Top pickleball coach comes to Albany to help beginners and club players get to grips with the booming sport

Dozens of pickleball players descended on Albany’s Leisure and Aquatic Centre on Sunday for free training sessions run by guest coach Jayne de Silva, a former Australian champion. Busselton’s De Silva, who has won national gold medals in singles, doubles and mixed, as well as numerous State titles, gave a beginners’ course in the morning and followed it up with afternoon skills and drills for the Albany club players. All eight courts were full for the afternoon session, with State over-70s mixed and women’s doubles champion Jenny Rickerby saying it was a great way to gain extra skills and meet new players recently converted to the booming sport. De Silva also held a coaches’ clinic to help those who want to teach the game. “The beginners were shown the basics and then given the chance to put into practice what they had learnt,” Rickerby said. “Our members were really impressed by Jayne’s skills – there is so much to learn just to get to an intermediate level. “But they came away with a great array of drills which should help everyone improve their game.” De Silva was brought to Albany thanks to a grant from the City of Albany.