2017 Gate City Picklefest Results

You earn medals at practice. You just pick them up at tournaments...

Jaynie Tank went to Greensboro, NC to participate in the 2017 Gate City Picklefest held August 5-6. Photos are from Facebook.

Jaynie and Sandra Stewart went 0-3 in Women's Doubles (19+, 4.5-5.0) and won the bronze medal.

Congratulations Sandra and Jaynie!

Well done Jaynie!

Re-gripping a Paddle

When getting a grip is literal...

I needed to get a grip. I mean I literally needed to get a new grip because mine was worn out. I had re-gripped tennis racquets a long time ago and put over-wraps on pickleball paddles. I am comfortable with doing a re-grip successfully. But conversations with fellow players taught me that others are not as comfortable. Therefore, I decided to show my method here.

First, let's look at the necessary materials.

Yep, that's it. You need your paddle and the new grip. Everything you need to install the new grip is in the package.

There is one exception that I didn't include in the photograph. My handle is shorter than normal so I needed to cut off some of the grip at the top. I used a pair of scissors so have a pair at the ready just in case.

Offbeat Sunday: Peppy and TMI

Some personal thoughts are best left unsaid...

Aspen Kern manages the Pickleball Forum and contributes a character he has created - Peppy the Pickle. Sometimes Peppy is a little too open. 

2017 United States Clay Court Pickleball Championships Results

You earn medals at practice. You just pick them up at tournaments...

Paul Coletta was another traveler and went to Lafayette Hill, PA to participate in the 2017 United States Clay Court Pickleball Championships held August 3-6. Photos are from Facebook.

Paul went 3-2 in Men's Singles (50+, 4.0+) and won the bronze medal.

Congratulations Paul!

Well done Paul!

Tournament Schedule Update - August 2017

Life's a game. Play it...

North Carolina Pickleball has updated the upcoming tournament schedule for players in the local area.

A Topspin Drill

My mind is spinning in circles...

One of the most significant uses of spin is a topspin groundstroke, particularly when hit as a driving shot instead of a drop shot. Adding topspin to a low hard shot will cause the ball to dive down below the top of the net and help to prevent the opponent from making a winning volley. Today's post will be a review of some basic drills to learn topspin through tennis training techniques. These tennis drills can be used for pickleball without change. Temporary nets may need additional support if they cannot be tightened sufficiently.

Playing Against Spin

My mind is spinning in circles...

Yesterday's post talked about using spin. Today, we will look at Prem Carnot's view of playing and recognizing spin. His article is titled How to Play Against Someone Who Spins the Ball.

How to Play Against Someone Who Spins the Ball

Those pesky tennis players with such beautiful ball control, smooth strokes, good footwork and tricky spin… Do you ask yourself, “How ever do I play against them?” When you diagnose the problem, it’s quite simple actually, once you know these two secrets.

Secret #1: Wait until the ball is past the top of the arch and almost to the second bounce.   

This is similar to the strategy I talk about in my article, The 4 Secrets to Getting Your Dropshot to Go Where You Want (And Not Where You Don’t) in regard to how to hit a good drop shot.

What about Spin?

My mind is spinning in circles...

I managed a skills and drills class for beginners last week in which we drilled on serves and returns of serve. I have done several of these classes recently and a common theme has emerged - some beginners think extreme spin creates an advantage. The fact that a high percentage of their shots went out of bounds didn't seem to matter as long there was an occasional shot that spun away from their opponent.

My recommendation for beginners is that their time is always better spent working on basic shots. These will be more important to developing their game more quickly. In addition, as they develop and play better opponents, spin becomes less effective.

But that doesn't mean that spin should never be used as players advance. Topspin and backspin are particularly useful. We'll explore some of the views on spin in this post.

North Carolina Holiday Smash Tournament

Just outside the Queen City...

Registration is now open for the annual Holiday Smash Pickleball Tournament to be held at Concord, NC.  This year, the tournament features two full days of action with Men's Doubles and Women's Doubles on Saturday, November 18th followed by Mixed Doubles on November 19th. The courts are open for practice on Friday from 8 to 4 pm for $5.00.  Please join us today by signing up on the PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENTS WEB SITE.

North Carolina Pickleball Holiday Smash 2017

DOUBLE ELIMINATION

Skill Level Tournament

Offbeat Sunday - Caption This

An image is only enhanced by a caption...

Time to go to the Pickleball Forum again for Offbeat Sunday material. This one is about captioning a photograph.

Caption This!

• I came.  I saw.  I pickled.
• Yes, I think I can play just one more game before I go
• Did anyone get the license number of the pickeball that hit me?
• I've fallen, and I can't get up... unless it's for pickleball!
• Stick a pickle in me... I'm done!
• They said I could stay in the kitchen as long as I didn't volley.
• That's the Last time I play Chuck Norris in singles
• I guess singles IS harder!
• So now we have to play one to 15?
• I own this kitchen
• Good Get!
• I told you Pickleball is not for you, MOM!
• Practicing my around the bedpost shot.

2017 Oregon State Games Results

You earn medals at practice. You just pick them up at tournaments...

Todd Headley traveled all the way to Bend, Oregon to participate in the 2017 Oregon State Games held June 16-18. Photos are from Bend Pickleball Club.

Todd went 4-1 in Men's Singles (50-59) and won the gold medal.

Congratulations Todd!

The USAPA Nationals Controversy

No good deed goes unpunished....

I write a pickleball blog in which I try to discuss all things pickleball. One area I have avoided is the politics in pickleball. I would normally ignore issues like the latest controversy about the USAPA National Championships. But there are some pretty strong opinions being voiced on the topic with which I disagree. Therefore, I am going to violate my better judgment and venture into this morass to add my thoughts on what the tournament should be and how players should be qualified.

To summarize for readers unfamiliar with the controversy, the sign-up process for Nationals resulted in many top players being placed on a wait list. Those quicker with computer entry prevailed over those quicker with a paddle. Some folks voiced the opinion that the tournament is a national championship and should be limited to only 5.0 players in order to determine a true national champion through competition. Others voiced the opinion that the entry methodology was known to interested players, everyone had the same opportunity to enter, and the system should remain unchanged. 

How to Win a Rally Without a Swing Part 3

Are you here to play or to watch...

The topic of not hitting balls that are out is interesting. The first article on Tuesday covered the mental part of the concept - recognizing players and body language that give an indication that those balls are likely to go out. The second article on Wednesday covered the physical part of the concept - slow down and keep your paddle up. Today, we will conclude with an idea briefly mentioned by Coach Mo - training our brains to recognize balls that will go out.

One of Coach Mo's tips in the first article sates "Play some points with your friends and don’t keep score; let some questionable balls go, so you can learn to recognize out balls. If you recognize just two balls a game, your game will improve about 20%." We will dive deeper into that using a video from Joe Baker called Pickleball Strategy 301 - Six Rules of the Fast Game. This video covers a lot of topics and the relevant part - Rule 6 - starts at about 10:56.

How to Win a Rally Without a Swing Part 2

Are you here to play or to watch...

After having conversations about hitting too many balls headed out of bounds, I wrote a post yesterday using Coach Mo's tips to help break the habit. Today's post will continue discussing that same topic but with an excerpt from Sarah Ansboury and the RV Picklers article The Secret to Not Hitting Out Balls.

Secret #1: Slow Down

One of the most important things you can do to not hit out balls is to slow down! Often players seem to have such a sense of urgency to get the ball back, that they rush through the point. If you watch the better players play, it often seems that they have plenty of time to get to the ball. They are comfortable and set before they execute the stroke. They see the ball, the court and seem to have all the time in the world to make a decision.

The biggest factor allowing the player to slow down is body control. This is why I emphasize balance so much in my teaching.  You must be stopped and in a balanced position before you hit the ball. You also must breathe as it is essential to remain in a relaxed state and will naturally slow you down. Slowing down enables you to make choices, rather than simply react.

Secret #2:  Paddle Position

Along with body control, we need to keep our paddles up and in front of us if we want to stop hitting out balls. We need to create and maintain space between our paddle and our body. When your paddle is pointed down at your side, and a ball is whizzing by at shoulder height, our natural reaction is to raise the paddle quickly…sometimes inadvertently making contact with the ball. Such a large movement makes it even more difficult to pull back.

When we have a shorter swing and less motion to the ball, it gives us even, more time to react. We can move toward the ball or more easily pull away from a ball that is going out.

The most important sentence in that article, in my opinion, is "Slowing down enables you to make choices, rather than simply react". I wrote a series last month about movement around the court that included a post titled Speed Kills, in which I used another Sarah article to highlight the need for players to slow down. The ability to make better decisions is a big part of that strategy.

How to Win a Rally Without a Swing

Are you here to play or to watch...

I and several of the players with whom I play have talked about a bad habit we have allowed into our games - hitting balls that would go out of bounds. I think some of this is because it is recreational play and we just want to hit the ball. But we also know that it is not something that we want to carry over into tournaments. The reality is that playing percentage pickleball, a topic I covered in February, also means not hitting the ball at all. After all, it is a 100% sure win to let a ball go out of bounds.

Coach Mo, the creator of the term "percentage pickleball", wrote a Tip of the Month - How to Win 20% More Games Without Improving You’re (sic) Hitting Skills - about that topic.