Playing When Abilities are Uneven

From a conversation at the court on Monday.  I thought of this topic a bit earlier, but never put it down on electronic paper.  Here is my take.

Cases:

1) You are the one player who is not as good as the rest

2) You are the player greatly better than the others

3) One team is much better than the other

The discussion should start by recognizing that there are a lot of reasons to play PB.  A few are interested in getting tournament ready, some would like to just play well/better, and a bunch are happy to play with what skills they have and get some exercise or enjoy any social engagement that comes from the game.

What should we all do when these motives collide?  I think we have to suggest that everyone wants to have a good time.  But if you are in a game that is not going to provide what you want, then adjustments are needed.

First case, the other players are better than you are.  If the ability differences are large and it's common knowledge, then I'd want/hope the better players to challenge the less able player, but not punish him.  It should make no one happy to beat up on another player.  It can be a very scary and uncomfortable position knowing that you are low on the totem pole.  It will be hard to ignore that fact and play as well as you can.  Try not to be self conscious about your abilities as that will make it harder to play as well as you can.  That is very tough to do, but in reality no one really cares how poorly someone else plays.  Everyone makes the same mistakes in PB, ball in net, ball long, ball wide, so try to relax and enjoy the experience.

Second case, there are three at one level and you are much better.  A couple of thoughts here, one, don't teach or coach unless asked about it, two, play down a bit to challenge the others without killing the ball every chance you get.  Encouragement is welcome at any level, so remark when partner does something well.  Note that a miss might still be a good shot if it fit the situation.  Don't say anything even if partner hits three serves in a row into the net.  Pointing out errors won't make anyone feel or play better.  (Well, there is my pet peeve about partner not coming to the net after returning a serve.  I must confess that I've mentioned that a couple of times.  I hope anyone who heard that appreciated the tip.  But I was probably out of line to bring it up.  Sorry.)

Third case, we have one team much better than the other.  This is a lot like the other cases, play at a level that allows everyone to have a good time.  Don't pound the ball away with every pop up, just get it back and work on your defense and drop shops.  If you don't do this folks will always split the good players and you'll have a partnership that won't have that smooth oiled cooperation that is one of the reasons to play the game.  "You two are welcome play together, but don't beat us up!  We'll try to be challenging."  And I think letting the good players play together occasionally is a way of thanking them for being willing to play down a bit.  There are a lot of better players who are willing to play down, but it can be tiring if that scenario lasts all morning.  Watching two good players together is an opportunity to learn more about strokes, movement, dinking.  

I've played some games where the skill levels were wildly different, and it was said and understood that the game would not be cut-throat in nature.  More a "gentlemen's game" than one of quick points and hard hits.  It was enjoyable for all concerned.  The poorer players might not win, but can see a different partnership style than might be used at their level.

So there are my thoughts.  I welcome others.  If there are large differences in ability, maybe a discussion before the game starts about the intensity of the game might be a good idea.  I would also hope that the better players would play down a bit automatically just to keep the points going longer.  At some point, as the Master might say, playing well need not include winning at all costs, or even winning at all.