Play for a Cause in Pittsburgh

Perseverance. Grace. Pickleball...

The three words shown above are not my normal silly opening. These words are the motto for the GAMMA Pickleball Classic played in Pittsburgh, PA on June 23-25. This is not your normal tournament, though. The tournament’s proceeds will go to the Parkinson Foundation Western Pennsylvania (PFWP) to work for a cure for Parkinson's. The Foundation has reached out to me include some information about the tournament and encourage players to enter.

Pickleball and Parkinson's seem to have natural fit to each other. From the Gamma website:

People with Parkinson’s have many apparent symptoms such as the struggle with hand and eye coordination because of the effects of tremors and vision changes that are symptomatic of the disease. The hand and eye coordination needed to play pickleball exercises the muscles that are affected by the disease to help reduce symptoms. Also, pickleball is a great form of exercise that increases dopamine production and the chemicals in the brain that are believed to act as a neuro-protector for what’s being destroyed by the Parkinson’s. Pickleball has helped thousands of people who are struggling with this disease manage their symptoms and continue to lead a normal life.

Service Yips - a Novice Opinion

I describe myself as a simple blogger. No more. No less...

About a month ago, I decided to research the service yips due to a problem a partner had at a tournament. I have shown several views of the yips, including both psychological and neurological. We have now looked at the advice of pickleball experts as well as gold experts. The bottom line for me is...I don't have the right answer, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

Are the yips psychological or neurological?

I tend to think that the yips are psychological in nearly all cases. The discussion about focal dystonia in golf was mostly about small muscle failure. This is much more important in golf and music than pickleball. Certainly, small muscle issues can cause the ball hand to cause a mishit. But that doesn't seem to be the primary problem with the service yips. The issue is more related to the big muscles of the paddle arm. My logic is that focal dystonia wouldn't be very likely. Then again, I am not an expert so who knows.

What if the Yips are not Psychological

Have no fear. The neurologist is here...

The pickleball experts have told us their thoughts on curing the service yips. In summation, they believe that a change in routine to simplify, focus, and prepare will help to overcome the problem. The underlying premise is that the problem is mental and actions can be taken to alter the mental block.

But what if the yips are not mental-based? What if there is a physical source for the problem that a change in routine can never overcome? Some studies say that may very well be the case for some.

In my research, I ran across 2 names repeatedly that were cited for their work with golfers with the yips - Charles H. Adler, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale and Debbie Crews, a sports psychology consultant. The studies show that many cases of the yips are indeed mental-based and can be treated with psychology. But some cases are neurological, with a condition called a focal dystonia. 

I am not about to go into a detailed discussion of neurology, but I will define focal dystonia. It is:

a neurological disorder that involves involuntary spasms in the small muscles. It can result from overuse or repetitive stress, and it may affect musicians and golfers.

New Yorker Magazine had a long article in 2014 called The Yips that contained a lot of interesting information. Some highlights are shown below.

A Comprehensive Answer to the Yips

Life is like an ice cream cone. You have to learn to lick it...

Yesterday's post had the thoughts of 3 experts on overcoming the service yips. Their solutions were each somewhat one-dimensional without looking beyond one aspect of the serve. As usual, Sarah Ansboury takes a more comprehensive view in her RV Pickler article Oh Sh?%: Lost Your Serve.

I have seen many cases of the ball shooting in one direction or another. At times, it may land in the middle of the net. The next shot nearly sails over the fence. It lands in the neighboring court on the left, then the right. Frankly, for those that have had the serving yips, they don’t have any idea where the next ball will land. 

As always we want to be aware of where our paddle starts and finishes. So the very first thing to check, if this happens to you, is your finish position. Regardless of your level of embarrassment or frustration, hold your finish position and analyze where it is. Your paddle should be extended flat toward our target.

• You want to swing from your shoulder, not your wrist, not our elbow;
• You want to extend out away from your body…to often we become cramped, too close to our body;
• You want to be fairly upright so your hips and shoulders can naturally rotate into the shot.

Your goal is to allow your body to move effortlessly. Allow your body to turn naturally. Increase your range of motion. 

It’s All in Your Head 

Change Mechanics to Fix the Yips?

Pickleball is 100% mental and 50% physical...

Experts who advise on fixing the yips generally discuss 2 things - focus and simplicity. Both are centered on correcting the mental aspect. Increased focus is intended to eliminate all thoughts from the mind except the hitting the ball. Simplifying the motion is also intended to eliminate many of the thoughts that complicate the serve, such as target, speed, spin, etc.

One example of this advice is from Deb Harrison in her video Losing the Serve. Deb discusses getting a rhythm to the serve starting with a consistent pre-shot routine. Then, make it simple - get the ball from point A to point B.

Another example is changing the mechanics of the serve as discussed by Jeff Napier in Recovering From a Serving Problem:

Service Yips

The mind is your greatest weapon. Its also your Achilles heel...

After the Low Country tournament, I wrote about my partner having the service yips. She came into the tournament worried how it would impact her/our game. When mixed doubles rolled around on Sunday, she had already played in women's doubles where she got only about 50% of her serves in. In our first 3 games, she was nearly 100% but the serves were largely ineffective as they were soft and short. Then, in the playoff round, the referee called her for a service fault. Game over.

At the time, all I could do was offer support. Having partnered in the past, I knew she was very capable of the physical act of serving well. I figured it had to be a mental issue but was not sure how to help. I have been researching the issue ever since and we will discuss it over the next several days.

Offbeat Sunday: Forum Trash Talk

You wanna talk some trash...

A little over a year ago, I had a post called Trash Talking that had an article from Pickleballbiz. Now, the Pickleball Forum has entered the arena with their version starting with this question:

Soooo, what are some of your favorite quips, sayings and expressions while in the heat of the game? I'm always looking for another appropriately witty remark.

• Sometimes the paddle actually gets in the way of the ball.
• Quit hitting the ball back because that's causing us problems.
• Is that the best you can do?
• Who put that net in the way???!!!
• Don't do that again.
• If that's the way you're going to play.
• I think its great your wife lets you use her paddle! 
• Be prepared to get your socks knocked off! 

Pickleball Shoes

Good shoes take you to good places...

The equipment requirements for pickleball play are minimal for an individual, consisting mainly of a paddle. But an often ignored piece of equipment just may be the single most important item to have – proper shoes. I was reminded of that recently when I began shopping for new shoes. Unfortunately, my old shoes were discontinued.

I started to play pickleball with cross-training shoes. After every day of play, my calf muscles were in pain. Orthotic inserts helped but were never 100% effective. Then I switched to tennis shoes and the pain disappeared. The USAPA recommends a court shoe to fit the stresses of pickleball play. Our game requires the body to move forward, backward, and side-to-side. Players need a shoe that provides stability on the inside and outside of the foot to support lateral movement. Court shoes made for tennis or even volleyball fit the bill.

Sarah Ansboury wrote an article explaining her recommendations.

Court Shoes…Your Feet will Thank You

Perhaps because I grew up playing tennis, I have always considered good court shoes as important as a good racket. And the same is true in pickleball. If you aren’t wearing court shoes already, please make the switch…your game and your feet will thank you.

Why You Need Court Shoes

The Illegal Server - More Actions

I don't have to play by these rules, I actually have my own version...

Jeff Napier discussed using a psychological ploy to address an illegal server in a post several days ago. Calling someone for an illegal serve can be a delicate situation. First, the service motion is so quick that marginally legal/illegal serves are very difficult to judge. Second, servers may never had been told before and will not believe it. Mark Renneson has a video that addresses a couple of ways to handle the situation.

Mark explains his suggestions in more detail and I will not repeat it here. I will my additional comments, though.

Mark talks about taking a video to show the player. Obviously this must be done before the game. It should be part of the scouting evaluation done for potential opponents. Then it can be used at your discretion. My suggestion - in a refereed match - would be to show the referee the video and ask him to watch the serve for the illegal motion.

A Serve Test

I don't have to play by these rules, I actually have my own version...

We used a Keith Bing video to show some of the differences between a legal and illegal serve in yesterday's post.  While Keith's video is a good explanation of the basics, Mark Renneson has done a great video showing 10 different serves and explaining why each is legal or not. Be an expert before you choose to call another player on their serve.


Mark's video is called Pickleball Serving: Is It Legal?

What is an Illegal Serve

I don't have to play by these rules, I actually have my own version...

I occasionally run across a player who stretches the limits on serving rules. Most of the time there is no real advantage gained, but sometimes there is. We discussed one method to address an illegal server yesterday. We will get another method later in this series. Before taking these steps, we should be certain that the serve is actually illegal. Below is a video from Keith Bing called Legal & Illegal Serve that shows serves of both types.

Keith illustrates an illegal service motion that breaks all 3 rules - 
the paddle is not moving low to high, the paddle face is not below the wrist, and the ball is nor struck below the waist. While Keith illustrates all 3 rules being broken, a serve is illegal even if only one rule is broken.

The Illegal Server - One Tactic

Psychology in sports makes people crazy...

Last week I posted a Mark Renneson video about pickleball stereotypes. Readers probably thought that was a fun video but that nothing would come of it. Actually, a lot of discussions can be provoked by the behaviors shown. Today, we will start with a discussion of dealing with an illegal server. Jeff Napier has written about a ploy he successfully used on one occasion in his article A Bit of Psychology.

A Bit of Psychology

Correcting An Opponent’s Problem

Pickleball for me is normally about fun, and building skill, but I’m not above a psychological trick or two when it makes sense. A couple of years ago, I tried something that worked well, so I’ll pass it along:

This is going to cost you a point, but may win many points shortly thereafter.

There was a player who was going way too far with the “Arizona serve.” This is the kind of serve which is much more of a forehand than an underhand serve. As you know, the pickleball rules call for the ball to be hit below the waist, or more specifically, below bellybutton height, with an underhand stroke or at least with the hand below the wrist (if that can be done with anything other than an underhand stroke). In serious competition, a forehand serve would be called a fault, but in much of modern pickleball, it is considered OK. But today, this person was winning points on an aggressive serve. Or at least putting some players in a position where their returns were less than ideal.

So early in a game I purposely served a ball with a too-high forehand stroke, then immediately stopped the play, calling a fault on myself.

Read More >>>

Memorial Day 2017

A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown...

Today is not a day for writing or reading about pickleball. Today is about remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to create and sustain the freedom that allows us to play games. So, whether you are grilling hot dogs or playing pickleball today, take a moment to think about and thank our fallen heroes. 

Offbeat Sunday: Peppy the Pickle on Food

Peppy gets very nervous at a picnic...

Aspen Kern manages the Pickleball Forum and contributes a character he has created - Peppy the Pickle. Today's Peppy feature is about food. After all, Memorial Day is around the corner and everyone will be celebrating the first day of summer with a picnic.

Pickleball Stereotypes

Dude, stop. You're justifying the stereotype...

You've seen them. You've played with them. You might even be one. Pickleball stereotypes like the apologizer, the celebrant, and the super-intense. Mark Renneson has seen them too...and made a video highlighting some player types called Pickleball Stereotypes.