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When you started playing pickleball, you knew nothing about it. But it seemed interesting, so you learned a little bit here and a little more over there. Eventually, you felt OK about your game, but then … you were stuck.

That is what we refer to in our coaching as the “Pickleball Plateau.” How do we end up on the Plateau? And is there something we can do about it? In this article we're going to break down why players get stuck and how they can move past the stage of feeling stuck.

What is the Pickleball Plateau?

The Pickleball Plateau simply refers to a common stage along most pickleball players’ growth journey where they appear to be staying at the same level. It is usually characterized by frustration and a sense of helplessness.

The good news is that plateauing is not permanent. But first we have to understand why we Plateau at all.

HOW YOU IMPROVE

To understand why we get stuck, we first need to work through how we improve. Here are the elements of improving as a pickleball player:

1. You want to improve. This may seem self-evident, but it is not. There are players who are not interested in improvement. And that is fine – they are entitled to play this sport as they wish.

2. You obtain proper guidance. These are the inputs you will use to improve. As you will see below, there is more to this than meets the eye, and flaws in guidance are a common source of plateauing.

3. You put in the work. Improvement does not happen just because you will it. The more work you put in, the more you improve. Pretty straightforward.

4. Rinse and repeat.

Guidance is key

As I noted above, improvement is predicated on having the proper guidance. You can think of it as a roadmap (or plan if you prefer). How can you expect to get from where you are to where you want to be without a path to get there? Seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?

Yet many players who want to improve find themselves going round and round with no forward progress. And it is because they do not have a clear roadmap.

YouTube

YouTube is probably the most common source of pickleball guidance out there. There are hundreds of instructional pickleball videos posted each week to YouTube. Views per week has to be around 500,000. That’s a lot of content and a lot of interaction with it.

So what’s wrong with that? In theory, nothing. Players get to hear different pickleball approaches from a variety of content creators. Sounds good. The problem is in the lack of a framework from which to interpret and make an informed decision about the video’s usefulness to a player.

Let’s use car repair videos as an example. They too are in the thousands of views. But there is a framework to their use: the car. Say you get a video entitled “5 Tips to make your car perform better.” Sounds good, right?

But you open the video and see a 1982 Porsche 911 on it. Unless you have one of those (which admittedly are pretty nice), then you know that video is not for you. Even if you have the car, if you are watching the video, you probably know enough about cars in general (their “framework”) to know that the suggestion to install a supercharger on your Porsche is not for you.

In pickleball, things are different. Most players do not have an understanding of the framework of the game. And there is no car to make it easier on us. This results in the following errors:

1. A player will follow a video that is incorrect. Yes, there are videos that are incorrect. Not frequent, but it happens.

2. More commonly, a player will attempt to follow a video that is not for where the player is right now. Often, not even close. You end up with 3.0 players thinking that what they need right now is a high-spin third shot drop. What??

3. As common, players trying to adopt something from a video without understanding how the principle fits into a bigger picture of the game. A good example here is the third-shot drive, fifth-shot drop. This is a fine concept to be used when it makes sense … but not always.

Add to this that most players are watching YouTube videos based on the video being suggested to the player by an algorithm. This algorithm has no clue what the player needs. All it knows is: this player likes this sort of video and watches a lot of them. Bam. Another video served up.

By now you’re getting the idea: YouTube isn’t an ideal guide for your game unless you have a framework through which you can interpret the videos to determine if they are correct and also right for you right now.

Local guidance

This takes two shapes. One is a local pro. Here you can have some success getting the right roadmap. What you are looking for is a coach who understands pickleball, can teach it to you AND has a plan for your improvement.

Stay away from any coach who cannot provide you with clear guidance as you work on your game. The other shape of local guidance is the scuttlebutt at your local courts.

“Hey did you see …?” “You know what you need?” uttered by a player in your same open play. Stay far away from this latter source of “guidance.” If you aren’t sure, they certainly are not either. If you care about your pickleball, be polite (if you want) but do not take this sort of talk without anything other than the proverbial grain of salt.

Online programs

Online pickleball academies have proliferated recently. I cannot speak to any other than our own. But here is some guidance for determining whether the academy will do the trick. If the academy is a do-it-yourself sort of model, then use it if you already have the framework from which to navigate the content.

Think of the academy as a refined version of YouTube content. The videos will likely be a bit more meaty than a random YouTube video and perhaps even come in a series (ours do), but you are still the arbiter of your learning process: Determining whether a video is suited to you right now is up to you.

The only online program that I am aware of that has a real step-by-step curriculum is The Pickleball System. While the program is not free, we do not let financial limitations prevent committed players from accessing quality pickleball training -- money is not a hindrance to joining The Pickleball System if you are up for it. Be on the lookout for our upcoming Spring 2026 class.

Work is next

Once you have the right guidance, you need to put in the work. Sticking to the plan is important. Pick a shot or strategy and stick with it until you have brought it into your game. It sort of goes without saying, but the more work you put in, the faster your game will improve.

Many pros use an 80/20 split of their time with 80% of their time spent drilling. The closer you get to 80%, the faster you’ll train your mind and body to consistently hit the shot you are working on.

If you want to read more about the steps to move off the Plateau once you have the proper guidance, check out this related article.

Plateauing is natural

As you navigate your “stuckedness” remember that being on the plateau is not because of you. Plateauing is natural to growth in any complex activity. And pickleball is no exception. Give yourself credit for being willing to take a risk and put yourself out there as you work on your game. As long as you remain willing to learn, pickleball will have a lesson for you. It is humbling – but also exciting – to be a part of this endless source of growth.

If you're looking for more insights into high-level pickleball, the Better Pickleball Academy has you covered. You’ll also gain access to their easy to use “BP Play Guides” including middle dinking patterns and more. Use code "KITCHEN26" at checkout for a special offer just for Kitchen community members (3 months for the price of 2).

Tony Roig is a nationally-recognized coach, Sr. Pro Player, developer of “Respect the X” on the In2Pickle YouTube channel, and the voice behind the Pickleball Therapy podcast. Visit BetterPickleball.com for information on coaching from Tony and the BP team through their Camps, Academy, and No. 1 online training program: The Pickleball System.