warm up - you never know when you're going to need it! https://SeniorPickleballTips.com

In this podcast Paddy chats to Steve Willis who is not only fanatical about pickleball, but is also highly involved with US Senior Pickleball. Discover Steve's story as he goes from swimming to pickleball, gets addicted (like a lot of us!) and what he does when he realises that he wants to put something back into the sport. USSP supports the development of pickleball for seniors throughout the United States - listen to what they can do for you... https://usseniorpickleball.com/ https://seniorpickleballtips.com

In this episode Paddy talks through how to transition from tennis to pickleball. Although there are MANY advantages such as an understanding of footwork and court positioning, there are also disadvantages such as going for the sidelines and too big a backswing.  Listen to Paddy as he goes through all this, while giving examples from his own transition - after playing tennis for 50+ years.  So if you've come from tennis, this is a must-listen.   Check out our website: www.seniorpickleballtips.com   Join thre waitlist for a 30% discount on the membership website: https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

In this episode Paddy talks to his doubles partner, good friend and pickleball coach Phil about partner communications. They have entered a 50+, 3.5 tournament together for the first time and discuss how they are going to communicate with each other before playing, during play and afterwards.  The tournament is in two weeks' time, so it's important they 'get their act together'! Partner communication is not just about calling 'Mine' or 'Yours' (although these are incredibly important), it's also about keeping each other's spirits high, NEVER being negative (not until after the game anyway!) and being crystal clear in what you communicate and how you communicate it. They also talk about communicating with partners in competitative round robins - whom you may never have met before, as well as partner communication in informal, rec play. So give it a listen - your partners will thank you for it!   Also, please check out our website... www.seniorpickleballtips.com   Website launches in August, click here to join the waitlist and get discounted membership https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

In this episode Paddy talks with Ron Ponder who is the Director of Officiating at the Global Pickleball Federation and all-round great guy. They talk about how he got into pickleball and then got into refereeing while helping with DUPR and expanding the sport into the far reaches of this planet. For example, how Ron got to officiate in Madagascar's first national tournament after explaining to about a dozen enthusiastic players how to play! Ron is very knowledgable about pickleball and shares some of that knowledge with us.  He discusses issues such as refereeing and how to get into it, why pickleball is so popular around the world, it's phenomenal growth in Asia and the inevitable topic of needing ONE international body to get our sport into the Olympics. But don't think that this is a boring interview - Ron is an engaging and erudite guest, willing to share his colourful pickleball journey with us, and we are privileged to be a part of it. https://globalpickleballfederation.org http://seniorpickleballtips.com   Click here for 30% discount on membership price: https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

Remaining with the important theme of listening to our bodies, Paddy talks to Bill Reif about his book 'Treat Your Own Pickleball Injuries' out with Amazon. With 45+ years experience of being a physical therapist, he started playing pickleball five years ago and found himself looking after more and more pickleball players. So, on retiring, he wrote this very useful book. Listen to Paddy and Bill discussing the particular injuries that come from pickleball's 'side-to-side' movements and what to do about them. More good stuff about preventing those injuries from happening in the first place, but also what to do when they (inevitably) arrive! Bill has worked with the Olympics, Special Olympics and even in Hollywood - so he knows what he's talking about. Also, if you're not from Britain, discover what a 'niggle' is! [IMPORTANT NOTE: If injuries or pain persists ALWAYS go and see your doctor/physician] Order the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Pickleball-Injuries-Step-Step/dp/B0F8P2DV49 Check out our website here: http://seniorpickleballtips.com Get a 30% discount on membership here: https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

In the second part of this episode Paddy and Susan (from Pro Motion Fitness) discuss the importance of having some kind of a daily routine to stretch our muscles and tendons and to help us gain some physical strength. This can help all of us with our pickleball game (and our lives in general!). A 10- or 15-minute routine is good (or even longer if you can bare it!), but at least a 5-10 minute stretch is highly advisable. Whether it is yoga, pilates or the Canadian Air Force exercise regime (yes, there is one - my dear mum used to do it every morning!), just about any kind of movement can only help. And we'll learn how you can even incorporate the exercises your phyiso gave you into your own bespoke routine (why not eh?).  We'll also learn about how good it is for us to (wait for it....) stand on one leg! So give this episode a listen - and remember to S-T-R-E-T-C-H.......! Check out Pro Motion Fitness here: https://ptwithsusan.com/about/ http://seniorpickleballtips.com   Save 30% on membership here: https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

In this two-part episode Paddy talks to Susan Cohen from Pro Motion Fitness about keeping injury-free. Part one will cover the five most common pickleball injuries that occur with seniors and in part two they discuss about how all of us should have our own bespoke, personal daily routine so we can stretch and strengthen our muscles for 10-15 minutes every day. So, in this part-one episode Susan goes through the five most common injuries that affect our: Shoulders Elbows Lower Back Knees Ankles & Calves And for each of these she and Paddy discuss what we need to do to keep us from injuring these parts of our bodies. (Paddy is used as a sort-of guinea pig as he relates the problems he always has with lower back pain and cramping in his calves). So give it a listen and this episode may well be the best thing you do this week/month/year!! Check out Pro Motion Fitness here: https://ptwithsusan.com/about/ http://seniorpickleballtips.com   Get a 30% discount on membership here: https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

In this episode Paddy continues with his story about winning a gold medal in the English National Singles Championships (3.0, 65+). Listen to how he played against a 'giant' at 6'8" and then very much hoped that he didn't come across Nigel again (who beat him in the round-robin). And, you've guessed it, of course he did! Paddy explains what worked for him in this tournament - both his game strategy and how he kept strong mentally. At the end he summarises with some pointers that could help YOU in tournament play (or indeed any kind of pickleball play). Also - listen out for the Labrador puppy! http://seniorpickleballtips.com   Get a 30% discount on membership here (but be quick): https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f

In this episode Paddy talks through his experience of how (for some crazy reason) he managed to win an English National Singles Championships title (3.0,  65+). He talks through his preparation, his game strategy and his mental strength (basically how he kept his sh*t together!).  He talks through the six games he had to play in the round-robin to get to the semi-finals - what he did right and what he did wrong. Why and how he changed his tactics mid-game sometimes, what he did between points and how he kept motivated. Paddy never says that everyone has to do what he does - he just shares his highs and lows, his tactics and decisions - in case the listener may be able to take away a few good pointers. He hopes that he doesn't come across as 'braggy' - just someone sharing their story. He ends by summarising his strategies and tactics, which he hopes may be helpful for others. In Part Two he continues this story into the semi-finals and final. Hear how he VERY nearly went home early (how he got lucky), but somehow hung on and managed to get that gold medal! So watch this space! http://seniorpickleballtips.com   Get 30% discount on membership here (but be quick): https://senior-pickleball-tips.kit.com/63394dc96f