Okay, this was soo much fun! I recently traveled with a few friends to RISE Pickleball Camp at Battle Point Park on beautiful Bainbridge Island, Washington, the official birthplace of pickleball!

The camp took place over two days for four hours each day, with 24 participants. Rob Davidson was the main instructor, along with assistant coaches Zack and Kevin.

Rob would gather everyone together to explain a particular drill and how it could help our game. The coaches would demonstrate everything first, sometimes making it look suspiciously easy. Then we’d split into groups of four to practice.

All three coaches moved between the groups to watch us and offer feedback. Each of them had additional tips to share during the practice sessions, which made the entire experience feel really personal and helpful.

I can honestly say I feel like I’ve improved, not only in my physical skills but in my mental understanding of the game. I now find myself thinking about where the next couple of shots might go instead of simply playing “whack ball.”

My friend Anthea and I play together regularly, and we’ve both noticed a difference since attending camp. We’ve even stated showing up to sessions early to go through the on-court warmup we learned. I can definitely tell a difference when I take the time to do it versus when I don’t!

I was also very grateful for the PDF we received afterward. We covered so much information over those two days that I never would have remembered everything. It has already been extremely helpful for reviewing what we learned.

The camp was really well done, and getting to experience it on Bainbridge Island was the cherry on top. I would absolutely recommend RISE Pickleball Camps to anyone who wants to improve their game while having a lot of fun!