Different Types of Pickleball Players - The Canadian Version

There's some great content on social media defining the various types of pickleball players. Most of this content speaks to playing style, like the “bad line caller” or the “looks down at their paddle each time they miss a shot” player.

It’s all for fun and yet, kind of rings a bit of truth. Canadians have been pretty good at making fun of themselves, right?

Maybe not as much as the Brits or French, but I would say we’re good sports all in all. Here's my shot at the different types of pickleball players in Canada...

Photo credit: Sara McInnes

The Four Seasons Player

This person is willing to hang out in the cold winter temperatures and shovel endless amounts of snow just to play pickleball outside all year around.

I’m not just talking about the fluffy snow either, this player will trench out to the courts even when it’s that really heavy, wet stuff. Have you ever played on a dedicated, outdoor court in Ontario after one first winter season?

If not, when you do you will know it - I guarantee you will find dents and nicks all over our courts from crazed shovelers scooping off the snow with metal shovels. The image below is of an outdoor court not too far outside of Toronto, after just one winter season.

People were using metal shovels to cut through ice, and they actually used de-icer as well which was an interesting choice.

It might look like a foundational crack that’s happened due to the expanding and shrinking of the ground, but this court had scratches and divets across the entire surface and unfortunately, as you can see, the base material has been ripped and is poking through.

Similarly, most of these Four Season players will be the ones arranging games in 40-degree heat in the middle of the summer. The saying “just one more game” takes on a whole new meaning when you’re playing through extreme weather temperatures and conditions!

Photo credit: Sara McInnes

The Fleeing Canadian

Probably thinks they must leave Canada to play “real” pickleball. Spends their tournament budget on American tournaments and spend the rest of their pickleball budget on pickleball vacations to Mexico, Costa Rica, and other warm places.

These players have more than likely spent years playing on asphalt, hardwood, and concrete, and/or are likely tired of being a Four Seasons Player, but also are not snowbirds, and are getting creative in finding ways to play pickleball elsewhere.

Can’t blame anyone who falls into that Fleeing Canadian category, because once you play in a place like Dreamland (in Texas and is the home base for Major League Pickleball), Indian Wells (US Nationals venue), or East Naples Park (the sprawling 60 court park and home to US Open) how could you go back to concrete and chalked lines?

Photo credit: Sara McInnes

The Apologizer 

These players are overly polite and get creative in their reasons for apologizing. They are apologetic for all those mishits (that they’re secretly happy with), for lobbing someone who can’t chase after a lob, for clipping the netcord for a winner.

If they don’t think that “I’m sorry” is enough of an apology, they also seem to think a gesture with their hands will really drive home the apology too. It’s very much of them to continuously demonstrate just how sorry they are - but deep down, are they really?

The Rink Rats

Players who insist on intertwining Canada’s great national sport with our fast, emerging sport clearly fall into this category. I’m talking about those who lace up the skates to play pickleball on ice - you know who you are because there’s only a select few of you who insist that pickleball can be played whilst skating.

That said, it sounds like a fun challenge to me, so I’m willing to try it at least once. To observe this icy ridiculousness, find a frozen pond near you, in the middle of winter and you will undoubtedly find pickleball players on skates.

Alright, this is not actually the case, but you can always jump on YouTube and there you will find people demonstrating their skating and pickleball skills across social media platforms.

Photo credit: Print Your Brackets

The Canadian Rated Player

Have you ever said to someone or heard someone say, “I’m a Canadian 4.0 but an American 3.5” before? If so, you’re not not alone. Players in Canada seem to be under the impression that they are .5 lower than Americans in skill level.

For example, someone might enter a 4.5 category in a Canadian tournament but will then go down to the states and enter 4.0.

There’s nothing wrong with anyone doing this, unless they are limiting themselves with doubt, but otherwise, who was the person or entity who defines Canadians as being .5 less talented than Americans?

As the game continues to develop in Canada, so will the level of play. Bumping yourself down half a level just might need to become a thing of the past as our talent continues to rise.

Do you know what type of player you are? I feel like most of us do, whether we admit it or not. If you think I missed a type of Canadian player that should make this list, leave us a comment!

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