Belchertown Recreation Department
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Pickle ball is a paddle sport played on a badminton-sized court and can be described as a cross between tennis and ping-pong. It can be played as doubles or singles. The rules are simple and the game is easy for beginners to learn and play, but can develop into a quick, fast-paced, competitive game for experienced players.  Sneakers are required. 
Players registering for the first time are asked to register for the intro class.

Pay to Play Novice at OTH -
This four day program is pay to play.  Novice players will gather for an hour, meet new players and just have fun playing games.  An instructor will be present to support and keep score.  
 


 
Introduction to Pickleball
This four-week class is for those new to the game or for those who want more experience before moving onto the Beginner class. During this class participants will be introduced to basic rules, fundamentals of strokes, court positioning, and score keeping.  
 
Level 1 - Beginner 
The beginner class will focus on basics of the game. Throughout the class participants will continue to improve on the rules of the game, strokes, learn to serve and expanding their knowledge of score keeping.
 
Level 2 - Novice
- Moves n a sale and balanced manner
- Able to hit a forehand with direction
- Hits backhand(not run around it), but not in a consistent manner
- Can accurately place serve into correct area 75% of the time
- Demonstrate proper court positioning
- Able to accurately keep score
- Able to volley with some direction
- Understands basic rules (for example, two bounce rule, no volley zone)
- Able to sustain short rallies
 
Level 3 - Intermediate
- Has good mobility, good hand-eye coordination and good quickness of hands and feet
- Good stamina and/or physical conditioning
-Able to sustain medium length rallies against other intermediate players
- Has some understanding of pickleball strategy and successfully implements it at times
-Able to hit forehands and backhands with direction
- Able to sustain a dink rally
- Able to volley opponent's drives with some consistency. 
- Attempts drop shots with occasional success
- Often moves to non-volley zone with opportunity is there 
- Attempts overhead shots with some success, may not have proper technique
- Aware of partners position on court. 
 
Level 4 - Advanced Intermediate 
- Has very good pickleball footwork, very good mobility to cover the court, very good hand-eye coordination, as well as very good quickness for hands and feet.
- Has very good stamina and physical conditioning
- Sometimes plans and plays strategically at game speed
- Able to sustain medium to long rallies against other Advanced Intermediate players 
- Able to use forehand and backhand with pace,control and consistency.  
- Executes serve/return with ability to control depth and direction
- Attempts drop shots and is often successful
- Able to volley with some control
- Able to dink with some control of height/depth and sustain medium length rallies
- Moves to non-volley zone when opportunity is there
- Able to hit an overhead with some success, utilizing proper technique
- Aware of partner's position and communicates during play
 
Level 5 - Advanced
- Has excellent pickleball footwork, mobility and hand-eye coordination, as well as quick hands and feet
- Has excellent stamina and physical conditioning
- Plays strategically at game speed
- Player is able to sustain long rallies of varied pace against other Advanced players
- Consistently hits forehand and backhand with depth and control
- Consistently places serves/returns with varying depth and control
- Consistently attempts and is mostly successful at drop shots
- Consistently able to volley a variety of shots at different speeds. 
- Understands the block/reset volley and often can convert hard shots to soft shots
- Sustains a dink exchange with patience to elicit a "put away"{ shot
- Focuses on keeping opponents back
- Knows partner's position and able to move as a team, can switch, has good communication.
- Consistently executes overheads and has proper technique
- Able to control the no volley zone.




The Jabish Brook outdoor pickleball courts are located at 61 Springfield Rd.
The Chestnut Hill outdoor pickleball courts are located at 59 State St.

Please view the video below to be familiar with how the system works. 
Click Here for Pickleball Paddle Play Organizer Video


Pickleball

SKILLS & DRILLS Intermediate players
In this extended clinic (2.0 hours) with a small class. Bob Stephens & Laurie Shannon, PPR Certified Pickleball Coaches, will put you through specific drills designed to make you a smarter, more skillful doubles player.  Each session is developed for specific skill level players. You’ll get coaching advice, focused practice time and game situations centered on: Serve & Return, Drop shots and Transitioning to the Non-Volley Zone Line.  
                                *     *    *    *
Please refer to the above descriptions.
Once registered, the instructor will verify that the participant qualifies for this level.

Staff
  • Dorothy Cresswell and Dusty Miller, Beginner, Novice classes, have lived in Belchertown for 20 years and both are retired teachers. They are pickleball enthusiasts, having learned the game in Florida and started teaching pickleball in Belchertown soon after! In retirement Dorothy is an active member of the Children's Music Network with three award-winning albums of family music. Dusty has written 5 Alice Ott mysteries and produced three Reader's Theaters. They love how pickleball has created so many new friendships and connections.
  • Jennifer Whitehead, Beginner, Novice classes, was hooked from the start, when she learned how to play pickleball. She has coached all ages in basketball for over 20 years and looks forward to teaching others the fun game of pickleball.
  • Larry Davis, Newbie, Beginner, Novice classes, a Belchertown resident for 45 years, worked at UMass/Amherst in the field of Public Health for 36 years before retiring. Larry has been playing pickleball since 2017 and loves the sport. Larry has been a Belchertown Recreation pickleball instructor since 2019. His interests include kayaking, biking, windsurfing and hiking.
  • Terri Cain, Newbie instructor is delighted to share her love of pickleball with others. After years teaching in a classroom, she’s happy to bring her instructional skills to the pickleball court. When not ‘pickling’ she enjoys kayaking.
  • Bob Stephens, Intermediate/Advanced, PPR Certified Pickleball Coach, has 4 years pickleball experience and muli-sport, High School Level, coaching experience including 3 years as a Varsity Tennis Coach at McDuffie School.
  • Laurie Shannon, PPR Certified Pickleball Coach
  • Instructors
  • CHCS - Dorothy Cresswell & Dusty Miller
  • OTH - Theresa Cain

Registration Deadline
  • Deadline date is 10 days prior to the start of the program.
  • A $10.00 late fee applies to all registrations after the deadline
  • The instructor will be in contact if a make-up date is necessary

Register Activity Ages Grades Days Date/Time Fees
 
   Log In
Level 2 Novice - Pay to Play 
18y and up N/A Th  01/02/2025 - 01/23/2025
09:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Old Town Hall 		$35.00 Res, $45.00 Non-Res
4 seat(s) available
 
   Log In
Level 1 Beginner - Tues. mornings 
18y and up N/A Tu  12/03/2024 - 12/17/2024
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Old Town Hall 		$30.00 Res, $40.00 Non-Res
5 seat(s) available
 
   This Activity Full
  Log In
Level 2 Novice - Tues.  
18y and up N/A Tu  12/03/2024 - 12/17/2024
12:00 PM - 01:15 PM
Old Town Hall 		$30.00 Res, $40.00 Non-Res
0 seat(s) available
 
   Log In
Level 3 Intermediate - Wed. mornings 
18y and up N/A W  12/04/2024 - 12/18/2024
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Old Town Hall 		$45.00 Res, $55.00 Non-Res
2 seat(s) available
 
   This Activity Full
  Log In
Level 2 - Novice - Friday Evenings 
18y and up N/A F  11/01/2024 - 11/22/2024
05:30 PM - 06:45 PM
Chestnut Hill Community School - Gymnasium 		$35.00 Res, $45.00 Non-Res
0 seat(s) available
 
   This Activity Full
  Log In
Level 2 - Novice - Pay to Play 
18y and up N/A TuTh  12/10/2024 - 12/19/2024
09:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Old Town Hall 		$35.00 Res, $45.00 Non-Res
0 seat(s) available
 
   Log In
Level 2 - Novice - Pay to Play 
18y and up N/A Th  01/02/2025 - 01/23/2025
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Old Town Hall 		$35.00 Res, $45.00 Non-Res
1 seat(s) available
* Adjustments and discounts will be applied during checkout if applicable. *

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