Pickleball Obsession
Pickleball advice and insight for recreational players who want to play better and understand the game. Hosted by obsessed amateur Tracie Hotchner, each episode delivers short, useful answers from certified pickleball pros that actually apply to your game.
Episodes
27 episodes
When, How & Why is Stacking a Good Idea?
#1027: Master Pro and former pro competitor Lisa Palcic explains why two right-handed players almost always stack in mixed doubles on the pro circuit (no matter how good the female player is). But when, why and how stacking might make sense for...
Are You a Tournament Virgin?
#1026: Coach Veronica Alteri just started playing pro pickleball herself, but she remembers the mental challenges of the first time she played in a tournament. She and Tracie talk about the thrills and chills of playing competitively and how to...
Why Should You Not Target the Weaker Player?
#1025: Coach Mindy Yoder says that hitting to the weaker player can make sense if your goal is to win the game, but can also backfire if the stronger player takes over the court and poaches aggressively, ending points quickly. In rec play, you ...
The Attack of the Body Baggers
#1024: Coach Leia Miller talks about whether there is an etiquette or sportsmanship issue about aiming the ball at an opponent's body, since "body bagging" has become a legitimate strategy. In earlier pickleball days, hitting someone with the b...
Quit Hitting Out Balls!
#1023: Coach Thomas Yelloweyes in Oregon explains you're giving gifts to your opponents by hitting their balls that are going out. Tracie talks about how frustrating it is to have a partner who goes after every ball, hitting balls that are clea...
Bye Bye Backswing
#1022: IPTPA Master Pro Lisa Palcic talks about a common flaw even in advanced players, especially in former tennis players, who transition to pickleball and bring their backswing with them. She explains how there should be no "take back" in pi...
Take it out of the Air or Let it Bounce?
#1021: Coach Greg Dedrick, the manager at True Pickleball Club, explains how to make a rapid determination about whether to take a mid-court ball out of the air, or take a step back and let it bounce before hitting it. Attacking a ball sooner g...
Tune Out the Noise, Zone in on the Shoes
#1020: Coach Mindy Yoder talks about how to cope if you get distracted by other people on both sides of the court and how to quiet your own brain if you're bugged by a partner or opponents with a different skill level, physical ability or perso...
Good Things Can Happen in the Transition Zone
#1019: Former tennis players were trained to think of the back third of the court as "no man's land" — a place to get stuck, trapped or pulverized by opponents. Coach Thomas Yelloweyes explains how in pickleball, you can embrace the "transition...
Your Footwork Determines Glory or Disaster
#1018: Coach Leia Miller emphasizes how important footwork is in pickleball, and undervalued from beginners to advanced players. She discusses the proper stance, the significance of planting before hitting, and the dangers of crossing feet or b...
STOP! Before You Go
#1017: Coach Lisa Palcic urges her students: Don't forget the split step! In the rush to get to the kitchen after serving, people forget to put the brakes on when the opponents hit the ball. Getting to the kitchen from the baseline is best done...
Yours or Mine? Don’t Wind Up in “Divorce Court”
#1016: Deb "PicklePongDeb" Harrison calls the middle of the court "Divorce Court" because people bicker over whose shot it should have been when a ball flies past them both. Players should call it: "Mine"..."Me"..."I go"... Or conversely indica...
.png)
If it's not a drop & not a drive, it's the DRIP shot!
#1014: Coach Leia Miller explains how when you are serving, sometimes the 3rd shot — or the 5th shot — may not call for a drop. But neither is a drive the right move! Those situations might need a hybrid of the two shots — quite naturally refer...
The Poacher Who Can’t Stop Himself
#1015: Coach Greg Dedrick talks about what happens when a poaching partner gets too greedy — and how to handle a partner who cannot curb his own appetite to hit your balls!
Don’t Go Into a Tournament Until You Admit You Want to Win
#1013: Thomas Yelloweyes (IPTPA and PPR certified) of Night Train Pickleball in Oregon discusses how to decide if you’re ready in your personal PB journey to try a tournament? Admit you want to win — an admission he explains is tough for many p...
What Are You Cooking Up in the Kitchen?
#1012: IPTPA Master Coach Lisa Palcic explains that as you get better, your strategy at the kitchen needs to change. The NVZ is not just a place to practice your dinks, it's where you set up winning shots for yourself and your partner. Differen...
Don't Hate Lobs — Learn How to Control Them
#1002: Coach Leia Miller talks about how frustrating lobs can be and while they are rarely seen on the pro circuit, they can be a common weapon on the amateur court. She offers suggestions on how to keep them from rattling your cage, and even t...
You’re faster. Seniors Are Smarter. Guess Who Wins.
#1011: The beauty of PB is that it's played by a wide variety of ages. Coach Deb Harrison, who wins tournaments as a Super Senior, says age does matter... but maybe not in the way people assume. People say younger players have an advantage (leg...
.png)
The 3rd Shot Drop — Everybody’s Nemesis!
#1010: Coach Leia Miller describes the shot after your serve is returned to you as difficult because you need patience, timing and finesse — without muscling the ball. The "unattackable” 3rd shot drop is how the serving team gets up to the kitc...
The Serve Myth — What Every Pickleballer Gets Wrong
#1009: Coach Thomas Yelloweyes of Night Train Pickleball in Wilsonville, Oregon says the most important thing about the serve is not to dazzle (hoping ESPN is coming out to shoot a highlight reel of your killer serve!). Forget spin, slice and m...
The “Twoey” Backhand
#1008: Coach Veronica Alteri has a potent two-handed backhand — watching her and the pros who use two hands on the paddle from the backhand side makes it look really intriguing. Veronica talks about what you gain and what you give up using a tw...
Be Kinder to Yourself on the Court
#1007: Coach Mindy Yoder points out the ways that we can undermine ourselves on the court (name calling ourselves lazy, stupid) and suck the fun out of the game. If you’re being harsh to yourself, Mindy talks about how to interrupt and change t...
"Respect the X" — Do People Really Know What it Means?
#1006: This is an often-used but greatly misunderstood saying about which player takes the ball, depending on the angle at which it crosses the net. Coach Deb Harrison thinks beginners and intermediates may have never heard the phrase, whereas ...
.png)
"Sorry Not Sorry" — Is That Funny or Snarky?
#1005: Coach Leia Miller talks about common smirking reaction to making a point off a net cord hit — "Sorry... not sorry" and asks whether its funny — or rudely snarky? Other pickleball etiquette issues are responding to partners' errors with e...
