Claudia A. Fontana - Pickleball CPR: Coaching Pickleball Readiness

Copyright 2016 by Claudia A. Fontana

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-0-578-18422-7

Printed in USA by 48HrBooks www.48HrBooks.com

Illustrations by Anthony M. Fontana and Claudia A. Fontana

Photographs by Claudia A. Fontana

Book and Cover Design by Anthony M. Fontana

Rights and Disclaimer

This book was designed and developed from my more than 35 years of experience in coaching, teaching, and personal research. Its contents, personal observations, and opinions are my own. They are proposals of organized skill enhancement, coaching, and drills for the purpose of intensifying pickleball skill development.

There are pages in the Appendix that are well-marked and reproducible for the purpose of drill explanations and/or drill enhancement during coaching sessions. These are in no way to be deemed for public redistribution. The PB9- GRID, PB9(C)-GRID and PB13-GRID, are copyright-protected forms. All rights and privileges are reserved. Any use of the permissible reproduction worksheets is for personal use only by those who purchase this book.

Before you or your students engage in lessons or drilling, I strongly encourage all participants to consult a qualified physician.

All rights reserved.

To the Tahoe Gals

Susan Kaminsky, Theresa Connaughton,

Stephanie McDonald, Lisa Brochetti and Gigi Guerra.

whose pickleball friendships inspired my dream

of writing an activities book.

Pickleball CPR Drills Coaching Pickleball Readiness was conceived from the need expressed by many individuals from pickleball Ambassadors to coaches and players expressing a need for a hand-held reference where drills can be accessed. There are references already out there to tell you how to stand and place your feet for a stroke and give you strategies to the game. How this book is different is that it diagrams out the actual drill so you can have a visual reference for specific skills.

These are drills that would not only cover one stroke or one type of shot, but drills that have purpose and assignment to the required skills specific to pickleball. Being a coach and teacher, I have developed a multitude of drills I use regularly and specifically for group and personalized instruction.

Development of the PB9-GRID that I created, was an instrumental asset to drill development. These grids will be further defined and illustrated in the Court Hitting Location section of this edition.

When writing this reference, I was designing it with the coach in mind: easy to read and drills available at-a-glance, a reference to help a coach or player get a vision of what to work on specifically and not just hit the ball without a purpose for practice.

These drills are designed with gameplay in mind and many game situations that could take place on the court during play. There are thousands of situations and possibilities and many of the drills included within can be performed as stand-alone drills or combined to simulate just about any of those conditions.

The more a player practices correct repetitions with multiple feeds in a controlled atmosphere, the better the stroke memory and the mental groove of habit will evolve. Developing these good habits will better prepare the player to react in game situations with more confidence and control. By using Pickleball CPR Drills Coaching Pickleball Readiness, coaches, players and programs will have a winning edge that comes from sound fundamentals and strategic thoughts.

2014 2016 Current Activities

Project coordinator to refurbish and design local community pickleball courts.

Teach/Coach pickleball to local recreation departments.

USAPA Ambassador for Cuyahoga County Pickleball.

Teach/Coach pickleball and volleyball clinics.

2013 Retired from the Parma City School District.

2001 Inducted into the Independence High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

2000 Began teaching pickleball curriculum at the high school level.

1983 2013 Professional Career Breakdown:

30 years teaching health, physical education, recreation and dance for the Parma City School District.

17 years of classroom adapted physical education; designed individual physical education programs grades k-8.

13 years of classroom health and physical education, grades 9-12 traditional and adapted physical education.

10 years Health and Physical Education Department Chairperson.

Six years department Staff Facilitator for the school districts Health and Physical Education curriculum testing and enhancement programs.

25 years coaching including varsity volleyball, and softball. Three times coach-of-the-year honors.

Multiple speaking engagements for local school districts and university level educators for adapted and physical education programing.

1982 Masters Degree from Illinois State University in Adapted Physical Education, specializing in Individualized Educational Programing.

1981 Bachelors Degree from Heidelberg University in health, physical education, recreation, and dance.

12 intercollegiate varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and softball.

1977 Graduate of Independence High School.

Four years of varsity athletic competition in three major sports with multiple district and regional athletic honors.

When I finished graduate school, my dream was to write an activities book for adapted physical education teachers. At the time, there were minimal resources available for professionals in that field. To make a long story short, time and career took its toll and the lessons never moved from the plan book to a hard copy.

Before I knew it, retirement came and pickleball became my new passion. As teaching is in my heart and soul, it was the perfect fit when my friends, knowing I was a physical education instructor, began asking me how to play and asked if I could give them personal instruction. Being well-versed in movement, skill enhancement and possessing knowledge in various sports activities, my excitement for pickleball became more than just a passing fad. My dream of writing an activities book was re-kindled as many of my fellow Ambassadors around the country were clamoring for drills. When reading discussions online, I saw more and more people that were looking for drills and activities to help either themselves improve or to assist others in developing their game skills.

I started studying everything I could from the few books that are currently published to watching a myriad of videos online. I referenced as many activities books as I could and I even attended clinics from some of the best in the business. Being a teacher, a coach of multiple sports, and an athlete myself, I knew there was more that I could do in my own way to help expand pickleball. Thus, the thought, Hey, I can write my activities book.

Taking on this challenge to write a drills book for the sport of pickleball has been a process. While researching, I found several great publications that described what pickleball was through basic skill concepts, game strategies, and extensive gameplay techniques. However, very little was dedicated to drilling those skills exclusively. Thats when I decided to accept the personal challenge and started putting my personally designed drills down on paper. I have used them to improve my own game as well as to teach others in a small group and individual sessions. In addition to my original drills, also included are standard drills used by most every player or coach teaching today for warm-ups and small drills.