Running Out of Drill Ideas? Try These Proven Lesson Plans Coaches Swear By
By Jorge Capestany, RSPA Master Professional, and PTR International Master Professional
Let’s be honest… It’s not that you want to run the same drills over and over.
It’s that you don’t really have the time to research what new drills to use, so you’re getting bored, and your players can feel it.
Most pickleball coaches don’t struggle because they lack effort. They struggle because they don’t have a repeatable system for building practices.
So every day becomes: “Hmm… what should we do today?” That’s exhausting.
The Shift: Stop Thinking “Drills”… Start Thinking “Structure”
The best coaches don’t rely on random drills; they rely on a plug-and-play practice formula.
Swiping our proven lesson plan templates is something you do immediately:
Proven Lesson Plan Templates
Over the years, I’ve bounced back and forth in my use of lesson plan templates.
There were years when I was dedicated to always walking onto the court with a printed physical lesson plan in hand.
Ten years ago, there were times when I told myself, “I’ve got to do it on the fly.” I thought I knew enough just to read the situation and come up with a drill on the spot.
The truth is, I was best when I had a written lesson plan.
But what would that lesson plan consist of, and should I have different lesson plans for different types of classes, like kids, adults, and high-performance?
Ultimately, I decided I needed two categories of lesson plans to cover all the classes I was teaching.
These include:
Category 1: Generic Lesson Plan
This template is for when your players want a general pickleball lesson.
Meaning they’re not necessarily asking for just a lesson on dinks, but pickleball in general.
This template includes the following areas:
1. Dynamic Warm Up (movement with and without a paddle)
2. Non-Volley Zones Drills (dinks and volleys)
3. Transition Zone Drills (resets, volleys, and overheads)
4. Baseline Zone Drills (serves, returns, and third shots)
5. Point Play Drills (competition with a scoreboard)
6. Class Dismissal: (homework and cool down)
Category 2: Specific Lesson Plan
This template should be used when your students want a lesson on a more specific area of their game.
We allow the student to pick the areas to practice from the same categories (zones) as above.
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Non-Volley Zones Drills (dinks and volleys)
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Transition Zone Drills (resets, volleys, and overheads)
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Baseline Zone Drills (serves, returns, and third shots)
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Point Play Drills (competition with a scoreboard)
Then the coach searches for those types of drills in our massive library of drills.
Suppose the student really wants to spend most of the lesson working on their third shot drops.
The third shot drop is a skill that comes from the baseline zone, so that is where I would filter and search for it on the Pickleball Drills HQ website.
You can download an editable version of all our Lesson Templates using the link below.
Swipe Editable Lesson Templates – Click Here!
A Closer Look at the Lesson Plan Template Areas
1. Dynamic Warm Up (5-10 minutes)
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This includes dynamic warm-ups with and without a racket.
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Don’t skip this activity, or your players may be more prone to injury
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2. Non-Volley Zones Drills (10-15 minutes)
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These drills include dinks, volleys, and any other shots that occur at or around the kitchen line.
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We often start with these drills because the players use a smaller court area until they are more warmed up.
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3. Transition Zone Drills (10-15 minutes)
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These drills include resets, volleys, overheads, and other shots that occur in the transition zone between the baseline and kitchen.
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This may be the most overlooked area of practice for many players, so it’s important to include these drills to maximize improvement.
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4. Baseline Zone Drills (10-15 minutes)
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These drills include serves, returns, lobs, groundstrokes, and third shot drops and drives.
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Make sure you also teach players skills to get off the baseline and to the kitchen when practicing in this zone.
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5. Point Play Drills (10-15 minutes)
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These drills include playing games or at least scoring points, and allow the coach to observe the players in a competitive setting.
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The players must serve, return, and keep score to simulate an actual game-like experience with scoreboard pressure.
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6. Class Dismissal: (3-5 minutes)
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This time should include a review of what was covered, a physical cool-down, and homework (drills) to complete before the next class.
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