Balance & Stability
Trust your footing and feel more secure moving in every direction.
Movement training for pickleball players 55+
Move Better. Play Longer. Feel Ready for Every Point.
Build the balance, strength, mobility, power, and confidence to move better on the court—and keep playing for years to come.
Not just another pickleball lesson
Pickleball Starts Before the First Serve.
Traditional lessons focus on the paddle and the shot. Pickleball Prep with Joy focuses on the player.
Work on the balance, footwork, strength, reaction, and controlled movement that help you reach the ball, stop safely, recover between shots, and stay confident throughout a game.
Court Mobility
Improve your first step, change of direction, positioning, and recovery.
Strength & Durability
Build the calves, hamstrings, hips, core, and shoulders pickleball demands.
Power & Reaction
Train your body to respond quickly without sacrificing control.
Confidence & Joy
Feel better about how you move—and have fun doing it.
How it works
Eight Weeks. One Class a Week. Progress You Can Feel.
Start Where You Are
Your level reflects movement, confidence, playing experience, and physical readiness—not just a rating.
Train with Purpose
Each 50-minute class blends preparation, movement, strength, court work, applied play, and a closing huddle.
Measure Your Progress
Complete the private Joy Index 55+ at the beginning and end of the program.
Keep Playing
Leave understanding your body, your progress, and how to maintain it.
The Joy Index 55+
Build the Balance, Quickness, and Confidence Your Game Deserves
A personal assessment of five areas that matter on the pickleball court. Results are private and measured against your own starting point—not anyone else in class.
Every participant receives initial and final assessments plus a written progress report.
Balance & Base
Power
Court Mobility
Durability
Confidence & Joy
Three ways to move with Joy
Find Your Mix
Choose the classes that support your goals. Focus on one or combine classes for different kinds of movement training. Each offers its own focus and challenge, and our coaches can help you find the right mix for your movement readiness.
You can choose more than one class.
Find Your Stride
10:00–10:50 AM
Newer players, those returning after a layoff or injury, and social players new to movement training.
You’ll focus on:
- Stable positioning
- Safe stopping and deceleration
- Moving backward with confidence
- Dink and serve movement patterns
- Calf, hip, and core durability
Build Your Strength
11:00–11:50 AM
Regular recreational or league players who understand the game and want to move more efficiently.
You’ll focus on:
- Transition-zone footwork
- Third-shot movement
- Reactive direction changes
- Unilateral strength
- Efficient reaching and recovery
Power Your Play
12:00–12:50 PM
Competitive recreational and tournament players who want to maintain performance under higher playing loads.
You’ll focus on:
- Repeat-effort quality
- Explosive, controlled movement
- Reactive direction changes
- Overhead-and-recovery sequences
- Tournament preparation and load management
Not sure which mix is right? Attend a free clinic and let our coaches help.
Register for a Free ClinicPilot program
Walnut Creek Founding Session
Las Lomas High School Tennis Courts
Walnut Creek, California
Eight consecutive Saturdays · 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Saturday, January 23, 2027 – Saturday, March 13, 2027
Week 1Saturday, January 23, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 2Saturday, January 30, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 3Saturday, February 6, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 4Saturday, February 13, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 5Saturday, February 20, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 6Saturday, February 27, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 7Saturday, March 6, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Week 8Saturday, March 13, 202710:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Find Your Stride
10:00–10:50 AM
10:00–10:50 AM
Build Your Strength
11:00–11:50 AM
11:00–11:50 AM
Power Your Play
12:00–12:50 PM
12:00–12:50 PM
Rain make-up: Saturday, March 20, 2027, if needed. Schedule and dates are subject to final facility confirmation.
Enroll in the Founding SessionEight Weeks of Purposeful Preparation
Individual
$329
- Eight 50-minute classes
- Initial and final Joy Index 55+
- Written personal progress report
- Weekly take-home exercises
Bring a Partner
$598 for two
- Save $60 together
- Complete eight-week program
- Individual assessments
- Personal reports for both
Drop-In
$50 per class
- Weeks 1 and 2 only
- Subject to space
- Experience the program
- No credit toward enrollment promised
Approximately $41 per class for small-group instruction, two personal assessments, and a written progress report.
A personal note from Joy
Why I Created Pickleball Prep with Joy
My 90-year-old mother, Carol Upshaw, and I have both lived in Rossmoor. During that time, I regularly took her to the pool, the fitness center, on walks, and to many of the other activities the community offers.
One of the first things I noticed was how active Rossmoor was—particularly the rapidly growing pickleball community. I loved seeing the players’ enthusiasm, friendships, and excitement for the sport.
But as a lifelong athlete and coach for nearly 40 years, I noticed something else: many players were stepping onto the court without adequately preparing their bodies for the quick stops, changes of direction, backward movement, balance, and power the game requires.
I saw an opportunity to bring my experience—and my joy for sports—to a new community.
That is why I created Pickleball Prep with Joy. It builds upon the philosophy behind Joy’s Jackrabbits, the youth coaching program I have led for decades, and adapts it for adults who want to remain active, confident, and connected through pickleball.
My primary goal has always been to bring joy to people’s lives through sports. Pickleball Prep with Joy is a wonderful opportunity to continue that mission with the Rossmoor community and, eventually, with active adults everywhere.
— Joy Upshaw
Meet Your Rossmoor Coach
Rossmoor Coach
Sharon Lamond
Sharon Lamond brings decades of racquet-sport instruction, a strong academic foundation in human performance, and a lifelong passion for helping people move and play with confidence.
A full-time tennis instructor at a Northern California country club, Sharon has spent decades teaching players of different ages, experience levels, and physical abilities. Her coaching experience includes work in schools, private clubs, and recreational programs.
Sharon is a certified professional through the Professional Tennis Registry. She holds a Master’s degree in Education and a Bachelor of Science in Human Performance—an ideal combination for a program that brings together thoughtful instruction, age-appropriate physical preparation, and racquet-sport movement.
As a member of the founding Pickleball Prep with Joy coaching team, Sharon will lead participants through the program’s progressive movement, strength, balance, and court-readiness curriculum.
Sharon shares Joy’s belief that excellent coaching should combine expertise with encouragement, personal attention, and genuine care. Her goal is not simply to lead participants through exercises. It is to help them better understand their movement, build confidence on the court, and continue enjoying pickleball for years to come.
PTR-Certified Professional
Certified through the Professional Tennis Registry, with decades of racquet-sport teaching experience.
Master’s Degree in Education
An experienced educator who understands how to teach, communicate, and adapt instruction for different learning styles and abilities.
B.S. in Human Performance
Academic training focused on how the body moves, performs, and develops—directly supporting the movement-preparation goals of Pickleball Prep with Joy.
Additional coaching experience: Schools, private clubs, and recreational programs.
Six chances to try it free
Try Pickleball Prep with Joy—Free
Come as you are. Friendly, coach-led stations introduce balance, power, court mobility, durability, and confidence.
Three free clinics on Saturday, December 5, 2026 and three on Saturday, January 9, 2027.
See Free Clinic Details