Stacking

[Robert VanKampen]

As a leftie, when playing with a rightie, I prefer to be on the right hand side of the court, which puts both our forehands in the middle. If I'm on the left side, and both our backhands are in the middle, it often feels like there is a "dead zone" in the center where neither of us is quite prepared to get the ball.

The rules of pickleball dictate that there is switching of sides when receiving and serving. But after the serve or receive, you can go where you want to.

Stacking is a way to put your players back onto the side of the court that you like.

Here are two short videos on stacking that I think are helpful.
Pickleball Channel stacking video
Third Shot Sports stacking video

Stacking is a little complicated, but if you break it down into a process, it becomes easier.

How to stack:

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First, know who your "even" player is. At the start of the game, and every time the score is even, that player will always be standing on the right (even) side of the court, which is where you want them to be.

After you have that, stacking can be broken down to a short set of questions:

1) Is your score even or odd? If even, play pickleball like normal; do the normal thing. If odd you'll be doing the odd thing:

2) Serving (on odd score) If you've just started serving, the "odd" player serves first, from the right side. The "even" player stands to their right. Both players will slide left, behind the baseline after serving.

If the serving team scores, the score becomes even and play is "normal". If they score again, you're back to the "odd" thing.

Once you've lost a rally, your second server is the "even" player. If they serve when your score is odd, they must serve from the odd side, mirroring the "odd" serving position described above.

3) Receiving (on odd score) If your opponents are serving to the right side of the court, the "odd" player receives from the right side. The "even" player stands to their right, by the kitchen line. After receiving, both players slide left behind the kitchen line (the player who received will run up and left to the kitchen line).

Your score will continue to be odd throughout your opponent's serves, so each time the opponents score or switch servers, the other player will be receiving in the odd way. When the opponents are serving to the left box, your "even" player must receive it and the "odd" player will be standing to their left at the kitchen line, mirroring the position above.

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If you're having trouble, spend a little time off the court thinking it through. It gets easier with repetition.