I Pickleball Physics -- Player reaction time vs aging

AI Thread Summary
Professional players exhibit impressive hand speeds, averaging a ball trip time of 363 milliseconds, translating to a speed of 26.3 mph. With the fastest human visual reaction time at 150 milliseconds, pros have approximately 213 milliseconds to move their paddles. Age-related decline in reaction time can significantly impact performance, with a calculated decline of 176 milliseconds for a 68-year-old, leaving only 37 milliseconds to react. This limited time results in minimal paddle movement, highlighting the challenges faced by older players against faster opponents. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding reaction times and the impact of age on performance in pickleball.
tjmoorpark
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I need someone to review my treatment of how aging affects reaction time in Pickleball. I've included links to videos, and a reaction time vs aging resource.
Out of curiosity, how fast are the hands of the pros? I have timed an exchange between BJ/ALW and JD/JI that occurred at the Baird PPA in September 2022. The ball made the (about) 14 foot trip 11 times over 4.0 seconds, for an average trip time of 363mS (milliseconds). (Average speed of 26.3 mph).

Also, the fastest possible human visual reaction time is 150mS . So the pros have 363-150 = 213mS of movement time, or about 1/5 of a second to move their paddle to strike at the proper location.

How am I doing? The literature varies, so let's use a 4mS decline per year after age of 24.
In my case the decline is 4x(68-24) = 176mS. So I have 363-150-176 = 37mS to move my paddle when a pro blasts it at me. I can move my paddle, from a dead stop, about one-half inch by the time the ball gets to me.
https://gofullbuild.com/post/how-much-does-reaction-time-declines-with-age/
 
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Why not videotape yourself playing? It seems that you have some lead time when your eyes spot the pickle ball being hit and then tracking the ball and getting your paddle in position.

Do you know the speed of a pickleball?

Your mentioning of reaction time, reminds me of the Bruce Lee stories and his incredible reaction speed. He was able to anticipate and counter an opponents action faster than the camera could capture.
 
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