Pickleball is a relatively new game. Its expression continues to evolve. We’re fascinated by the way every player constructs a unique pickleball identify from a variety of background sports—and other passions. A lesson does not begin and end on the court. The lesson—the journey—never ends.
Jericho Hill Pickleball School (JHPS) is a boutique academy offering the country’s most innovative slate of pickleball training programs designed to help players refine their skills, build confidence, understand higher level strategies, and find a place in the city’s unique pickleball culture.Â
The school sprung up out of the Jericho Beach Pickleball courts. With no fixed home base, we bring our programs to life across various community centres, outdoor courts, and field trips abroad alongside a network of over a dozen coaches with expertise in mindset, movement science, statistics, and wellness. This synergy allows us to create totally unique experiences for each player.
Among other iconic programs, JHPS created Vancouver’s Summer Pickleball Jamboree at Hillcrest, West Point Grey’s popular Pickleball Training Hall, Mount Pleasant’s competitive early morning sessions, UBC’s Master Classes, Douglas Park’s “art and science” workshops, El Camino immersive camps, the Friday Social Soft Game, Dunbar’s weekend accelerators, junior training, family workships, the Wood Paddle Classic, “learn to referee” events, plus cutting edge corporate team pickleball building Jamborees.Â
We also offer private and semi-private sessions with Canada’s first NCCP level 3 certified coaches.Â
The combination of male and female coaches, each slightly different in age, different cultural backgrounds, different athletic backgrounds, different professional backgrounds—offering both a tournament and recreational lens—balancing fitness and mindset, dig deep into each member’s specific journey. We help some find confidence and camaraderie on the court, while showing more competitive members how to push beyond their limits. Some we guide to faraway courts they never imagined existed.
We’ve coached athletes from every sport. Hockey Hall of Famers, former Olympians, professional basketball players, 4th degree black belts, musicians, tap dancers, mountain climbers, surfers, golfers, teachers, nerds, CEOs, gardeners, nine-year-olds and 90-year-olds. Which is all to say, there is no single once-size-fits-all approach to pickleball. We have a unique lens to dig into each player’s technique, introduce them to established tactics and strategy, help them process the wider dialogue and, most importantly, find their place in the local pickleball culture, and beyond.
Some simply want to work on mechanics and strategy before a tournament. For others, we help put their lifelong journeys into context. The overarching conversation invariably becomes more valuable than any specific work we do on the court.
At the end of the day, those who find their way to the Jericho Hill School are really attempting to build meaningful community.