Land of the Sky Flyer

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos...

Finally! A flyer.

"It works for me"

Hard work and proper technique will beat bad technique every time...

Most readers have not been following this blog since the beginning. I started the blog soon after I discovered pickleball. One purpose was to chronicle my learning experience. As a former tennis and racqetball player, I was able to learn pickleball very quickly. That early success made me a little hard-headed, though. I was able to beat many players by playing my way - grip, hitting technique, footwork, and strategies were all meaningless. "It works for me" was all I knew.

Then I started studying the game. I watched videos. I watched matches. I read everything I could get my hands on. I started to change my game. Many of the changes have been discussed in these pages. But I still experience the "it works for me" attitude...with students at my clinics. I used to show proper techniques but ended the demonstration segment with a statement similar to "whatever works for you". But I gave that up a long time ago. Instead, I now show the proper technique and explain the limitations of failure to adhere. I can't force anyone to adjust. But I can let them know how they will ultimately fail.

All of that is an introduction to the substance of today's post. I have used some tips from DJ Howard, an IPTPA instructor in Michigan in the past. This is a particularly good one.

Keys to Dinking Success

Getting the fundamentals right...

The Jordan Briones Primetime video series takes a turn away from drills in today's post. Instead, Jordan provides some great advice in his video Pickleball Dink | 5 Keys to Successful Dinking. 

The 5 keys are:
1. The Grip
2. Swing Path
3. Use your legs
4. Net clearance
5. Hit it in the kitchen

We will go over these in detail below.

2018 Asheville Area Tournament Sponsor Sheets

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos...

It has been a while since I talked about the Land of the Sky tournament we are planning for the Asheville/Hendersonville area in July.  That does not mean that work has not been happening. We have been working with graphics experts on promotional materials among other things. We recently finalized the packages we will leave after discussing sponsorship opportunities with local businesses. Below is the entire package for the hospitality industry - hotels, restaurants, retail, wineries, breweries, etc.

Before I show the package, I would ask for your help. If you know of any business that would benefit from association with this major pickleball event, please let me know.

Offbeat Sunday - Caption This - The Shirt

An image is only enhanced by a caption...

Time to go to the Pickleball Forum again for Offbeat Sunday material. Another photo to caption.

• Oh. Hope nobody heard that. Probably shouldn’t have had those beans last night.
• The other side of my paddle says ‘This is my Pickleball paddle’....just so everyone is clear...
• I thought it was going to bounce as high as a tennis ball.
• Next time, I won’t be afraid to “stick my neck out” to make a winning return!
• Oops! Had my sights too high and missed the ball.
• Ooh little ball, this smash is going to hurt you!
• This game was much easier before they added the ball!
• When you have your favorite shirt on and miss the ball look
• Oh you want me to hit that little yellow ball?
• I think I made this paddle too small.

Rule Changes - 10-Second Rule

Rules were made to be broken, no, what???

Earlier this week, I wrote my notes from the USAPA Ambassador Retreat seminar on the 2018 rule changes. As with all rules, some players will always test the boundaries. It appears that has already started with regard to the 10-second rule, at least based on some anecdotes from Facebook. Before I get to that, let's review the notes from the retreat on the subject.

10 Second Rule

Once the referee has determined that the receiving player is ready (or should be ready), the referee calls the score. This starts the 10-second period in which the server must serve or a fault will be called. After the score is called, only 2 instances allow a stoppage of the 10-second count. The first is a legitimate hindrance such as a ball on the court. The second is a time out. However, a time out cannot be called after the service motion starts. No other scenario exists in which a receiver can be become not ready.

Playing with Four Different Balls

See the ball, hit the ball, the brand doesn't matter...

I recently returned home from a trip through Florida. Along the way I played some pickleball. The interesting part is that I got to play with 4 different balls. The Villages supplies only Dura Fast 40 balls to its courts but I also played with Onix Pure 2 balls in a private game with friends. At the USAPA Ambassador Retreat, Franklin graciously supplied its X-40 balls for all play. But Onix was also a vendor sponsor and provided a few sample Fuse balls for test play. This post is my comparison of the 4 balls.

Onix Pure 2

Everyone knows the pluses and minuses of this ball. It is the preferred ball for clubs because it rarely breaks. It is the devil incarnate to top-level players because it bounces too high and cannot be put away. I've always liked the way it came off the paddle. It was soft and easy to control. But I have also always hated that good shots aren't rewarded. But it is going away so these comments are relevant only to serve as a basis for comparison with other balls.

Controllables - Depth

Don't let opponents control you...

This is the fifth and last in a series from DJ Howard, an IPTPA instructor in Michigan. This post will include 2 of his Forum tips about the controllables of a pickleball. The first is an introduction to the series and the second focuses on the fifth controllable - depth.

Ambassador Retreat Photos

Living the good life at Club Med...

I have posted a couple of articles from the USAPA Ambassador Retreat. Today is all about photos. It wasn't all about pickleball either.

Photos are shamelessly stolen from others' Facebook pages.

Solo Dink Drill

Make practice fun...

The next video from Jordan Briones Primetime video series is for advanced players. It will work on touch, footwork, and conditioning. It is a drill done alone so it is good to practice when a drill partner is not available. The video is called Pickleball Solo Rally Challenge - How many can you hit?. 

The drill starts with a player standing outside the net post. The player taps a dink over the net and moves around the net post to dink it back. The player then keeps repeating the dink, run around the post, and dink routine until an error.

The next 3 images show the positioning.

Ambassador Retreat - Rule Changes

Rules were made to be broken, no, what???

I attended the 2018 USAPA Ambassador Retreat in Port St. Lucie, Florida last week. The USAPA staff offered 9 seminars at the retreat. I wrote of one last week in the article Ambassador Retreat - Referee Certification Process. 

One of the more anticipated seminars was on the subject of the recently announced rule changes. This was validated by attendance at the seminar. The attendees were divided into 4 groups who were to rotate among 4 different seminars scheduled simultaneously. That means the rules seminar was scheduled for 4 different sessions. However, the room was full for each session while attendance at the other seminars was less than full. 

Before I start, let me add another note about the seminar structure. There was very little formal presentation. It consisted mostly of questions and answers. The following notes are only from the single session that I attended. Other sessions may have covered different topics. Christine Barksdale led the discussion and was assisted by Jim Hackenburg. Both were on the committee that wrote the rules.

Palm Up - Palm Down

Christine was chuckling as she called this "Byron's Rule" because the sole intent of the definition change was to validate the backhand serve as legal. This aligns with my post from January 19 - Rule Changes - Serve (Update). Despite its frequent use, the backhand serve has been a bone of contention because some believed it was not specifically allowed in the rules. The new definition stating that palm may be down while serving makes clear that the backhand serve is legal. In other words, the new definition changes nothing.

As a reminder, I highlighted Byron's backhand serve in Service Yips - a Novice Opinion.

Offbeat Sunday - Another Pickleball Song

Music is the medicine of the mind...

If songs about a single subject correlate with the subject's popularity, pickleball is trending up. Here is yet another - The Pickleball Song.

Rule Changes - More Player/Referee Interactions

Rules were made to be broken, no, what???

The USAPA recently announced the availability of the 2018 USAPA\IFP Official Tournament Rulebook. The rulebook contains some significant changes that we have been and will discuss over the next several weeks. We will continue today with rules regarding interaction with a referee. This is the part on this topic. The first was Rule Changes - Player/Referee Interactions.

Line Appeals

Previously, players could not appeal to the referee to make a call for a ball they did not see. A player had to first make a call, then any player could appeal to the referee. The old rulebook stated:

6.D.5. No player should question an opponent’s call unless asked (except that any player may appeal a call to the referee in an officiated match).6.D.10. In doubles play, if one player calls the ball “out” and the partner calls it “in,” then doubt exists, and the ball must be declared “in” (except that any player may appeal a call to the referee in an officiated match).

Ambassador Retreat - Referee Certification Process

There is nothing better than a good, blind referee...

I attended the Ambassador Retreat in Port St Lucie, Florida this week. Several seminars were offered. The first that I attended was Christine Barksdale discussing the process to be a certified referee. She went through 15 steps fairly quickly. Since there was no handout, I took notes as fast as I could. I did not capture her exact words but the gist of the step is shown below.

1. Play pickleball and be a member of the USAPA.
2. Download and study the rule book.

Controllables - Height

Don't let opponents control you...

This is the fourth in a series from DJ Howard, an IPTPA instructor in Michigan. This post will include 2 of his Forum tips about the controllables of a pickleball. The first is an introduction to the series and the second focuses on the fourth controllable - height.