Training & Development
Train. Develop. Officiate.
PREP helps aspiring and developing referees build knowledge, practical skills, judgment, confidence, and officiating experience through a flexible development pathway. Structured learning, purposeful practice, focused feedback, and experienced referee guidance work together to help you develop toward your officiating goals — wherever you live.
Important to Know
How PREP Works
Referee development designed around you — not your ZIP code.
You don't need to live near a referee trainer to begin developing the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to become an excellent official.
PREP combines expert coaching with guided online learning, purposeful practice, video feedback, and strategically timed on-court training. Much of your development can happen wherever you live, supported by your PREP trainer and our learning platform. We bring trainees together in person when being on the court adds the greatest value.
PREP is an independent referee-development program focused on building competent, confident, and consistent pickleball officials.
Training Levels
Your Development Pathway
Building Referee Competence
Through structured learning, purposeful practice, and focused trainer feedback, PREP helps you develop your fundamental officiating knowledge and practical skills progressively, while identifying what to work on next.
How you'll develop
- Skills Practice
- Personalized Coaching
- On-Court Experience
- Credential Readiness
Before You Begin
This pathway is designed for aspiring referees who have completed introductory referee education and are ready to develop their practical officiating skills through structured training, practice, and personalized coaching.
Advancing Referee Performance
PREP provides continued structured development, purposeful practice, and focused trainer feedback as expectations and officiating situations become more advanced. Training emphasizes consistency, judgment, match management, composure, and confident decision-making.
How you'll develop
- Skills Practice
- Personalized Coaching
- On-Court Experience
- Credential Readiness
Before You Begin
This pathway is designed for referees who have developed fundamental officiating competence and are ready to strengthen their judgment, consistency, match management, and performance in more demanding situations.
The Proposed PREP Referee Credential
PREP is an independent referee-development program focused on building competent, confident, and consistent pickleball officials. Our progressive training approach combines structured learning, purposeful practice, personalized coaching, and demonstrated practical skills. We are developing a PREP Referee Credential to recognize referees who demonstrate the knowledge, judgment, and officiating competence needed to confidently officiate pickleball matches, regardless of organization. Individual organizations may establish additional requirements for their own credentials or officiating assignments.
The PREP Approach
How We Help You Develop
Structured Learning
Build your knowledge through a clear, progressive learning pathway.
Purposeful Practice
Develop your officiating skills through drills, match experience, video, and on-court practice.
Focused Feedback
Improve through trainer coaching, observations, assessments, and individualized feedback.
The Process
Your PREP Development Journey
Start Together
Live PREP Kickoff
Meet live with a PREP trainer to understand your development pathway, get oriented to PREP's learning resources, and create your individual learning and development plan.
Learn & Practice
Build your knowledge and practical officiating skills through guided learning, activities, quizzes, and purposeful practice wherever you live.
Get Expert Feedback
Receive focused feedback through practice video review, timestamped coaching, observations, assessments, and individualized trainer guidance so you understand what you're doing well and what to work on next.
Put It Into Practice
Apply your developing skills through purposeful practice, including on-court clinics and real officiating experiences, with focused trainer coaching when it adds the greatest value.
Credential Readiness
As you approach readiness, focus on demonstrating the knowledge, judgment, practical skills, and consistency required for the proposed PREP Referee Credential, and identify anything that still needs refinement.
The goal is to be ready to referee.
PREP stays with you through learning, practice, observation, and feedback — and helps you prepare to pursue the proposed PREP Referee Credential and any additional credentials offered by individual organizations.
FAQ
Common Questions
Have Questions? Let's Talk.
We're here to help you figure out the right path. Reach out and we'll get back to you.