We probably play at least a little bit of cutthroat/3 player game at least once per week.
My least favorite number is 5 players because the odd one out has nothing to do. At least with 7 there are people to hit the ball with when waiting.
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Iāve not played doubles because it involves a lot of running. (Iām a runner and would be willing to try if somebody else I knew was interested.) But now Iām wondering if there could be a drill-like game where only half the court is used (but diagonal play).
There is. You start at 0-0 and play diagonally. If you get a point on serve you go to the other service side and play straight across. So you play the even or odd side depending on your score and you play diagonally when you are both even or odd and straight across when one is odd and the other is even. If you miss a serve it goes right to the other side (you dont get two serves). The only tricky part is calling in/out in the kitchen because there is no center line there.
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Weāve done a fun thing with 5 players: 4 players start, the 5th player replaces the person who makes the error, so a new player enters at every point. The score belongs to the side but not any players. Some rallys are long, so thereās time for a drink and a rest; other times you just have time to get to the other side 
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We do this in my drills sessions. It encourages people to try things they might not want to do if they are at risk of ālosing.ā
Iām not understanding - you say you havenāt played doubles? I think of pickleball as almost always doubles?
Ha, I said that wrong. I have only played PB with 4 players, never just two of us (except to dink while warming up).
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I am playing in a league this spring for the first time. It is an 8-week beginners instructional league, coached by one of the pros at my club (Lifetime.) We have 30 minutes of instruction then play 3 games with rotating players, which count towards our DUPR rating. I do not have a DUPR rating yet so I am interested to see how it shakes out. Friends that have played in leagues say it often doesnāt make sense, so weāll see. My guess is I am around a 2.4. First session was this morning - I won 2 games (11-2, 11-9) and lost one (12-10.) Felt pretty good about my play but also just tried to have fun and work on skills! Each week from here on out we will be seeded based on the results from the previous week. The goal is to be on court 1 with the better players. I like the competitive aspect of the league as it forces me to really think about my play, but I enjoy playing with my womenās group more where we can be more relaxed and laugh a lot.
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One of the PB players went to a session to get a DUPR rating, and she wound up much lower than she thought she would be. There werenāt many people at the session, and it was a couple of really good players and a couple of not so great, but probably low intermediate players. Now sheās āstuckā with that DUPR rating, and others in our group are hesitant to see how weād fare.
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Iāve actually heard of that happening to a few people I know. I guess sometimes better players āsandbagā a DUPR event to raise their rating. Iām not sure how it works, but it sounds like a 4.0 player signing up for a 3.25 event and winning all their games by a lot.
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As the pickleball program grows at Lifetime, the folks who run it are doing a good job of sorting out the various levels of play and making sure no one is overmatched beyond their ability or playing with lower rated players to boost their own DUPR. In my personal pb world, the rating really doesnāt matter beyond just being curious about it. I have no interest in playing with the intermediates (3.0+) and my womenās group is a good mix of 2.2 - 2.8 players and I am comfortably in the middle of that group. So not something I will hyper-focus on.
I did, however, find out tonight that I am seeded #1 for the league next week! Iām sure I wont stay in that position but it does feel good to have had success on day 1 of league play. My first DUPR score came out at 2.68, but that really doesnāt mean anything after just 3 matches with the same people. Win or lose, I am having so much fun playing a sport again! Havenāt done any competitive athletics since high school, and didnāt realize how much I miss it. Itās a joy to be getting exercise because I love it rather than because itās something I need to do. The community aspect is huge too - I love all my new Pb friends!
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PB is the only sport Iāve ever done for long, unless you count bicycling as a sport. Iāve become what i would call a solid intermediate player (compared to people that play where I play and what people say - I am no expert and I donāt have a DUPR). I really enjoy it, and how most āPB peopleā are very nice and pretty welcoming. I really like playing outside, but this winter/early spring weāve had to play insider a fair amount, because of the wet/windy weather.
ETA - I belonged to Lifetime Fitness for 14 years until COVID hit. Then we bought gym quality equipment for our home, and now itās just so expensive I canāt justify the cost.
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I hope to be Intermediate someday. But itās more likely that Iāll just hang in the Bronze (beginner/advanced-beginner) crowd here forever. Getting a little better over time, but mobility will slow down at some point. Thatās fine. By then Iāll probably have better skills and consistency. Thinking it might be fun to mentor the younger/newer players someday.
This morn I did a last minute sign up to fill a cancellation in 8 player (2 courts) coached Bronze play at local indoor place. Always fun to play and meet new people.
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It took me a looooong time to bite the bullet for adding a pricey gym membership to the monthly budget. But I am not at all good at motivating myself to do weight-training, and we donāt have good space for a full set-up in our home. A good friend talked me into trying Lifetime and it has literally been life-changing for me; it has become my third space. Our club has a very strong Aurora (55+) program including fitness classes and special events, and they work hard to build connections within that demographic. And the pickleball program has exploded, with so many opportunities for open play (by level), clinics, lessons, leagues and tournaments plus no charge court reservations. I am now there every week-day and sometimes on the week-ends, and I have gym friends in all the classes I take and of course on the PB courts. Itās a great community and I look forward to heading out the door each morning (I have heard that not all LT clubs have this same welcoming culture.) Another plus is that my membership includes the outdoor pools, which are really nice at our club. Looking forward to spending some time in the lap pool and hanging out poolside this summer!
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I really liked it when I belonged. In my āsick mindā it was worth the cost, because if I didnāt pay a lot I likely wouldnāt show up, but since I was paying a lot, I was determined to use it. Sad fact though - even though I belonged for well over 10 years, I only EVER went to 1 spin class, and 0 other classes, despite almost all of them being included in the membership. Now that Iām retired I would probably go to more classes, but I have a group of pickleball players (I āmanageā a group of 14 people) that plays 3 times a week, and I try to bike 2 days a week, so I stay busy enough/the cost of Lifetime would likely not be worth it for me. When I left back in 2020, PB wasnāt even played at my club. Now Iām guessing it is.
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I paid low membership fees (about $15/mo, reimbursed in the beginning) for many years at work even though there were times I could not get that at all for long stretches of time. (This was most frustrating was when I literally was next door, had a cubicle in a big room that shared a wall with the fitness center.). I liked the noon classes, and work schedules often precluded me from attending. Butā¦. many friends were able to take advantage, and I didnāt mind supporting it.
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Yesterdayās PB was 1 hour coached gameplay at 9am at the indoor club. I had seen it was full the night before but at 8:10am I happened to look and see there was a cancellation. It was a bit of a splurge ($18), but it got me indoor opportunity without having to arrange day/time with others.
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My frustration on this rainy Monday morning. When the weather is bad, my group usually plays at an indoor facility, during āopen play,ā where they assign courts based on peopleās (self selected in most cases) rating. Over time, you learn about other people. If I rate myself as 3.5, I often wind up playing with people I am much better than, and itās not fun for me or for them. Normally 3.7 works pretty well. BUT, today I see a some male ābangersā signed up, and I am not at my best/just donāt feel like working that hard, plus in some of the cases Iām just not as good as they are. I havenāt decided if Iām going to change my rating, or just hope for the best. Most PB days are just fun, but Iām not looking forward to todayās session. It doesnāt help that Iāve already been up for a couple of hours/have lots of things on my mind. Thanks for listening to my little rant 
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Iāve been having such fun in varying, overlapping groups of advanced beginners. Often it involves getting up early (not my favorite thing) for the $10 bargain 7am indoor courts, so Iāve really been appreciating the morning daylight.
This morning we had a pretty closely matched 4-some, lots of extended hits/volleys regardless of the pairings. We laughed a lot, and sometimes we forgot the score, or even who had served. LOL - weāre just not used to the ball staying active for so long.
When I get frustrated over my ball not getting over the net, I have to remind myself that a few months ago I might not have even reached the ball. step1 - connect, step2-make it a good shot. Iām not always sure where the ball will go, but today I did get some nice points when successfully shooting to the middle (between players). Itās a technique that works a lot at our level, especially with no regular partner / established patterns.
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I saw a Facebook post that provided guidance on how to determine where you might fit in the DUPR Rating system based on your skill levels. Here is a link to the online blog. If I rate myself according to this guidance, I would be close to a 4.0 player, definitely higher than 3.5 (I never avoid backhand shots and can hit them well; I can serve deep consistently.) This is not at all how the ratings shake out at my club! On my best of days, I would put myself with those who are 2.8/2.9. No way am I wanting to play with the 3.0-3.5 players, who are either very skilled or ābangersā like you mentioned. The 4.0 players are the ones we watch in awe! So there seems to be a lot of inconsistencies with the DUPR ratings! Hope your play today was better and more fun than you anticipated. We had a small group of 5 women today, all the same level of ability and we had some great sustained volleys. So much fun!
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