3 Key things to look for in choosing a Pickleball partner
Surprisingly, one of the most common questions I get asked as a pro pickleball player is “how do you choose your team or your partners?”
It’s a valid question and one that I wanted to dive more into. The saying, you are only as strong as the weakest link could not apply more than in Pickleball. Who you choose as a partner matters and matters a lot.
At the high level, and I suppose, at all levels, the partner you choose can drastically affect the outcome of a match. I’ve always said this, but I truly believe if you don’t have a suitable partner, someone who is close to your skill level or better, it is near impossible to win match after match. Sure, you can win a match here or there, but to be able to win, win, win and win again, is near impossible, especially as you compete against higher level players.
3 key things
Chemistry - Do you like the person you are playing with? Believe it or not, there are many players who simply don’t like certain players, so putting those players together despite having the same goal to win, is a recipe for disaster. Is the person someone you enjoy talking with? If so, it will probably be easier to build chemistry and work towards a goal. If not, it still can be done, but makes it much more difficult and is evident by all. As soon as the other team wins a few points, that could be the breaking point and everything after that can spiral downward. This causes for headache, frustration, awkwardness and a variety of other feelings you hope to never experience during a Pickleball match.
Strengths / weaknesses - Do your strengths and weaknesses compliment one another? For example, can one of you be the aggressor while the other is the consistent player? If neither of you like to attack balls, it might mean staying in points 2-3x longer than normal and struggling against specific play styles, are you prepared for doing that? What about the reverse, where both you and your partner only attack balls? That might work to a certain level, but as you get better, you will need variety of shots and if both players only can attack, that makes it difficult to beat different play styles. What is your favorite shot, do you like to drive or drop 3rd shots? All of this is critical information that you need to know in order to have success with your partner. Identify those strengths and weaknesses.
Adaptability - Nothing ever goes 100% as planned. Are you and your partner able to adapt to different situations? I know players who only play a certain style. They may do well against a very specific play style, but once they compete against other play styles, they don’t do well. They are stubborn and resist change. Athletes adjust, and you and your partner need to learn to adapt to certain situations. If a certain shot isn’t working against a team, are you/your partner going to try and force that shot, or will you learn to adapt and use a different shot? If your 3rd shot drives aren’t working, are you going to continue to drive the 3rd ball, or will you try dropping it? That is what adaptability is, adapting to each situation.
Without having these key traits, it is hard to have success with a partnership. If you’re lacking in one of the areas, I recommend you talk to your partner and work on it, if the partner doesn’t want to work on it, that might be a sign to move on to another partner.. if they do, then you should be able to correct it and become a strong team.