Orange Community Education & Recreation

Grab your friends and join us at Brady Middle School and hoop! All ages and abilities are welcome, whether you can slam dunk, splash a three, or not and are just looking for some fun exercise. We will make informal teams every week for some friendly competition. There will be no refs. There will be a minimum of 6 needed to play. If we do not have enough spots reserved by 1pm the day of we will cancel the session and refund everyone. You will be notified of this by 1:30pm. Gym times and locations are subject to change.

Pickleball is an invigorating hybrid paddle sport of table tennis and tennis on the size of a badminton court. It is fun for all ages and exceptionally "social" in nature! The benefits of pickleball are endless. More and more people have discovered the fun and benefits that pickleball brings. In a recent study, playing pickleball has been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health, Hand-eye coordination, agility, balance, and increased energy. But, most of all, it’s fun! These exciting clinics will be taught by a professional Pickleball Coach, Bill Tennant, AKA "Pickle-BILL". Bill came highly recommended to us from multiple sources to coach pickleball clinics for OCE&R. Bill has worked with over one thousand pickleball students, ranging from 7 years of age to 93 from never holding a paddle to high-level competitive pickleball athletes in Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. NOTE: ALL SESSIONS will run rain or shine and ALL EQUIPMENT will be provided. ALL classes are limited to an 8:1 student to teacher ratio so that students are provided quality hands-on instructional time. DESCRIPTION OF PICKLEBALL LEVELS: We want to ensure that our weekly classes are run with other players of similar level to create the best learning experience for all. Please carefully read the descriptions below to see where you fit. If you are unsure, please reach out to Bill to set up a fitting session at 216-324-4856 or billtennant365@gmail.com. LEVEL 1-INTRO: This is an introduction to pickleball. No previous experience necessary. If you have taken a workshop/clinic, and have started playing a little bit but not been playing frequently, this class works well for you. Likewise, if you’ve played just a little bit and can’t get a spot in level 2, this will be a great option for you. LEVEL 2-"NOVICE:This level is designed for players who have been playing consistently for a good 3-5 months (or have played AT LEAST 15 sessions and already understand the rules (and may have taken a few lessons or clinics). We will work on fundamentals of proper technique and technical parameters for developing a strong forehand, backhand, volley (hitting out of the air), developing footwork, effective blocking and absorption drills; hitting consistent serves, returns, 3rd shot drops, drives, and learning the "dink" game and how to maintain rallies and stay in the point. LEVEL 3-“INTERMEDIATE: This level is for players who play frequently (at least 2x/week) and are looking for improvement and a deeper dive into this sport! We will discuss gameplay strategies and introduce specific shots and their proper defense/prevention, such as the “ATP, Ernie, and Lob” among others. We will review fundamentals and proper technique for forehands, backhands, volleys, blocking and absorption, serving, return of serve, and 3rd / 5th shot drop/drives. We will also introduce a few different styles of dinking in an effort to improve consistency in your short/soft/touch game! LEVEL 4 “ADVANCED:This level we will discuss different offensive and defensive strategies, set-up plays, court positioning and coverages, etc, ALL done IN-GAME play. NOTE: This is NOT a beginner or novice class; it is designed for the individual looking to advance their game, who have played at least a bare minimum of 12 months on a FREQUENT basis (2+ times/weekly), AND have the prerequisite skills listed below. We will also take some time to learn some drills to improve your skills with the backhand, transitional (no-man's land) game, kitchen speed ups (when/why to or not to), the LOB--when/why/how, and other situational shots for the advancing player. Drills will be customized for this level based upon the consensus of weaknesses to address.

We are excited to partner with Orange High School varsity tennis assistant coach Dave Soldevilla to offer tennis lessons for beginners, and intermediate/ experienced players. It doesn't matter if you have never played before, have a little bit of experience and are just looking to improve on the fundamentals, or are an experienced player looking to improve your game, all are welcome and will able to improve their game. Lessons will take place on Saturday mornings; each session will be limited to a 5:1 coach to player ratio so that we can ensure quality hands-on instruction is provided to all. Players must supply their own racquets.