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The Tanglewood Pickleball Club
Receives Coaching from the Best

By Wayne Roswell

Thanks to Rich and Donna Donald, 28 Tanglewood Pickleball Club players had the opportunity of a life time. They were treated to two clinics on Friday, January 30 and Saturday, January 31 by Dick “Mo” Movsessian from The Villages, Florida. When Rich said, “Mo is the best Pickleball coach on the East coast”, I thought you are no slouch yourself Rich; and he is that good. Well, Rich is right, he is that good. George Brewer is Mr. Pickleball in our region, Dick Movsessian is Mr. Pickleball Coach.

Mo breaks down everything he teaches into the very basics and makes everything sound so logical; the sign of a great teacher. That may come from the fact that he taught physical education and coached high school tennis back in MA. As soon as players noticed the two worn spots on his paddle, both sides, same “sweet spot”, he had our attention.

Mo ran through the serve, the back hand and forehand, the four types of volleys, and finally, the lob and the overhead, constantly focusing on how to get in the ready position for the next shot. He gave tips on how to keep your eye on the ball by making a sound to yourself. If you hear a lot of snorting pigs on the court next week that’s a sure sign everyone was paying attention.


Dennis Brock said in sudden realization, “this game is just like every other game, keep your eye on the ball, set toward the target, and follow through. How easy is that! I’ve been doing it wrong the whole time.” So have most of us Dennis.

After each instructional session, came practice. As players did their drills, Mo came around and helped individual’s correct problems, practice form and improve their shots. Most important, he encouraged every one; the sign of a true coach. Mo’s whole coaching strategy, teach in small stages, practice, and demonstrate. “Teach, practice, and demonstrate.”

I did become a little concerned when he lined us up along the fence as though we were facing a firing squad. All I can say is I’m glad he didn’t blow up that paper bag and punch it or I may have had to make a quick exit for a change of under wear. But the line up made so much logical sense. How do you prevent players from taking their paddles back too far when “punching” the ball? You line them up with their backs tight to the fence so they can’t.

I always maintained throughout my career that no matter how bad a seminar or conference was I always took away something of value. This clinic offered more value than you could absorb in one day. That was obvious when many of the day one participants returned on day two just to sit on the sidelines and hear it all over again. What a great way to applaud a great teacher. On Friday, thanks to Mo, I took away more than I will ever be able to execute as a player. But most important for me, I learned the strategies of how to teach the game correctly. I just hope I get the opportunity to meet and work with Mo again some time.

I know I speak for all of our Tanglewood Club players when I say “Thanks Mo, for one of the best workshops I have ever attended. And a special thanks to Jeannie for making the trip with Mo. We hope you enjoyed Tanglewood".

All of us will practice what we were taught, and then visit Mo's new website http://www.pickleballcoach.com/ again and again to make sure we stay on track and keep up with his latest tips and strategies.

………………..A windy, rainy and Cold morning became a perfect Florida day for a clinic.…..Click here for More Pictures with Mo.