Prepare joints, movement patterns, balance, and ball control for play without creating early fatigue.
Equipment
- Pickleball paddles
- Pickleballs
- Pickleball court
Setup
Clear the court of loose balls and equipment. Partners share half a court and begin without a ball, leaving safe lateral spacing.
How to run it
1. Complete 2 minutes of comfortable walking or light jogging.
2. Move major joints through a comfortable range, then add controlled lateral shuffles and direction changes.
3. Perform split steps, recovery steps, and shadow forehands and backhands at half speed.
4. Add forward transition: move several steps, split on a partner cue, hold balance, and recover.
5. Finish with cooperative short-court hitting. Increase distance and pace only when both players look prepared.
Coach Dave’s cues
Move from general to pickleball-specific. Quality matters more than speed. Finish each pattern in a useful ready position. The warm-up should leave players increasingly prepared, not tired.
Watch for
Starting with explosive movement, treating pain as a target, using wet or cluttered surfaces, or continuing through sharp pain, dizziness, or unusual symptoms. Players should choose movements appropriate to current ability and injury status.