8 Ways to Find Pickleball Beginner Lessons

Want to know how to find where you can learn pickleball near you? This in-depth guide has all the answers you need.

As of April 2024, the USA Pickleball Places2Play database saw an addition of at least 1,000 new pickleball locations, bringing the total number of locations to 11,885 all over the US.

USA Pickleball

With this explosive growth, you won’t be short of places to play and instructors to teach you wherever you are in the US.

Best Ways To Find Pickleball Beginner Classes Near You

I have been searching online for suitable classes, but it can still be a challenge because I don’t know who is reliable. Also, there are a lot of pickleball classes “hidden” in tennis club websites.

They can be easy to miss, making me think they only have tennis lessons, even if they provide great and helpful pickleball coaching programs.

Before you find a class, answer these questions first:

Where are you located?	Group lesson or 1 to 1 private coaching?	How long can you commit?
Coach qualifications like PPR Certification?	Do you need to borrow pickleball gear?	Your court or not?
Indoors or outdoors?	Are you searching for a kid, junior, or adult?	What’s your budget?

Now that you are clear with what you are looking for, the next thing is to refer to the following sources below to find your nearest available classes and coaches.

1. Local YMCAs

Not all YMCAs provide pickleball classes, but you can look them up starting from YMCA USA directory. Here are the steps:

First, go to your computer or phone and open up your internet browser. Mine is Google Chrome, while yours may be Safari, Microsoft Edge, etc. All can work fine.

Next, go to the YMCA directory and you will this page:

Under the tab that says “Find Your Y”, there’s a search form. Enter your location in the field provided and click the button “Search YMCAs”.

If you are using a desktop, various YMCAs will appear on the left, and you will see that the space on the right will change to the map of your location.

I typed in “Miami” as an example, but do enter something more specific to your area, for example, “Bradenton YMCA” for it to show more centres around your community.

As for mobile, just swipe down to select your location to find your nearest YMCA website. Click on the “Visit Website” button and it will take you to the YMCA of your choice.

In the website of your selected location, search for “pickleball” with their search function, or select their Programs tab to look for “pickleball”. Do take note that every local YMCA website is independently operated.

This also means that not all of them provide pickleball lessons and the YMCA of the USA does not have authority over them.

Next, you will be brought to a page with information about pickleball. In this example, you can select the “Register Now” button.

Depending on your local YMCA, you may be brought to a page with an online form or you may have to call them to book your lessons.

2. US Pickleball Association Club Directory

Another way is to access the database of the US Pickleball Club directory. It includes links to pickleball clubs in both the USA and Canada.

There are now 1,071 clubs submitted to this directory. Enter the location you are in the fields provided. You will see a list of results showing below. Click on the website button on the right side to visit the club’s page.

That’s where you can contact the administrator or owner of the club to register for your classes.

These are individual clubs with their private ways of running their programs. You may or may not have to pay a fee for membership status. Do enquire about this with the individual clubs before signing up.

3. Pickleball Coaching International

The next option is to refer to the Pickleball Coaching International website. They offer coaching online courses and recommend coaches for all levels.

USA Pickleball endorses their coaching certification and you can look for coaches worldwide from their member directory.

Here’s what their member directory looks like. Get started by zooming in to your location and selecting one of the location pins closest to you.

A pop-up will appear with the coach’s name. Click the button that says “Connect”.

Then, another pop-up appears. Fill in your details like name, email address, and add your note of looking for pickleball lessons. Then select the “Connect” button.

You have now submitted your request and the next thing is to wait for them to reach out to you.

4. Teachme.to

Another place you can use to find lessons is to look for a coach under Teachme.to. I’ve connected with like-minded coaches here and learned a ton from them. They have a database of coaches for many sports other than pickleball.

First, go to the homepage and select Pickleball, then, go down and click on the button that says “Find your pickleball coach”.

Then you will be brought to another page with the photo and bio of each coach.

This will redirect the page to the coach’s individual profile page with all the information you need.

Once you wish to make a booking, go to the right side and select the “Continue” button.

Next, select the lesson length, number of participants, the time of your slot and select the “Choose” button.

They offer a few choices, depending on the coach, 1 lesson, 3 lessons, or 10 lessons. Select your option and select the next button.

You will come to a checkout form, fill it up and select the Secure checkout button.

If you have questions, select the tiny speech bubble icon on the right corner of the form box. A pop-up will appear for you to fill in your details and questions.

5. Crush Yard

While looking for more lessons, I came across Crush Yard. It’s a physical place with 8 indoor courts.

If you book classes from them, you will have to take them where they are. Right now, they are located at Charleston in Mount Pleasant, SC. The ones in Nashville and Orlando are on the way.

For those near Charleston, you can check out their class schedule by first going to Crush Yard homepage.

Then select “Take A Class” on their homepage menu.

I love the user experience of their platform, it’s easy to search and filter for the categories I’m looking for.

Next, select “Book a Lesson” on the top menu.

Next, you will see a calendar with daily schedules. Let’s say I want to join a Pickleball 101 class by Justin Loescher. I’d click on details.

Then, run through the class information. Once confirmed, select the Register button.

You will be taken to a login page. If you are already a member, just login and book your class. Otherwise, select the “Create Account” link.

They run a membership, but you can book classes and courts as a guest without committing to be a member. Just register an account on their website will do for free!

Here’s the form to fill up, then submit it to book your classes with them.

6. Google Map

I always use Google map to point me to the right cafes, museums and of course, pickleball lessons. It’s like the go-to trusted place for all things, consumerism.

You can search on Google for Google Map, and in the search bar, enter “pickleball lessons”, a seemingly unlimited database of lessons will appear with their pins on the map.

There are also star ratings and reviews from real customers. Go through them before committing to any classes.

7. Yelp

One of the better ways I’ve found great classes is by searching on Yelp. I find that their reviews are so far reliable enough.

On the Yelp page, type in “pickleball lessons” in the search box and select your location.

Select any of the listed classes and it will take you to another page with more information.

Go to the class website by clicking on it’s URL if provided.

8. Join A Meetup group

One of the best ways I’ve taken to find a pickleball beginner lesson near me is to just show up and learn from the other players around me. I recommend you to join a Meetup group.

If you are keen, go to Meetup’s website and enter “pickleball lessons” in the search bar. Then select your location and search.

From the results you can select the ones you wish to join, then click the button that says “Join this group”.

Next, login or start a new account to be able to submit your participation request.

You may have to wait for the organizer to approve your request, or fill up a form of questions. Otherwise, you are considered to have join and just show up on the scheduled day.

Most times, those who organize groups in Meetup are doing so to create an avenue for pickleball lovers to get to know more people and have fun.

They may add in lessons here and there for newcomers to learn the game. It’s great for me because there are times I don’t wish to take a formal lesson, making more new pickleball friends is a fun way to go.

Once I’ve built relationships with them, I’m able to pick their brains on improving my game, share my learnings, and get great recommendations on who are the better coaches to go for.

Most I’ve met have first-hand experiences of how a lesson works for them, and that may be better than for me to find a class without knowing if it’s helpful.

How do you find pickleball beginner classes near you? If you have a great idea to share, let us know in the comments.