Now Reading: Pickleball coaching certification gaps, new DUPR Coach rating
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Pickleball coaching certification gaps, new DUPR Coach rating
DUPR Coach, a new credential, lets certified pickleball instructors instantly assign official ratings to unrated players using a phone evaluation or game footage. The credential costs $250 annually, requires an existing coaching…
The Story in Brief
DUPR Coach, a new credential, lets certified pickleball instructors instantly assign official ratings to unrated players using a phone evaluation or game footage. The credential costs $250 annually, requires an existing coaching certification from approved bodies, and feeds ratings directly into the DUPR platform, bypassing the guesswork for tournament brackets.
Meanwhile, the sport’s coaching industry lacks uniform standards. At least four organisations, PPR, PCI, RSPA, and IPTPA, offer certifications, but no single authority polices them. IPTPA has acknowledged its expedited Level II credential, now marketed as advanced, originally lacked theory and lesson planning. PCI’s founder built his own organisation after seeing a clinic where only one of fifteen students received instruction.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that a new rating credential solves pickleball’s ranking chaos ignores the deeper problem: coaching certification itself remains fragmented and unregulated. Paying $250 for a DUPR Coach badge does not guarantee the coach was rigorously tested. Players should ask not just whether a coach can assign a rating, but whether that coach had to demonstrate real teaching competence to earn their base credential. The real test will come when leagues see whether Coach-Assigned ratings produce fairer brackets than self-reported guesses.
Sources (2): timesnownews.com, timesnownews.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
