The #1 source for pickleball news in New York's Greater Capital Region. Written by a journalist and pickleball player.
10 things new pickleball players need to know about playing in the Capital Region
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#044 Sept. 19, 2024 | Read on the web 10 things to help your new pickleball friendsIf you are a member of the Pickleball of the Capital District Facebook group, you see this post all the time... "I'm new to pickleball. How do I find games and people to play with?" I created this list of 10 Things New Pickleball Players Should Know in the Capital Region. (The list is also posted online so share this link with your friends: https://www.pickleball518.com/new-to-pickleball-in-the-capital-region-here-are-10-things-you-need-to-know/) #1 Find courts to play onThere are many national databases of pickleball courts including Pickleheads, Pickleplay, Playtime Scheduler and USA Pickleball. I put together this map of places to play pickleball in the Greater Capital Region of New York from Columbia County to North Country: https://www.pickleball518.com/map-of-pickleball-courts-in-greater-capital-region/ And I also have a list of indoor venues in the Capital Region with all their contact info and links: https://www.pickleball518.com/list-of-indoor-pickleball-clubs-in-capital-region-of-new-york/ #2 Find people to play withMost outdoor municipal courts have Open Play every morning starting at 8 or 9 a.m., though they may start a little later during the cooler months. Stop by and speak up. Tell someone you are new to pickleball and want to play. Most of the time, they will help you get into a game immediately. The key is speaking up. If you are not a novice, but are new to the courts, introduce yourself and ask if you can join a game. It might help if tell them what level of player you are. Generally speaking, after 11:30 a.m. -ish, people playing outdoors are private groups that arranged to play together. They may decline your request to join in. Mornings are your best bet. Almost every court/region in the Capital Region has a Team Reach group. Team Reach is an app for groups to communicate and post schedules. Each group has a “join code.” It is free. You just need to download the app and find out the code. If you ask a couple of players, one of them is sure to know the code and will share it with you. I have a love/hate relationship with Team Reach, but it works well if people use it. #3 Take a lessonA few lessons or clinics will really jump start your pickleball journey. All of the indoor venues offer lessons and clinics. There are also great local instructors. Here is my list of pickleball instructors: https://www.pickleball518.com/list-of-pickleball-instructors-in-albany-saratoga-springs-and-greater-capital-region/ #4 Find an open playThe municipal courts are pretty predictable with morning open plays, but the indoor venues are more tricky. Many of our local venues (Picklers, True, Legacy and Hockey Hut) use the app/website Court Reserve to manage their court reservations. It is free to create a guest account/membership on Court Reserve though each venue has its own short signup form. It is fairly easy and it will give you access to their full schedule of open plays, leagues, clinics, tournaments and special events. This is my how-to guide for Court Reserve: 10 tips for players using CourtReserve. All of the venues accept drop-in players for open plays, as long as there are spots available. You can see if there is space on Court Reserve. SPORTIME Schenectady, the YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, Ciccotti Center and JCCs use their own software systems for open play schedules – but these systems are difficult to penetrate. It might be easier to phone those venues to find out when open play is offered. Their contact info is listed here: https://www.pickleball518.com/list-of-indoor-pickleball-clubs-in-capital-region-of-new-york/ #5 Watch pickleball tutorials on YoutubeThere are millions of videos explaining the rules and every shot of pickleball. It is a rabbit hole, but it is worth watching a few. #6 Sign up for the Pickleball518 newsletterShameless promotion here, but my newsletter is a great source of pickleball information. You can subscribe at https://www.pickleball518.com/subscribe/. It’s free. Check out my newsletter archive: https://pickleball518.ck.page/profile and follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pickleball518 and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pickleballmaven/. You can also join the Pickleball of the Capital Region community group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pickleballcapital/. The group is a great resource and is full of local people who love pickleball and are willing to share their advice. :) #7 Meet up to play with your new pickleball friendsPlaying with friends that match your skill level, or are a little better, is a great way to improve, get some games and have fun. When you meet someone you enjoy playing with, get their cell number and then start setting up your own games. Make sure you are friendly and are fun to play with, and you will get invited to more games. #8 Upgrade your gearThat starter paddle was fine for the first few months, but a good paddle will really improve your game and consistency. Head over to Pickleball Galaxy in Clifton Park to buy a new paddle from Tony Pickles. Pickleball Galaxy is one of the biggest suppliers of pickleball gear on Amazon, and they are based in a warehouse section of Clifton Park right off of Exit 10 at 606 Pierce Rd, Clifton Park, NY 12065. You can read the story behind Pickleball Galaxy: Pickleball Galaxy is riding the pickleball wave. Pickleball Galaxy has a small but mighty retail store there. They have demo paddles you can borrow and very cheap clearance sneakers. If you prefer to shop online, Pickleball Galaxy offers free shipping. (Note: Pickleball518 may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you decide to make a purchase. This helps support my efforts to bring valuable local pickleball content to you. Thank you for your support!) #9 Join a leagueLeagues are a great way to find games and challenge yourself and be social. Most of the indoor pickleball clubs offer them. Call the venues or check the CourtReserve app for upcoming leagues. #10 Play in a tournamentTake it to the next level and sign up for a tournament. The indoor venues often have quick round-robin tournaments posted on their websites and Facebook pages and you can find some bigger events here on my tournament page. Almost every tournament has a novice division. So there is a place for you. Did I miss anything?
Tent sale at Pickleball GalaxyIf you want to cross off #8 (from the list above), try the tent sale at Pickleball Galaxy on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 1 to 5 p.m., rain or shine. You can buy demo paddles and returned paddles and shoes at a deep discount. Singlecut North Tap Room, just up the road from Pickleball Galaxy, is offering happy hour pricing on 16oz draft pours, while Yankee Distillers will have special pricing on House-Infused Cocktails for Tent Sale attendees. Friday Happy Hours at SportimeThe photo says it all...
SPORTIME Schenectady has beginner classesSeveral options available:
Call Sportime at (518) 356-0100. Beginner clinic starts at True on Sept. 23True Pickleball in Latham has created a series of beginner classes and clinics. Their beginner clinic starts Monday, September 23 from 3 to 4 p.m. Create a True Guest account at the following link and then register for the session: https://widgets.courtreserve.com/Online/Portal/CreateAccountAndRequestAccessToOrg/9234?isRedirect=true. FYI: The True Pickleball Club is working on plans to celebrate its 1st year anniversary. Stay tuned for details.
Dink for Pink tournament to benefit the Cancer Society at Legacy on Oct. 12 & 13The Dink for Pink tournament has been moved to the weekend of Oct. 12 & 13. Legacy Pickleball Club is running the tournament and all proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. To register, go to: https://www.pbrally.com/tournaments/legacy-d4p-10-24 Upcoming tournamentsSeptember 20-22: Upstate New York Pickleball Championship Sept. 21-22: Bousquet Sport End of Summer Classic Oct. 5 (Raindate Oct. 6): Bethlehem Tournament to benefit Bethlehem Senior Projects Oct. 12 & 13 Dink for Pink Nov. 2 & 3: Annual Support Our Heroes Tournament Nov. 9 & 10: The New York Amateur Open @ True Pickleball Club Nov. 23-25: 2nd Annual Thanksgiving at Emma Willard
Picklers announcing daytime leagues soonPicklers will be rolling out some morning and afternoon leagues for both the weekdays and weekends. You won't be able to find the info on their website though, so watch their Facebook page or their CourtReserve schedule. A note about Picklers' website. It is not working properly and they are struggling to resolve it. In fact, they are actively looking for a new web developer. If you know of good web person, let Gary know at zerozerotwopickleball@yahoo.com. XXXAlso, Picklers has a big new sign so you can't miss it. Just look for the big, bright blue sign! >> Don't forget, if you have never been to Picklers you can play FREE for an hour between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. between now and Sept. 30 if you mention Pickleball518 when you arrive.
Better players ratings = Better gamesIf you are competing in an upcoming tournament please consider 1) Creating a DUPR account and 2) Connecting it to your Pickleball Brackets profile. It's a 2-for-1, best bang for your buck, killing two birds with one stone kind of situation. DUPR and Pickleball Brackets are two of the biggest pickleball ratings databases in the nation for amateur players like you and me. And now they are sharing their data. Pickleball Brackets will be using DUPR ratings for all of its tournaments going forward. All future Pickleball Brackets tournament scores will be fed into DUPR***. Why should you care? Because competition at tournaments and leagues get better when people are playing at the right skill level whether it is novice or almost pro. It is truly fun to play games where the scores are really close. Don't you want to play more close games? If the answer is yes, create a DUPR account. Local clubs are starting to use DUPR. Several local clubs have experimented with DUPR and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes more common on local courts. We are already seeing open plays with courts dedicated to (self-reported) skill levels. Here is the ***asterisk***: If one or more players in your game's foursome does not have a DUPR profile, the game will not count toward anyone's rating. The score is disregarded. An unknown player creates a a big black hole the rating system's algorithm can't handle. So even if you don't plan on playing tons of tournaments or leagues, help your friends build their ratings by creating a DUPR account and avoid the black hole. No rating system is perfect, and there are others out there including our homegrown VAIR system from Xtreme Pickle. You can read more about the rating systems in this article from Pickleball Union Five Standardized Pickleball Rating Systems: Which To Use & Why. I am in favor of rating systems sharing data and want to reward DUPR and Pickleball Brackets for the partnership. Hope to see you on the court, Cathleen
p.s. A sneak peak at Common Roots courtsHere is a little more information on the two indoor pickleball courts that just opened at Common Roots Brewing Company at their Bierhall and Cafe located at 62 Saratoga Avenue in South Glens Falls. The cost is $20 per court/per hour with a 2-hour minimum reservation requirement per court. You can reserve a court here: https://commonrootsbrewing.com/events-calendar/pickleball/
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The #1 source for pickleball news in New York's Greater Capital Region. Written by a journalist and pickleball player.
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