Mehr als nur Übungen. Gebaut für das Spiel.

Strukturiertes Leistungstraining und Online-Kurse, die Fähigkeiten vermitteln, um Ihr Spiel auf ein höheres Niveau zu bringen.

SG Pickleball Academy / Online-Programme

Performance-Sessions / Workshops

Privatcoaching

Über mich

Mag. Stefan Grubmüller ist Sportwissenschaftler, international zertifizierter Trainer und professioneller Pickleball-Spieler.

Nachdem er seine Trainerkarriere im Tennis begonnen hatte, wechselte er 2023 zum Pickleball und etablierte sich schnell unter Europas führenden Einzelspielern. Seine Wettkampferfahrung, sein akademischer Hintergrund und seine Arbeit mit Athleten verschiedener Sportarten prägen einen strukturierten, spielbasierten Ansatz in der Spielerentwicklung.

Neben seiner Wettkampftätigkeit leitet Stefan Lehrgänge, Trainingsprogramme und Bildungsworkshops in Österreich und international.

Trainer & Lehrer
Ausbildung, strukturierte Trainingsprogramme und praktische Weiterentwicklung des Pickleball-Sports.

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Unsere Kunden sagen

Das Pickleball-Trainerwochenende mit Stefan war ein absolutes Highlight. Es war intensiv, aber durch die perfekte Mischung verschiedener Elemente sehr abwechslungsreich. Wichtige Theorie, viele Möglichkeiten zum Erstellen und Ausprobieren von Übungen und Aufgaben sowie genügend Zeit, um das eigene Spielniveau zu verbessern. Stefan war der perfekte Trainer, der mit seinem Fachwissen leitete und eine angenehme und humorvolle Lernatmosphäre schuf.

Gerhard – Teilnehmer des PFA-Ausbilderkurses

Galerie

September 4th, 2026 🇺🇸🔥

What a session at Crush Yard Orlando.

I was invited by @nationaljuniorpickleball to run a 2-hour DRIVE clinic for more than 50 young players — boys and girls of different ages and levels, including some seriously strong juniors.

Two hours. One topic:
How to build a better drive.

Technique. Timing. Contact point. Acceleration. Control. And understanding how to create a drive that actually holds up under pressure.

What stood out most was the energy on court.
50+ young players, completely different levels, but everyone ready to learn, compete and improve.

A big thank you to @nationaljuniorpickleball for inviting me and for having me in Orlando.

It was great working with the next generation of US pickleball players. 🇦🇹🤝🇺🇸

See you again, Orlando.

#Pickleball #NationalJuniorPickleball #PickleballCoach #PickleballTraining #sgpickeball

Things have changed, and so has the way I want to compete.
At this stage, I’m less interested in carrying expectations and unnecessary pressure onto the court. I want to return to the things that made me enjoy playing in the first place: being present, embracing the competition, and appreciating the opportunity to test myself.
The ambition is still there. I want to play well, and I want to win. But I also want to enjoy the process again, because that is when the game feels most meaningful—and when I tend to play my best.
I’m looking forward to the next four stops:
RTA 2000 · Split (Last RTA?)
JOOLA Celebration · Orlando (1. USA)
Racket Revolution Open · Wiener Neustadt (always good to compete in Austria)
PPA P250 · Barcelona (2. PPA)
Ready to compete, enjoy the moment, and see where it takes me.

LAST CALL — only 2 days to go.

Two focused sessions at the JOOLA Hungarian Open 2026:

Technical Check-Up
Serve · Return · Dink · Drop
17:30–19:30

Winning Patterns
Clear strategies for singles and doubles
19:30–21:30

Refine your technique. Understand how points are built. Take practical tools directly into your matches.

📍 Olimpiai Sportpark, Győr
📅 6 August 2026

Limited spots remaining — register now:
https://www.sg-coaching.com/general-1

Summer will be full of pickleball.

Performance sessions.
Clinics.
Teacher education.
International events.

What connects these formats is the same long-term idea:
pickleball should not only be played more — it should be understood, taught, and developed with more structure.

That means clearer training.
Better game understanding.
More meaningful learning environments.
And education formats that support players, teachers, coaches, and clubs in building the sport in a serious and sustainable way.

Over the next months, this work will continue on different levels — from the Hungarian Open to VDLÖ Teacher Education and the JOOLA Pickleball Celebration in Florida.

At the same time, a new concept is quietly taking shape in the background — built around training quality, game understanding, and long-term development.

More on that when the time is right.

Interested in working together?

Coaching, clinics, workshops, and education formats are available on request.

#pickleball #pickleballcoaching #pickleballtraining #pickleballclinics #pickleballislife

A better return does not always need a more technical explanation.

Sometimes it needs a better picture.

This return step is very close to the basic waltz step.

After the split step, the outside leg loads.
The step comes through the heel.
The foot connects with the floor.
And the body is ready to move through the return.

When players understand and feel the picture, training gets better.

For almost every action in pickleball, there is a useful movement image somewhere else.

Waltz your return.
Then hit through it.#pickleball #pickleballtraining #pickleballislife #pickleballcoaching #pickleballaustria

Read the 3rd shot before it happens.

A 3rd shot is not random.

The quality of the next action is shaped by the ball coming in:
the angle, the timing, the spacing, and whether the player has to deal with an inside or outside shot.

That changes what the opponent can organize.

So the question is not only:
“Drive or drop?”

It is:
“What kind of contact situation is my opponent in?”

If you can read that earlier, you can anticipate better.

#pickleball #pickleballislife #pickleballstrategy #pickleballcoaching #pickleballtraining

Good coaching starts before the correction.

Before the drill.
Before the technical explanation.

It starts with reading the player.

What energy do they bring?
Are they open?
Are they tense?
Are they ready to learn?
Or do they first need clarity, calmness, or trust?

If we skip that, even the best correction can miss the player completely.

Learning does not happen just because something is explained correctly.

The player has to be in a state where they can receive the information, feel it, and turn it into action.

Only then does the next part begin:

Which task fits now?
Which language reaches this player?
Which image helps them feel the movement?
Which question brings them closer to their own solution?

Good coaching is not just giving instructions.

Of course, the coach gives direction.

But the player has to understand the meaning, feel what changes, and carry the solution themselves.

Good coaching is not only reading the game.

It is reading the person inside the game.

#pickleball #pickleballislife #pickleballcoaching #pickleballtraining #coachdevelopment

Repeat the right action until it becomes automatic.

Changing a habit is not about understanding it once.
It is about coming back to the same correction again and again.

In this case: preparing earlier before the dink.

Earlier paddle.
Better body position.
Cleaner contact.
More control.

At some point, it stops being something you have to remember.
It becomes the way you play.

That is the work.

#pickleball #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoach #dink #pickleballislife

A stroke is not finished when the ball leaves the paddle.
It is finished when your body is ready for the next ball.

In singles, the one key is not just playing soft into the kitchen.

The key is transferring your weight forward so the shot becomes an invitation to move in — not a recovery problem.

Good technique creates access to the next position.#pickleballcoaching #pickleballislife #pickleballtraining

In singles, a short crosscourt drop is not just a soft ball into the kitchen.

It changes your movement problem.

If the drop is good enough and the ball bounces in front of your opponent, you can move forward and start building pressure.

But if the drop is too high, too long, or gives the opponent a free contact, moving forward can become a trap.

Then the better solution may be to stay back, recover, and keep the next action playable.

That is why the drop is not finished when the ball leaves the paddle.

The real question is:

What does the drop allow you to do next?

Can you move forward?
Can you close space?
Can you build pressure?
Or do you have to stay back and protect the next ball?

Good singles movement is not automatic.

It depends on the quality of the shot before it.

#pickleball #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #pickleballstrategy #pickleballislife

Most players do not really control the contact point on their dink.

They just play the ball where it happens to be.

Sometimes on the rise.
Sometimes at the highest point.
Sometimes already too late.

And that makes the dink much more random than it should be.

A good dink is not just a soft ball into the kitchen.

It is a controlled action.

And once the contact point becomes more intentional, the dink gets a completely different tactical function.

You can move the opponent with width.

But you can also use depth.

A shorter dink can pull the opponent forward.
A deeper dink can bind them.
A dink to the feet can make the next action harder.

That is where the dink becomes more than control.

It becomes pressure.

Time pressure.
Precision pressure.
Decision pressure.

If the contact point is random, the effect is random.

If the contact point becomes intentional, the dink becomes a weapon.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #dinking

Open play gives you experience.

But it does not automatically give your development direction.

If you really want to improve, you need moments where someone looks at your game from the outside and helps you find the next clear focus.

Where do you lose control?
Which action breaks down repeatedly?
What should become more stable over the next two weeks?

For many ambitious recreational players and tournament players, one private lesson every 14 days can make a big difference.

Not because one lesson magically changes everything.

But because it gives your training a direction.

You take the focus from the lesson into open play, group training, and matches.

That is how development becomes less random.

More clarity.
Better focus.
Better training.

#pickleball #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #playerdevelopment #pickleballislife

Contextual pressure often starts before the rally.

One example:

You play against a stronger player.

And suddenly, the ball is not the only problem anymore.

You start thinking you have to play better than usual.

You force more.
You rush more.
You try to prove more.

But that often makes the action worse, not better.

The opponent is not only creating pressure with their shots.

Their level, reputation, and presence change the context around your own decisions.

That is contextual pressure.

The key is not to become someone else.

The key is to keep organizing the next action clearly, even when the opponent feels bigger than the moment.

#pickleball #pickleballcoaching #pickleballtraining #gamelogic #pickleballislife

I cannot make a player better.

I can create the conditions where development becomes possible.

I can see where an action breaks down.
I can meet the player where they are.
I can choose the task, adapt the method, correct, support, and show the next useful step.

I can even design the best drill in the world.

But no drill can replace the player’s attention.

The decisive part happens inside the player.

Focus.
Trust.
Willingness to change.
Real engagement with the task.

That is not about blame.

That is how learning works.

The coach leads the process.

The player turns that process into real development.

#pickleball #pickleballislife #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #playerdevelopment

How do you deal with contextual pressure?

Contextual pressure does not make the ball harder.

It makes the next action harder to organize.

That is the key.

Under contextual pressure, players often make the moment bigger than the task.

They rush.
They freeze.
They overplay.
They avoid.
They hope.

The first solution is not:

“Be confident.”

The first solution is:

Make the task smaller.

Before the point, define the first solvable action.

What serve?
What return?
What target?
What pattern?
What risk level?

Do not try to win the whole moment at once.

Solve the next action.

Stay organized.
Stay available.
Keep the next ball playable.

A plan does not remove pressure.

But it gives the body, the decision, and the next action a direction.

Contextual pressure is handled when the task stays clearer than the moment.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballstrategy #pickleballcoaching #matchanalysis

One point.

€1,500.

No second chance.

At first, it sounds like a show.

But from my perspective, this is maximum contextual pressure.

In a format like this, the best team does not automatically win.

The team with the clearest plan — and the ability to stay organized under the moment — may have the real advantage.

When one point decides everything, the action changes.

The legs get heavier.
The arm gets tighter.
The decision gets bigger.

And that is exactly when the basics matter even more:

footwork,
body position,
contact point,
paddle in front,
and a clear first decision.

No overplaying.
No hoping.

Have a plan.
Hold the plan.

The question is not only:

Who plays the best pickleball?

The question is:

Who can stay organized under maximum contextual pressure so the next action remains playable — instead of breaking under the moment?

#pickleball #pbaa #germanopen #pickleballstrategy #pickleballcoaching

Backhand drive work.

The goal was not just to hit harder.

The goal was better organization into the shot:

left foot,
right foot,
center of mass through the ball.

Because power is not only arm speed.

A good backhand drive needs timing, footwork, body transfer, and a contact that allows the player to move through the ball with control.

Technique is not style.

It is function.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #backhanddrive technique gamelogic

I did not come from the pickleball hype.

My background started long before pickleball — in football, tennis, skiing, competition, coaching, and movement science.

Because of that I never saw pickleball only as a fun new racket sport.

The entry into the game is fast.
But the game itself is not shallow.

It has its own pressure logic, its own game-winning logic, and its own technical organization.

That is what makes it so interesting to me.

Not only as a player.

But as a coach, educator, and someone who wants to help develop the sport properly.

#pickleball #pickleballislife #pickleballtraining #pickleballaddict #coachinglife

Pickleball is an ideal school sport.

Not because it is shallow.
But because students can enter the game fast.

They can play real rallies early.
They can solve problems together.
They can understand the game through playing — not only through explanation.

But that only works if the teaching structure is clear.

Simple rules.
Useful tasks.
Game forms that actually work in a school gym.

Easy to start does not mean empty.

That is the key.

Good teacher education should not just show a new sport.

It should give teachers a tool they can use immediately, confidently, and meaningfully in their own lessons.

#pickleball #pbaa #schoolsport #teachereducation #pickleballtraining

A drop is not just a soft shot into the kitchen.

It is a solution to a pressure problem.

For this player, coming from tennis, the contact was still too far away from the body.

That makes sense.

In tennis, you can often create Speed with a longer hitting structure and more racket support.

In pickleball, the drop asks for something different.

The contact has to be organized closer to the center of mass, so the player can control the ball without losing connection to the next action.

Because the drop is not finished when the ball lands in the kitchen.

It has to reduce pressure.
It has to help the player move forward.
It has to keep the next ball playable.

That is why this technical adjustment matters.

Not because it looks better.

Because it helps the action solve the game problem.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #pickleballdrop

What is pressure shaping?

Pressure is not only something you are under.

It is something you can shape.

Pressure shaping means changing the available options inside the rally.

Less time.
Less space.
Less comfort.
Less clarity.
Less margin.

But pressure shaping is not always aggressive.

Sometimes the right action is to absorb pressure, slow the rally down, rebuild position, or restore action continuity.

That is why the shot name is never enough.

The same shot can have a completely different pressure function.

A dink can protect.
A dink can provoke.
A dink can create time pressure.
A dink can restore control.

So the real question is not:

What shot was played?

The real question is:

What did the shot change?

Did it give the opponent less time, less space, less clarity, or less margin?

Or did it give the player a way back into the rally?

Pressure shaping means guiding the rally by changing what becomes possible next.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #pickleballstrategy

What is action continuity?

A shot is not finished when the ball leaves the paddle.

Its quality also depends on what it makes possible next.

That is why a shot should not only be judged by where it lands, how clean it looks, or whether it goes in.

The better question is:

What does this shot make possible next?

A dink can go in and still create a problem.

A drop can land in the kitchen and still leave the team disconnected.

A reset can be soft and still fail to reduce pressure.

Which Action continuity means that the next action stays playable.

The player stays balanced.
The team stays connected.
The next ball can still be solved.
Pressure can be reduced, maintained, or created.

That is why good training has to look beyond the isolated shot.

Action continuity is the bridge between one action and the next one.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #pickleballislife

Players do not enter training as neutral learners.

They often arrive with ego, expectations, fear, self-protection, and pressure to perform.

That is not a flaw.
That is normal.

And it also means that coaching has to do more than simply deliver corrections.

Before real learning can start, the coach often has to reduce barriers that stand in the way of honest engagement with the task.

Those barriers can show up as rushing the task, avoiding mistakes, hiding behind familiar habits, resisting change, or protecting status inside the exercise.

That is why this is not only the player’s issue.

It is part of the coach’s job to recognize these barriers and create conditions in which real learning becomes possible.

Sometimes that means changing the task.
Sometimes it means reducing threat.
Sometimes it means asking better questions.
Sometimes it means shifting the player’s focus away from image and back toward the real problem.

Good coaching is not only about teaching the skill.
It is also about creating the conditions in which the player can actually learn it.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballcoaching #coachdevelopment #skilldevelopment gamelogic

Not all pressure in pickleball comes from the same place.

Some pressure comes directly from the rally itself:
less time, less space, higher precision demand, repeated pressure, decision pressure.

Some pressure comes from the context around the rally:
score, momentum, emotion, expectations, and the meaning of the moment.

That distinction matters.

Because both forms of pressure are real.
And both forms shape what the player can actually do.

A player may be under direct pressure, contextual pressure, or both at the same time.

That is why good reading and good coaching cannot only ask:
“What is happening in the rally?”

They also have to ask:
“What is surrounding the rally — and how is it changing the player’s options?”

If you only see one kind of pressure, you often misread the problem.

#pickleball #pbaa #pressure #pickleballcoaching #gamelogic pickleballstrategy

What can change in 1.5 weeks when the work is clear?
Two players.
A short block.
Then Austrian Championships.
Results: Gold and 2 bronze.
In a phase like this, the work has to be precise.
We changed how they worked on the ball.
We moved the dink contact closer to the body to create more control.
We changed how they moved forward into the situation.
We changed how they played through the ball — with more translation and less empty rotation.
We stabilized the volley and played it with forward spin.
And we did not build that through endless drills or mindless repetition.
We built it through play, the right tasks, the right questions, and work that actually transferred.
And yes — it was serious work, but it was also a really good time.
That matters too.
The tournament reveals what the process built.
#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #competition gamelogic

Most drills are not limited by the drill itself.

They are limited by the task inside it.

That is where a lot of training loses value.

From the outside, many drills look similar.
Balls are fed. Players repeat. The structure looks fine.

But the real difference is not the outer shape of the drill.
It is the task:

What should the player notice?
What should the player solve?
What pressure should the task create?
What adaptation is the task actually trying to build?

If that part stays vague, the learning stays vague.

The drill is often just the container.
The task is what gives the training direction, meaning, and transfer.

Good training does not just repeat action.
It changes what the player can solve.

#pickleball #pbaa #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching #skilldevelopmen

LTAD means Long-Term Athlete Development.
It is not just a model for young talents.
And it is not only about reaching high performance as early as possible.
LTAD is a framework for understanding development as a long-term process.
In pickleball, that means looking at the whole journey: from early childhood to lifelong participation.
Each phase should have its own purpose.
Each phase should fit the needs of that moment.
And each phase should build the ground for what comes next.
That is what makes LTAD so important.
Good development is not random.
It needs progression, timing, clear priorities, and the right focus at the right moment.
The goal is not only to improve now.
The goal is to build what the next phase will need.
That is where development becomes more structured, more meaningful, and more sustainable.
#pickleball #pickleballislife #pickleballdevelopment #playerdevelopment #coachdevelopment

The next few months are filling up with workshops, clinics and courses — and I’m really happy about that.

From beginner and community formats to clinics on game-winning strategies, pressure in pickleball, and coach education, there’s a lot coming up in April, May and June.

What I enjoy most about these formats is the mix:
helping people enter the game, helping players understand it better, and especially helping coaches teach it with more clarity and purpose.

Different settings, different target groups — but always the same goal:
to make pickleball more understandable, more teachable, and better structured.

Looking forward to all of it.
#pickleball #cochthecoach #pickleballtraining #pickleballcoaching

History made...
The RTA 1000 Vienna 2026 is in the books. As the biggest and best tournament ever beeing held in Austria i am more than proud of what we have achieved.
25 Nations, more than 100 Players, 1000 RTA points earnd for the winner of each categorie and countless emotions and remarkable moments.

Special thanks to my beloved Partner @wimmer.lisa and her amazing daughters @joo._.hannii @ma.vawi this would not have been possible without you!
Thank you @rtapickleballtour for letting us kick off the season 2026 💥💪💪and all the support!
Every single congratulation and message i received from players, spectators, federations, club managers and more all across europe, gave me goosebumps. I feel deeply honored.

Register now @play.rtapickleballtour.com/tournament/8842

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