About PickleTip
Page updated: March 2026
On a humid spring evening in New Orleans, we watched a nervous beginner step onto the pickleball court for the first time. Feet glued to the baseline, white-knuckled grip, eyes darting between the Kitchen line and the back fence, they whispered the same thing we hear every week: “I’ve read so much, but none of it makes sense once the point starts.” That moment explains why PickleTip exists.
PickleTip is a strategy-first pickleball education site built on a simple promise: every concept we publish has been tested with real players, in real sessions, on real courts. We turn live coaching, tournament experience, paddle testing, and community feedback into clear ideas players can actually use in their next game.
We are not here to flood the internet with generic advice. We are here to help players think better on court, choose gear more intelligently, and understand why certain decisions hold up under pressure while others fall apart.
PickleTip is run by AJ and Sid Parfait, a father-son coaching team connected to lessons, DUPR sessions, clinics, and community building in the New Orleans area. That real-world coaching loop is what keeps the site grounded.
PickleTip at a Glance
- Founded by a father-son coaching team active in New Orleans pickleball.
- Instruction led by IPTPA Level 2 certified coach AJ Parfait.
- Strategy concepts developed through live coaching and DUPR sessions.
- Paddles tested through real match play and player feedback.
- Independent reviews not influenced by sponsorship.
What is PickleTip?
PickleTip is a strategy-first pickleball site where every tip, paddle review, and drill comes from live coaching and on-court experimentation, not theory alone.
What PickleTip Does Differently
PickleTip focuses on what helps players win more real points, communicate more clearly, and make better decisions under pressure.
Our content starts with live coaching and match play, then gets refined into articles only after the idea proves useful on court. That keeps the site practical. It also keeps us from publishing theories that sound smart but do not survive real play.
- Strategy guides built around point construction, positioning, and decision making.
- Paddle reviews based on control, spin, forgiveness, and power in live play, not just stated specs.
- Beginner friendly teaching that respects how confusing the early stages of pickleball can feel.
When the same mistake or breakthrough keeps showing up in lessons, clinics, or DUPR sessions, that usually becomes a PickleTip article. That is how we keep the site connected to actual players instead of generic advice.
You can start on the PickleTip homepage, then explore our strategy guides, paddle reviews, and coaching driven breakdowns from there.
Our Testing Philosophy
PickleTip content is shaped by observation, experimentation, and repetition on real courts. Ideas that consistently help players improve during lessons or match play are refined into teaching frameworks and published as articles.
Paddle reviews follow a similar approach. Instead of relying on marketing specifications, we evaluate paddles through drills, match play, and player feedback to understand how they perform in realistic situations.
Who is PickleTip for?
PickleTip is for players who are serious enough to care about their decisions on court but grounded enough to know they still have plenty to learn.
Meet the Team: AJ and Sid Parfait
The PickleTip coaching voice comes from a father-son team that lives on the courts as much as they write about them.
Instead of a faceless editorial board, PickleTip is anchored by two people who are actively coaching, testing gear, and working with players in the Gulf South every week.
That matters because our reviews, strategy pieces, and beginner guides are shaped by live feedback, not just desk research. If you want to understand how we handle review integrity and affiliate relationships, you can also read our Affiliate Disclosure and How We Test pages.
Anthony “AJ” Parfait is an IPTPA Level 2 instructor and a 4.9+ rated competitor whose game was built through heavy court time, live competition, and constant pattern refinement. He coaches across the New Orleans area and tests ideas in real sessions before they ever become PickleTip content. When AJ writes or films a concept, it usually comes from something he has already seen succeed or fail on court that same week.
Sid Parfait, co-founder of PickleTip and director of the New Orleans Pickleball Club, brings the perspective of someone who remembers exactly how confusing the early stages of pickleball can feel. That beginner empathy shapes how he writes, organizes clinics, and explains strategy to players who still feel overloaded by the speed of the game. His long form pieces usually blend personal experience, coaching observation, and the repeated mistakes newer players are trying to solve.
You can explore AJ’s full competitive and coaching story on his author page at AJ’s PickleTip profile, and learn more about Sid’s community work on the Sid Parfait author page.
Can I book a lesson with the PickleTip team?
Yes, you can book private or group pickleball lessons with AJ in the New Orleans area by visiting the lesson portal at this booking page.
Where We Coach and Who We Serve
PickleTip connects online education with in person coaching in the Gulf South.
That means the same ideas you read on the site are used in real lessons, clinics, and DUPR sessions across Harahan, Metairie, Jefferson, and the broader New Orleans area.
AJ and Sid work with beginners, improving intermediates, and competitive players who want clearer feedback and better decision making. Local courts and live sessions become the testing ground for the frameworks we publish. If an idea does not help players in real repetition, it does not earn a lasting place on the site.
- Private and semi private lessons for players who want targeted feedback.
- DUPR rating sessions and match play for players chasing measurable progress.
- Clinics built around stacking, returns, third shots, transitions, and hands battles.
We also hold ourselves to a simple standard: if a player cannot explain what they learned in one or two clear sentences, the lesson plan or article needs work. That is one reason readers often say the site feels like a coach talking directly to them instead of a generic content brand.
For players outside Louisiana, PickleTip works as a virtual extension of those sessions. Even if you never step onto a court in New Orleans, you can still apply the same decision rules, paddle insights, and tactical frameworks our local players use.
Between coaching sessions, tournaments, and paddle testing, the PickleTip team spends dozens of hours on court every week observing how strategy actually plays out during real rallies.
Building the New Orleans Pickleball Community
PickleTip treats community-building as part of the curriculum, not an afterthought.
While many platforms focus exclusively on content, PickleTip and the New Orleans Pickleball Club work together to make sure players have real people to play with, real events to attend, and real ways to test their progress over time.
Every DUPR event, beginner clinic, and soon-to-launch free tournament is designed with the same intention as a written guide: remove friction, reduce confusion, and give players a clear next step. That might mean helping a brand-new player find their first game, consulting with a venue on how to schedule courts, or making sure a local tournament feels welcoming instead of intimidating.
- DUPR sessions that give players honest, data-backed ratings.
- Clinics that break big topics into manageable skills and drills.
- Support for venues before they open, from formats to operations.
One of the lines we live by is simple: “A strong pickleball community is built point by point, not post by post.” That idea keeps PickleTip tied to real people, real play, and real progress even as the site grows beyond New Orleans.
Much of this work happens on courts across the New Orleans area, including Elmwood Pickleball in Harahan and other local venues where players gather for lessons, clinics, and DUPR sessions. These environments allow us to observe how strategy ideas and paddle designs perform with players of different skill levels.
If you want to see how this community-first approach shapes our teaching, many readers move from this page into our long-form strategy and mindset pieces written by Sid, or the technique-heavy breakdowns and paddle reviews led by AJ.
PickleTip exists to make pickleball knowledge clearer, more honest, and more useful for everyday players trying to improve on real courts. Everything we publish is shaped by real coaching experience, not just internet trends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Players often ask us how PickleTip fits into the broader pickleball landscape, especially as the sport grows. Here are answers to the questions we hear most.
No. While coaching and events are based in the Gulf South, the strategy guides, paddle reviews, and mental frameworks are designed for players anywhere.
No. We do not sell placements or guaranteed scores. If a paddle earns a strong review, it is because it held up across drills, matches, and comparisons.
Beginners are a core part of our audience. Many articles and clinics are built specifically for players in their first six to twelve months.
You can follow PickleTip through the homepage, author pages, and our latest strategy guides, reviews, and community updates as new content is published.
Yes. Sid has consulted with multiple venues on membership models, court usage, event formats, and how to support players from day one.
If you want to go beyond reading and into measurable change, pick one concept from a PickleTip article, apply it for five sessions, and track the impact on your unforced errors, confidence, or rating. Then adjust, refine, and repeat.
If you want to understand how PickleTip reviews paddles and evaluates strategy ideas, visit our How We Test Pickleball Paddles page or read our Affiliate Disclosure for details about how we handle gear partnerships.