Session formats for Developing Pickleball in New Zealand

TL;DR (Too Long didn't Read) 

The 2025 New Zealand Open highlighted the sport's growth and community effort. Since 2018, I've focused on creating playing opportunities for kiwis at all levels. New Zealand pickleball is shifting from participation to development, requiring clubs to balance different session types. Key formats I've led include:

• Moneyball: Competitive sessions where players adapt their play styles to succeed with various partners, enhancing game pressure and adaptability.

• Women-Only Sessions: Designed to empower women to play lead roles, addressing the imbalance in mixed sessions and fostering confidence in gameplay.

• Practice and Play Sessions: Focus on skill development with coaching, allowing players

  to practice in a structured environment.

These initiatives support player growth and inclusivity, ensuring the sport continues to thrive in New Zealand. Link to the Moneyball Format. Link to PlanitPro Pickleball sessions. Link to my services.

Intro

Recently I had an absolute blast playing at the 2025 New Zealand Open! It was clearly a phenomenal effort from all those involved in the tournament to make it as big and as high quality as possible. Playing against people all around the country and spinning yarns gave me plenty to reflect upon post tournament. So I am going to try summarize my 5 cents on where New Zealand Pickleball is at and I believe what the next steps to accelerate our development.

My Journey

My main objective in Pickleball is to assist in creating opportunities for kiwis to play the game at every level. Since I began leading sessions in 2018, I have pursued this by:

• Organizing participation sessions

• Previously owning Pickleball Stuff NZ

• Advising new groups and clubs across the country

• Running tournaments

• Being part of the team that founded the Wellington Pickleball Club

• Becoming the Wellington Pickleball Clubs head coach

• Promoting the use of DUPR in New Zealand

• Becoming a certified coach to qualify other coaches

• Establishing my coaching business

  
  

It's fair to say I'm deeply committed to this fantastic sport, much like many other kiwis. I've witnessed its growth from a small community playing over lowered badminton nets hitting jugs with wooden paddles to semi-professional kiwis having the chance to showcase their talents globally in just 7 years!

Over the past couple of years in New Zealand, pickleball has been transitioning from primarily focusing on participation to also emphasizing development. While some regions have been managing this growth for a longer time, it is now consistently occurring across the country. This shift means that many clubs and groups are now required to divide their focus across various types of sessions.

I understand how challenging it is to satisfy everyone, whether you are playing to support your physical health, connect with others, enhance your mental well-being, or test your abilities under pressure. These are all excellent reasons to play, but they can make it difficult for organizers to create a format that meets all needs. We are at a point where we need to prioritize some of these objectives for different sessions.

The feedback from top players at the recent tournament was the lack of quality sessions to enhance to support development. In a small country where the sport is growing, this poses a challenge. It can result in players participating only in exclusive groups, which diminishes the social aspect of the game and limits opportunities for others to grow. We are at a point where we need sessions that support our development while providing pathways to different levels of play. I am sure there are New Zealand clubs that have formats that are doing wonders for their players development, I would love to hear about them! Here are three session formats I've led successfully in Wellington.

Moneyball

When I was playing in Australia, I got to see how they run some of their mini tournaments. One that I got the opportunity to play was Moneyball. This was competitive session on the Gold Coast where you have 12 players that play once with everyone and play twice against everyone. The recorded results showed a top four that is decided by differential, 1st spins a paddle to decide whether they play with 3rd or 4th then they play off for money! They had a group of 4.5+ players who got preferential entry by a 48 hours before other 4.0+ players could also enter.

As this was skill level based not gender you would come across match ups such as 2 men vs 2 women or 3 and 1 but this did not matter as everyone was high level and differential dictated the final 4. So what you had to focus on was how can I be the best partner for my teammates playstyle. This meant often the best teammates were one the ones who would be in the final.

Moneyball makes you switch between these playstyles to find success as what works with one partner may stitch up another. Likewise you would have to adjust strategy for who you are facing. We took this idea to Wellington early in this year and it gave players no where to hide. Just like Australia we give early access registrations for those who are above 4.5+ to keep quality and then work down a list of developing players. No matter who shows up you have to find a way to play well with everyone or else you may not make that final.

I am happy to share this format to which ever New Zealand group wants it as this will test your game. I have formats for 8, 9, 12, and 13 players. I have also got a 16 player Mixed Moneyball which is slightly different as you will not play with the opposite gender player that is the same rank as you and will play one of the same gender similar ranked players twice (this is the 8th game which is worth half differential to make it fair) this is still a great format that we play once a month. I have linked in the TLDR please copy paste into your own google sheets.

Women only sessions

I previously mentioned the importance of expanding our game without fostering exclusivity. Nonetheless, it's important to consider having women-only sessions. In Pickleball, different roles come into play, and initially, the center T line typically means each player covers 50% of the court.

During the development phase of Pickleball, there are times when one player is being dynamic playing more court, posing a significant threat by hitting winners or forcing errors. I often refer to this as the lead role.

When a player takes on the lead role, the opposition often avoids them and instead targets their partner, who then receives numerous shots in a limited space. I call this the support role.

These roles are not permanent, and depending on the game's flow, you may switch from sharing the court equally to taking on the lead or support role, possibly all within a single rally!

The issue with our mixed sessions is that men frequently attempt shots that are slightly out of their reach, resulting in low-quality plays simply because they can reach the ball (I am guilty of this as well). This often turns them into low-quality leads, compelling the women to take on a support role and compensate for their partner being out of position. In mixed games, this forces women into an excessive support role. What we need is for players to learn both lead and support roles. In comparison to Australia, New Zealand currently is still developing women who can confidently take on the lead role. This isn't because of a lack of talent, as many women in New Zealand are capable of covering 60-80% of the court with the potential for a decisive play. I believe the issue lies in the lack of opportunities to practice the lead role.

We tried to address this in Wellington by having a Women's Moneyball session. This is a similar set up to the Open Moneyball where we have a 4.0+ group that get priority entry and then developing players that we contact to offer spots to if it does not fill up. From this we are seeing a lot more games where players are given the opportunity to play the lead role which has lead to dynamic games were you can see players switching between roles. A highlight of this growth was in the New Zealand Open I was fortunate to play with Brittany Yang, due to both Moneyball formats this gave us both opportunities to be in lead and support roles which resulted in rallies where I just sat in support as she took players on 2v1! If you want to push the development of women in your club, give them their own competitive sessions so they can own their space.

Practice and play sessions

Right now I can guarantee there are players in your clubs that will be drilling in pairs more than playing. Searching for any and all information online to support their practice of the latest and greatest shots. This is something that all players who are prioritizing developing their abilities should do but there is something as important that needs to go along side this, detecting and correcting.

Having a coach who can observe and provide feedback on unnoticed aspects of your shots and decisions enhances your playstyle and broadens your understanding of your game. This doesn't necessarily require one-on-one coaching; instead, it can be a group session for players of similar skill levels, where they can practice a skill that is then incorporated into a game scenario.

To facilitate this type of session, coaches are essential. Encourage members of your clubs or groups to pursue coaching certifications. I am admittedly biased, but I strongly believe that all players need coaches to aid their development. These can be top players or individuals with the necessary knowledge and experience. This role not only establishes a foundational level of play but also serves as a resource for placing developing players into high-level groups at the appropriate time.

I usually run group sessions that last from 90 to 120 minutes, accommodating 8 to 16 players with assistance is available. During the first half of the session, players learn the skill, make decisions about when to apply it in a game-like context, and figure out their positioning. In the second half, they practice the skill in a game setting, receiving feedback to understand its application.

This type of session provides players with the fundamentals of a skill, guidance on how to practice it, and suitable opponents to compete against in a controlled environment.

I currently manage 3 skill level groups, offering players the opportunity to advance as they show improvement. The advantage of this coach-led group session is that it allows the coach to observe progress in real time! I take these sessions with PlanItPro Pickleball on Sundays, through my Academy on Mondays, and with Total Pickleball on Tuesdays.

Summary

Participating in the 2025 New Zealand Open has underscored the sport's remarkable evolution and the community's dedication to its growth. My journey since 2018 has been focused on expanding opportunities for players across the country, and it's exciting to see how far we've come.

The shift towards development in New Zealand's pickleball scene is essential for fostering a thriving community. By implementing varied session formats like Moneyball, and women-only sessions, and Practice and play sessions we are not only enhancing skill levels but also ensuring that players can adapt to different challenges on the court.

As we continue to nurture this vibrant sport, the commitment to development and inclusivity will pave the way for even greater achievements in the future. Let's keep pushing the boundaries of pickleball together!

If you are travelling to Wellington and want to be in either of our Moneyball sessions we play on Sundays at 5:30pm every other week. Reach out to me and I am happy to send the link or add people to the Whatsapp groups for those above 4.0+ or 4.5+ where relevant. I take Practice and Play type sessions on Sunday afternoons. Links to these sessions and my Academy sessions are in the TL:DR