Winning Pickleball Strategies! Terry Helmer's Path from Beginner to Tournament Medalist

In this episode of the Dink Tank podcast, host Ben sits down with Terry Helmer, who recently won silver in the Dink Cincy tournament at the Pickle Lodge. Terry shares his fascinating pickleball journey from beginner to tournament competitor, offering valuable insights for players of all levels.

Starting in 2021, Terry quickly progressed from community play to competitive tournaments. He reveals how consistent drilling transformed his game and discusses the mental and physical challenges of tournament play. Listeners will learn how Terry and his last-minute tournament partner, John Carterelli, managed to secure silver despite never having played together before their competition in the 4.0-4.5 skill bracket.

Terry provides tactical insights on identifying opponents' weaknesses, adapting strategy mid-game, and the importance of energy management during consecutive matches. He also shares how pickleball offers different "layers" of engagement—from social exercise to serious competition—making it accessible for players with varying goals.

Whether you're a pickleball enthusiast looking to improve your game or someone interested in the competitive side of this rapidly growing sport, Terry's experience offers valuable lessons in perseverance, strategy, and sportsmanship.

Keywords: pickleball tournament strategy, Dink Cincy tournament, pickleball drilling tips, pickleball partner strategy, 4.0 pickleball level, pickleball competition, Pickle Lodge tournament, pickleball journey, silver medal pickleball, tournament preparation

Transcript

Hey friends, welcome to the Dink Tank. In today's episode, I'll be chatting with my friend and pickleball colleague, Terry Helmer. Terry and his partner John won silver last weekend in the Dink Cincy tournament at the Pickle Lodge.

Terry, thanks for coming on the show. Thanks for having me, Ben. You got it, you got it.

So let's go back. When did you get bitten by the pickleball bug? Tell me about your start. Tell me about your journey a little bit.

Okay, I started, oh let's see, probably in August or September of 21. Okay. The place where we live took a part of a parking lot and they put a mesh fence around part of it and they had engineers who live in the community and so they went out and they did the exact dimensions, pickleball lines.

They bought a net and four paddles and some balls and so every Saturday, whoever wanted to come out who lived in the community would learn how to play pickleball. I had never really heard of pickleball much before that and so that Saturday in the fall we started playing. I learned how to keep score and then I retired in December of that year.

I started going to Countryside Y. Yeah. On Monday, Wednesday, Friday has an open session. No one wanted to play with me.

Can you imagine that? Well, I can't now because you're one of the best players there. But back then, again, just learning. Right.

And the thing about pickleball is that so many different layers. Okay. It's like an onion in that if you just want to go and have a little exercise and have social, you can do that.

If you want to get a little bit better and practice, you can do that. Or if you want to get really good, you can get a coach or do drills and get better and play in tournaments. Right.

And so from, let's see, January of 22, that's when I started to play somewhat regularly and there was a gentleman there. You meet all different kinds of people and there was a gentleman there, Randy Kramer is his name. He was like, he, we kind of befriended each other.

All right. And so he was like, you need to drill. And I'm like, why do I need to drill for? I mean, you know, you'll get better plan.

He goes, no, you won't. You make the same mistakes playing without drilling. Right.

So drilling, you get certain aspects of the game and you practice as opposed to just going out and playing in the game. So you get more consistent in certain shots. So he and I would drill sporadically, maybe once a week, once every two weeks, depending on his schedule, depending on my schedule.

And so of January of 22, I was getting better because I drilled and because I played more, you become more consistent. Yeah. And so you meet people and I met Sky Smith.

He is now he's 54 and I'll be 66. So there's a little age difference. So he and I played in a couple of tournaments and Randy and I played in a couple of tournaments.

Funny story about Randy and I, very first tournament we ever played, we played up in Dayton. Okay. And so we entered and we went up there and we played and we got second.

Can you imagine that? We got second. Come on. But there was only three teams.

So you always tell people you got second. That's great. Yeah.

Don't tell them how many teams there were. Yeah, that's right. That's right.

Is he pretty close in your age? Well, Randy is probably 73 now today. Okay. So he's like seven years, probably older than me.

Okay. Yeah. And so he, in the winter, he had been going to Florida.

Now he went to Arizona. He's coming back soon. Yeah.

So I'll be able to drill again with him. Okay. But, you know, the whole journey thing, the more you play, the more you become more consistent.

And so in Middletown, there's a place called Lefferson. They have 27 courts now, I think. Yeah, they do.

And so Randy would go up there in the summer, three or four times a week, probably. Okay. And he would drill for 45 minutes and then play.

And so I started going up there probably once, twice a week, maybe, depending on the week. And it's better competition up there. Plus it's outdoors.

You have more variables. You have wind, sun, you know, so those things. So we did that.

And then Sky and I played in a couple of tournaments. Did okay. But then recently we entered Dink Cincinnati.

Yeah. Sky and I did. And so on Tuesday, Thursday mornings, you're part of a group that there's five or six of us who kind of rotate, play for a couple of hours, Tuesday 30, Tuesday, Thursday.

It's a little bit better competition than like Monday, Wednesday, Friday, open play at the Countryside Y. Right, right. And so Sky and I play there. Well, we entered this tournament and the week before we were supposed to play, he said, oh, my back is killing me.

So I need to back out. So I'm like, okay. So he found a person that he had played at a tournament with.

Oh, I guess last year, maybe. Okay. And so he reached out to that person, John Carterelli, who lives in Amelia.

John said, sure, I'll take your place. So now I'm entered in this tournament. With someone you've never played.

With someone I've never played with. Right. I've never seen, don't know how he plays.

I sent John a picture of myself so he knows who to look for. Right. Yeah, because you guys don't even know what you need to look like.

Correct, correct. So and typically, if you know anything about pickleball, there are certain skill levels like 2.5 to 3, 3.5 to 4, 4.0 to 4.5. And so typically, Sky and I previously had entered 3.5 to 4.0. We thought we were probably close to 4.0, but not 100% sure. So therefore, we entered the 3.5 to 4.0. Well, this year, we decided to enter... Take it up a notch.

Yeah, let's go up. So 4.0 to 4.5. So now I have a new partner and I'm entered in the higher ranking. Higher level, yeah.

So I thought, oh, this is going to go swimmingly. Well, you also probably entered the 50 to 59 range, right? Correct. Because you had to go with Sky's age range.

Correct. So and John was 58. Okay, so he would have been in that age category.

But me, I'm older than that. So I'm playing against guys who could be 15 years younger than me. Right.

We go, we meet each other, we sit down. We have a conversation about, you know, how do you play? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Just like an hour before then, right? Correct. That's crazy.

Yeah, okay. And so, you know, he asks me, you know, what are your strengths? And I said, I don't have really one set strength. Like somebody will be good at forehand or backhand or dinks or drops or whatever.

I said, I'm fairly consistent. Yes. But I don't have any one strength.

And so he's like, well, you know, my forehand, he comes from a tennis background. Okay. He said, my forehand is usually pretty good.

And so when I'm on the left-hand side of the court, I like to take two to three feet on the other side. So I'm like, okay, that's fine. We talk about strengths and weaknesses.

There are two pools, pool one and pool two. Yeah. I think there are 10 teams in each pool.

Okay, that sounds right. Yeah. Every team gets a bye, right? So our bye is at the beginning.

The very first round. Very first round. So while everybody else is playing, we're sitting there twiddling our thumbs.

And we can't warm up because all the courts are full. Sure. So once the game ends, we have five minutes to warm up.

So let me go back. Did you, you know, you guys talked in the beginning. Did you have any time to like hit at all? Oh, no.

None at all. Okay. So the very first time you guys hit was the five minutes before you played.

Correct. In the second round. Correct.

Wow. Okay. So it's a little bit of a challenge.

I'm sure. I'm just thinking this is not going to go well. Yeah.

You know, so we get out there. He was playing well. I mean, I guess because I've never seen him play.

Right, right. And I know my game and I was playing fairly well. Okay.

So we were doing okay. We won the first game, won second game, won third game, won the fourth game. So we won our pool.

We get to the medal round, right? And there's four teams. So we played, we were seated first. So we played the second team in the other pool.

Okay. He's getting ready to serve. John's getting ready to serve.

And I said, John, I have zero gas in the tank because we had played four games. And, you know, if you're just playing for fun, you are mentally and physically in every single point. Point of every game.

Of every game. Yeah, yeah. I was in every single point of that game, of the games previous to the finals.

Right. Which is mentally fatiguing as well, right? Because you're like, okay, as you play, so you know, it's like, okay, if you're over here, more than likely, you know, they're going to hit it over here, you know, and so you're ready for this shot or that shot. And it was tiring.

I'm sure. So four in a row, and then you played the first medal round. Correct.

And we were losing. It was six to one, and then it was eight to three, and then it was 11 to six. So to 15 points in the medal round.

It's to 15 points in the medal round. Okay. And so at one point, we called a timeout.

I said, John, call a timeout. So we called a timeout, and timeouts are like a minute. And so mentally, I'm just trying to pick my energy level back up.

Right. Right. You know, we got back, and we ended up winning 15-13, which was nice.

And I picked up my level to a degree where I wasn't hitting into the net all the time or missing shots. So then when we get to the finals, now the tank is like totally on empty. So we lost in the finals 15 to eight.

But, you know, you can't complain at all with results. Playing with somebody I've never met. Yeah.

Playing that many games in a row where you don't think it's tiring, but you play. And you know that when you play doubles or singles, especially singles, you're just out there, and it's tiring. Yeah.

It takes a lot out. Yeah. Yeah.

And especially in a match-type situation or a tournament-type situation, right? Right. It's definitely tiring, and you're mentally in every point the whole time. Right.

Yeah, I wasn't able to be there. I wanted to come over and watch a little bit. I played Friday.

We had an event at our place on Saturday morning. It's really cool. I was able to actually look at it online.

Now you couldn't see play-by-play or point-by-point, but I could see at the end of every game, it was posted almost immediately. So I was able to kind of follow it through the day. And I was like, are you kidding me? He keeps winning.

I'm like, that's so great, you know? And then you end up taking silver at the end. And I'm like, that's so cool. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

You know, and you're talking about the pick-a-ball journey. I'm fairly competitive, not over the top, but I like the competitive nature of things. Yeah, that's something that keeps coming up.

It's interesting with talking with people on the podcast. And it's like, when you're younger, like in high school and stuff like that, you can compete and stuff like that. And some people compete into college.

But after that, there's not a lot of competitiveness. You know, that happens. But in this sport, at almost any age, you could be as competitive as you want to be.

Exactly, exactly. So that's pretty neat. Yeah, I kind of agree.

I'm the same way. I'm like, you know, a lot of people will do it for the social aspect or to work out. But it's like, I am trying to get better, right? Every time I go out there, which I know you do that as well.

And yeah, and I guess I want to go back and thank you and Sky for pulling me in last year. I remember seeing you guys drilling outside. Like I'd go out there and hit with some people.

And I'd be like, how do you get into this group? This like select group, you know? But I forget when it was. But you guys are like, you know, hey, do you want to come and play with us? And I thought I'm just filling in for a couple of weeks or whatever. And it's been the whole time.

So thanks. Well, sure. It's cool.

You bring new challenges because of your height and your length and you're only 50. So your speed and mobility. But you know, the journey, you know, like Sky and I, we used to go to the Y and we would get there at 730 and we would drill.

And it was usually half hour, 45 minutes. Well, people saw us at 730. So they started coming to play games.

Coming in early. At 740. And so Sky and I moved our time to 715.

Well, guess what? Everybody moved to 725. Then we moved to seven o'clock. Well, now people come in at 10 after seven.

So you get. For nine o'clock open play, they come in at almost seven o'clock. They're trying to try to get in with you guys.

So it's crazy. But it's fun. You know, when I play pickleball, especially if it's competitively with people my own skill level, then I'm competitive.

If I play with someone who doesn't have the skill level as me, you know, you see certain people when you play, they slam it at men or women that don't have the skill level. It doesn't. It's unnecessary.

It's unnecessary. It's like pounding your chest. Look at me.

Look what I did. Right. And it's like, it's not necessary.

You know, if you're playing against somebody not at your skill level, you should work on things you're deficient at. Right. Yeah.

I mean, some people do that, but some people, they just want to get there and win and beat people up or whatever. So, which is sad. Let's go back to Dink Cincy, that game, obviously with you and John, obviously you probably could change a few things.

Like if you could go back and change some things, I mean, obviously, what would they be? Well, ultimately, I think if we would have played that team, let's say they were in our pool, if we played them the third game or the second game, it would have been different. I think we would have been a lot more competitive and... Had more energy. Had more energy.

Because, you know, I told John afterward, I apologized to him because I said, it's my fault because when we were in that final game, I was the one that was targeted. You know, when you... Oh, yeah. When you're in a game and you are the weaker player, they target you.

Oh, yeah. And they could see that I was suffering. Right, right.

Not as much energy. They're like, let him have it. Exactly.

So, all of the shots, like the drop shots, which were going over, now you don't have the legs or the lift. And so, the white of the tape, it was hitting on the white of the tape, whereas the previous games, it was going over. Just barely going over.

So, you know, that was fine. I mean, we weren't totally out of that game, but they got it out to a big lead. And so... It's hard to come back.

It's hard to come back. Especially if your skill level, you know, is roughly the same. When we were in the 4-0 to 4-5, so that skill level is more consistent than the 3-5 to 4-0.

Right. So, they don't make as many mistakes. Right.

Yeah. Let me ask you this question. I was just thinking of this.

When you were playing, whether it was pre, medal, or in the medal rounds, I mean, how can you identify a weakness? I mean, the games are so quick, right? Like, how can you identify... Because you're playing against two people in doubles, obviously. Like, how can you look at them? And maybe you guys talk this out. I'm not sure, but it's like, how do you identify the weaker player or the weaker part of their game that you can target or attack? Can you talk us through that? Sure.

I mean, like in any sport, once you play for a little bit, like in baseball, it's like, oh, this guy can't hit a curveball because you threw him two curveballs and he was flailing away and missed them wildly. Same thing in pickleball. If you hit him two backhand shots and he misses them or hits them into the net, okay, I'm going to continue to do that until he proves that he can get it over.

Same thing like with serves. Normally on Tuesday, Thursday, when I serve, I serve kind of hard to you and some of the other folks. Well, I intentionally, because I knew every point mattered when I served, I just got it in the square.

Right. Just getting it in. Right.

Unless we were up by five or six, and then I would hit a normal hard serve and see how they handled that. Because every point when we served mattered. Right.

So, you know, as far as identifying, I think you just hit shots. I mean, most, the game changed so much in the past year. I mean, it used to be, you know, third shot drop and now it's third shot drive.

And so a lot of the people who we played against, they would hit and they just cracked it as hard as they could. Right. Yeah.

Well, as you well know, you just try and get out of the way. Sometimes you can't. Yeah.

But get out of the way and out it goes. Right. You know? So a lot of times I didn't have a shot where I intentionally did, I wanted like a smash for a winner.

I would hit it and let them make the mistake because I know I can play defense. And so as a strategy, I'm like, I know whatever they hit, I can get back unless it's obviously a really good slam. Yeah, yeah.

You know, I was very happy with my transition zone. I would hit four in a row where they hit it right at your feet and I would reset it into the kitchen. Gotcha.

Yeah. And so normally you might get one of those, two of those, but I was getting three and four and they would just hit it right back. And it's like, I was very happy with that part of my game.

Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. For John, what would you say the best part of his game was? For John, and it's kind of funny because like I said, I never met him.

And so he has played in some tournaments. And so I went and I looked at his name and his duper rating. Okay.

Yeah. And his duper rating was like 4.4. And I asked Sky, I'm like, is that really his rating is? I don't think so. He's more like 4.1 or 4.2. I'm like, okay.

So anyway, when he, if you, I don't really know this, but the Pickle Lodge and some other places have traveling teams. Okay. And so they meet once a week and they play and then they travel to, let's say, Norwood and play at Aces or Blue Ash and play there to that team there.

And so John is on one of those traveling teams. Okay. And I guess he plays in the 4.0 to 4.5 range.

That traveling team has a coach. So every week he gets coaching from, you know, the person at Pickle Lodge. Okay.

Interesting. And so, yeah, that was interesting. That's something that I may be interested in exploring more.

Sure. But his game, again, in that range, 4.0 to 4.5, you don't make a lot of mistakes. I mean, you're consistent.

Right. And his forehand was, and he's a tennis background. And so his forehands are really good.

He could be on the baseline and hit the sidelines. And so he was really good at those. But we had a lot of points, which if you ever watch videos, you'll see the pros, and they'll have extended rallies.

And you'll have an angle over here where they drop it, and then they lob it. And it just goes on and on and hand fighting and all that stuff. And during our six games, we had a decent amount of those, which I was surprised with because I figured it may just be a couple.

But we had a lot of points, and it was kind of fun because people are outside watching. Right, right. And so we'd have a good point like that, and everybody would clap.

You know, it's something you don't expect playing amateur just in a tournament pickleball. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, I noticed some of that there.

When I was there on Friday playing, there was a couple of four or five medal rounds, like they were warming up, and they were just cracking the ball. And they had like 30 or 40 people standing around, like waiting to see some of this action or whatever. So it's a fun place to go over there and play.

It is, and pickleball is one of those things where you can't judge a book by its cover because we were waiting for ours to start. And so we were watching, just like you said, the group that we were watching. I don't know what the skill level was, but I mean, three out of the four guys looked like they were 30, right? Yeah.

Quick hands, everything was whack, whack, crack, crack, crack. And then there was the fourth player. He looked like my age.

And he was just as quick as everybody else. Yeah, it's surprising. I was so impressed.

Yeah, yeah. Some of those people over there, yeah. I went over a couple weeks ago for a lesson, and there was a group that was probably older than me.

And I think they were all, I think they were all 5'0", and they were just like crushing it back and forth. And I was just like, you know, I mean, there's obviously a higher level of players over there. But yeah, it's like, yeah, you can't judge a book by its cover, you know? That's what I'm saying.

And you wonder how much of that is from the background of, oh, I played tennis for 40 years. Right. Or I drill X amount of days, and I play.

What's the secret? I play X amount of days. Or I'm just an overall athlete, and I'm always very athletic, you know? Because like you, I want to improve. And at some point, you know, about three weeks before the tournament, the month before that, I'd played really well.

And then I went, and I just had a slump for like three weeks. Yeah. And it's like, why is this happening? Especially now before the tournament.

Especially now before the tournament. And it gets frustrating. Yeah.

Because you know you can hit shots, and it's just like, it doesn't happen. Right, right. Yeah, the game can be a little finicky like that.

Especially like nerves. I think I've really, like I've played like three different tournaments this year. Two at the Pickle Lodge and one at the Y. And especially the Pickle Lodge, like my nerves are like on another level.

Because I think, well, the Y is like our home turf, right? So it's like, ah, playing there, it's fine or whatever. But yeah, the nerves really like goes up a level. There's a lot to like think about and process through.

It's not just the game, right? Correct. It's like every point, it's the nerves, it's a new player. There's a lot of things.

Actually, John and I talked about that. Yeah. Because he comes from a tennis background.

He played high school tennis, might even played college tennis. And so he said, ah, nerves, no big deal. He said he still has butterflies.

Okay. But not nerves. Because I was really nervous.

Because A, having played with John and you don't want to be the weaker partner. Right. Yeah.

And the skill level, we had up to skill level. And we watched a couple of the teams before our bye. And there was a left-hander with a hat on.

His name was Pete. He was just crushing from the baseline. And every shot he took was literally like an inch above the net.

Just. And I'm like, oh my gosh, we're going to. Yeah, we're in trouble.

But then once you get out there, maybe you don't get the exact shots. Because you're in a totally different situation. And you don't allow him to make those shots.

You're out there and you play against it. And oh, I got that back. Yeah.

Yeah. No, it can be very dynamic for sure. So quickly going back.

Do you have a background in tennis or a background in, I guess, any sport? I think you play baseball, right? I played sports all growing up. Okay. Baseball was my preferred sport.

As far as tennis, I might have played in junior high on a team other than that. Not. Not so much.

But overall, athletic, but not way above average or below average. I was just a little. I could pick up a sport relatively easily.

Okay. So good eye-hand coordination. Correct.

Understanding the fundamentals of different sports and stuff like that. So maybe last question. Are they still playing pickleball on Saturdays at your community there? Once the weather gets warmer.

It's outside. Yeah, it's outside. So they're still.

So yeah. Yeah. And actually, the more people we get into the community, the more players there will be.

And there are some better players, which is good. Yeah. But it's a fun, fun area in that it's just for fun.

Yeah. You know, you don't know how to keep score. Okay, we'll teach you.

We don't know about the game. We'll teach you. Yeah.

So it's you're an ambassador to the game. That's right. That's right.

That is one of the best things about this sport. It's like, it feels like it's so wide open and new people come in all the time, especially to the Y and play. And it's like, yeah, let me show you the score and show you how to play and serve and do this, that and the other.

Yeah. The people at the Countryside Y are very inviting, especially the Monday, Wednesday, Friday group. And it's very rewarding to see all of those people that play, that you see every Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

They've all gotten better over the years. A lot of them are just doing it for a little bit of exercise and for social, but they've all gotten better because they continue to show up and play. Yeah.

So it goes back to, do you just want to get a little bit of exercise, social, or you can improve by drilling or go and get a coach and go to the next level. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. There's options out there. Any tournaments coming up for you? No.

For us this year? Not yet. Not on the horizon. Not on the horizon.

Gotcha. How's Skye's back? It's better. It's better.

He's nursing it along and he actually, he said he was going to take a month off, but then after about two and a half weeks, he showed up on a Friday. And he played three games, but he wasn't going at his normal pace. Right, right.

Nursing it just a bit. Yeah. Yeah.

But I was like, just stay off of it because you don't want to... Let it rest. Exactly. It'll heal on its own.

Yeah, yeah. Terry, appreciate your time. Thanks for being on.

Thanks for inviting me. Thanks for having me. You got it.

You got it. I'll see you on the court. Okey dokey.