The Instant Camaraderie in Pickleball

The person whose name you just learned and may never see again just became your biggest supporter.

If you are newer to pickleball, you might be wonderfully surprised by how much camaraderie happens within the game. Here’s how it often goes: you get rotated in to play with a perfect stranger, and thirty seconds later, you’re doing that subtle high-five thing with the paddle, complimenting their play, wondering how you ever got along without this person in your life.

Okay, the latter is a slight exaggeration, but it’s truly a marvel to see most ad hoc teams function this way. 

The person whose name you just learned compliments when you do something good with phrases like “nice hands” or “great block” or “way to get it” or “nice serve.” They also forgive you when you miss a shot or get over-eager and hit into the net what should’ve been an easy put away. And you do the same for them.

(I for one certainly never require such forbearance but hear others do.)

And very little of this happens in a forced or patronizing way. Sure, there’s some of it, and there can certainly be unsolicited coaching between players. This can be off-putting from most players since most of us are actively working on our game, seek out actual coaching, and do our research.

But wonderfully, as a game, it really does have a culture of looking for the good and celebrating it, even if it was the opposing team who did the good thing. Some of this instant chumminess may be due to the close proximity and constant communication inherent in what is a fast-paced game. On nearly every court, you hear people saying or yelling things like ”mine” or “yours” or “you got it” or “I got it” or the various things people yell to their teammate to help them identify if the ball is or might be going out: “watch it” or “careful!”

Not everyone makes for a lovely teammate, but by and large this still seems to be the climate of the game. Some players are more stoic in their personality but even their impassive paddle taps between points or receiving team faults go a long way to remind you: you’re on the same team and you want the same thing.

On a recent Saturday, I played at an indoor pickleball facility. It was one of my worst performance days in a while, and I was an outsider to an open play group who all knew each other. 

This lame combination made me all the more appreciative of the teammates who complimented the good and laughed off the bad (theirs and mine). A favorite teammate of the day was a twelve-year-old kid who’s been playing just a month but who has pro potential if I’ve ever seen it.

This kid was completely sincere in his shouts of “Great shot!” and “Nice hit!” and his natural sportsmanship in general made him super fun to play with and against. I hope he keeps up his pickleball good fellowship like I plan to keep up mine. And I bet we’ll all continue appreciating the ones who make and keep the game so fun.

Your turn:

What are some of your favorite game/team/player dynamics? Or experiences that have made pickleball wonderful for you? Would love to hear in the comments below.