Tyson McGuffin Camp

Video clips from a Tyson McGuffin Pickleball Camp in Newport Beach.

This weekend I drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Orange County to participate in Tyson McGuffin’s Pickleball Camp in Newport Beach on July 4 and 5. On each day of the 2-day camp, participants enjoyed 6 hours of pickleball drilling and instruction with professional pickleball players. Here’s the list of the pickleball pros:

As one of the top pickleball players in the world, Tyson McGuffin is obviously the headliner and rock star of the camp – but all of the pros at the camp were fantastic. The pros were always engaged, energetic, approachable, courteous, and detail oriented. At numerous times throughout the 2 day camp, each of the 4 pros helped me with timely technique corrections, tactics, encouragement, and suggestions.

I used my GoPro Max camera to record video during both days of the camp. The video clips from both days of the camp are available below.

The first day of camp was dedicated to the soft game: Lift dinks, drop shots, defense, and block volleys. The second day of camp focused on offensive weapons: Punch volleys, roll volleys, drives, speed ups, push dinks, etc.

The workflow and rhythm of the camp was easy to follow. For each skill (crosscourt dinking, drop shots, etc.) that was covered:

  • We started by gathering around a demonstration court to listen to the pros describe and demonstrate the skills, techniques, and mindsets for a specific shot. For example, the pros would spend 10 to 15 minutes discussing the techniques and tactics for lift dinks.
  • Next, the pros would explain and demonstrate several drills and situational games that help you build and master the skills needed to hit successful lift dinks.
  • Finally, the camp participants would fan out on to the courts to perform the drills, and play the situational games, that the pros just finished demonstrating for us. The pros watched closely and stepped in, when needed, to provide tips, advice, technique corrections, etc.

The 2 day pickleball camp was incredible and intense! The experience was everything that I’d hoped for, and more. I knew after the first hour of the camp that it was money well spent. I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to do it again – I’ve already signed up for the Tyson McGuffin camp in Las Vegas in October.

If you love playing pickleball, and you enjoy drilling and practicing as much as you enjoy playing, and you embrace the challenge and the work to try to become a better player, then I encourage you to consider attending a camp. Which players should avoid attending a camp?

  • If you are a pickleball beginner, the camp is not for you. The camp will not teach you the rules of pickleball. At the camp, it is assumed that you already know the rules and that you’ve played before. You don’t have to be a great player, or even a good player, to participate in the camp – but you should already have some experience playing at a recreational level.
  • You should already be comfortable playing up at the kitchen. If you like to hang back at the baseline and you avoid playing up at the kitchen, the camp will be a waste of your time – unless you are willing to change your ways immediately.
  • If you enjoy playing pickleball but you don’t have much interest in drilling and working to improve your play, you should avoid a camp. You’re making a mistake if you think of the camp as an opportunity to play a lot of pickleball in a short period of time. At a camp, you will spend a lot more time drilling than playing.
  • If you come to the camp expecting to be told how great and wonderful your game is, you’ll be disappointed. You should expect plenty of instruction and encouragement, but not praise. The pros at the camp will find flaws with your game, no matter how good you believe you are, and they will help you to recognize and correct those flaws.
  • You must be receptive to coaching and open minded about adopting new techniques and tactics. Expect some of your technique and your decision making to be questioned and corrected by the pros. If receiving constructive criticism about your game makes you uncomfortable then a camp is not the right situation for you.

Here are my videos from the Tyson McGuffin Pickleball Camp in Newport Beach CA on July 4-5, 2022…

Day 1: Building a Soft Game

Tyson McGuffin Opens the Camp
Skills & Drills: Dinking
Skills & Drills: Crosscourt Dinking
Skills & Drills: Defense & Drop Shots
Skills & Drills: Drop Shot and Play It Out
Skills & Drills: Doubles, Drop Shot and Play It Out
Skills & Drills: King & Queen of the Court
Playing Doubles at the End of the Day

Day 2: Building Weapons

Warmup Drills
Skills & Drills: Punch Volleys
Skills & Drills: Drives
Skills & Drills: Groundstrokes & Drives
Skills & Drills: Speed Ups
Skills & Drills: Attacks & Counterattacks
The Pros Discuss the Mental Game
Me with the Pros After the Camp

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