This week, my goal was to get a couple of friends together, and teach them how to play.Friday evening, on October 6th, I taught two other friends how to play pickle-ball. This was a good starting point for my project, getting a couple people interested in playing pickle-ball. Me, my Dad, Nathan Nuckols, and Carter Spillman played a total of seven games yesterday, and by the end, I would say that they became familiar with most of the rules. We played for a total of about two hours, and we played two small tournaments, with my dad winning the first one and I winning the second. Next week, I hope to be able to get 5-6 people together to play, which should not be difficult. I already have many friends in mind who would probably be interested in playing. I also think that it's smart to invite the same people every week, so that they grow more interested and want to play in the final tournament. Also, many people at my church love to play pickle-ball, and they would be interested in participating in the tournament.
Pictures of last night:
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This week, my primary focus was to master the rules of pickle-ball, so I can properly teach others how to play.Serving: Singles: Each person is allowed one serve attempt, if they win the point then they keep serving, but if they lose the point then it's the other person's serve. Doubles: Each team gets two serve attempts, if they win the point then the first person keeps serving, but if they lose the point then it's the second teammates turn to serve. Once you lose the point on your second teammate's serve, then it's the other team's ball. Rules: You must serve the ball to the opposite square. If you win the point, then you and your teammate must switch sides, but the opposing team does not. The serve cannot land in the kitchen or on the kitchen line. Kitchen: Purpose: The kitchen is a spot on the court where no one is allowed to step in, unless the ball bounces in it. The kitchen's main purpose is to stop players from standing right in front of the net and spiking the ball. Rules: You must stay out of the kitchen unless the ball bounces in it. After it does, then you can step in the kitchen, hit the ball to the other side, then get out of the kitchen. Hitting the ball in the air: The ball must bounce at least TWICE before you can hit it in the air. This does not mean that you can let it bounce twice on your side, for the ball can only bounce once on each side. Keeping score: There are three numbers involved in the score. The first number is your score, the second is the opposing teams score, and the third is what serve your on. For example, if I was winning 7-5, and this was my first serve, I would say 7-5-1. If I was winning 8-3, and it was the opposing teams second serve, I would say 3-8-2. Every game is played first to eleven and you have to win by two. Point system: Every time you get a point, your score goes up by one. You can only score while your team is serving. If you hit the ball out or if it bounces twice on your side, then it's the other team's point. If you step in the kitchen when the ball doesn't bounce in it, then it's the other team's point. If you fail to serve the ball in the correct spot, then your serve is up, and it either moves on to your teammate, or the other team. Hello, I'm Joshua Whitaker and this is the official website for my Genius hour project. Over the summer, me and a couple of friends have started playing pickle-ball often, and developed a growing interest in the sport. For my project, I'm going to try to teach some of my friends how to play pickle-ball, and later start tournaments. My final goal is to get 15-20 people involved in a tournament. I think this goal will be very achievable, since many people at my church are interested in playing. I will be able to practice and play at the Farmington community center, which just put in new courts. I hope you will enjoy seeing my progress throughout the twelve weeks and please, suggest any ideas you have!
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AuthorI am Joshua Whitaker, and this is my fall 2023 Genius Hour project. The blog post on this page goes in opposite order, with 1 at the bottom and 12 at the top. |