Here's what I learned from playing 1 Year of Pickleball

It's just about 1 year of playing pickleball on a regular basis (3 days a week minimum for at least 2 hours, so 6 hours a week). But, if I do a true tally, it's more like 10 hours a week, now including Saturdays. Shout out to the Dars and where it all started: Booker T Anderson Park in Richmond.

At first, of course I wasn't great. I don't even have tennis experience. I did pick up Ping Pong experience in Viet Nam. I've had some folks comment on that, though I do have long shots that seem like I have tennis experience.

Friends have said I'm a 3.5ish (after playing for 10 hours a week for a year). I still haven't even looked into what that means, and I've seen 1-2 videos on Pickleball stuff, but not much. I learn everything in real-time play, on court.

Off the top, here's some things I remember learning:

When it comes to returning the pickleball, you have more time than you think
Beware of happy feet, you can return shots with better accuracy with still feet
Pretend you need to stretch a rubber band between you and your partner: If they move to the right, you move to the left, etc. (you want to cover as much of the court as a pair)
Always have the paddle held with the face, perpendicular to your feet (so you are always ready to either forehand, or backhand)
Your grip should be so loose, someone can pull your paddle from your grip easily (for adaptability, depending on what kind of return you need to employ)
Like a professional basketball player's free throw attempt: have a routine you do every single time you serve the pickleball
Switching the paddle between your hands is legal, unlike in tennis (this is what I do)
You can jump diagonally across the kitchen (when the ball hasn't bounced in), to the outer boundary
65% of the times at the kitchen line, I can just hold my paddle there, and return [a return shot] with no effort, other than a decent return angle
Old-timers can be amazing, youngings can suck: always be ready for the challenge, not judgemental
With the high-falling shots, be like that desk-toy bird that bows their head at a continually revolving 90 degree angle
No lead is safe [rally on the 10], you can always make a comeback. be confident in yourself
When you raise your partner's confidence, your chances of winning are always better (and the match is always more fun)
Keep it low, and slow
Lobs towards the backline are actually the most gratifying (though kill shots get all the glory). Backline lobs are like Steph Curry 3s. Kill shots are like Michael Jordan dunks.
Wear sunscreen, eat a banana, drink water
My 3 highly recommended workouts: squats, jumping squats and suicide runs