Pickleball Backhand Groundstroke

Pickleball Anticipate Out Balls

Pickleball Overhead

Reduce Unforced Errors Pickleball

Pickleball Conclusion

Pickleball Early Preparation

EARLY PREPARATION is the most important part of the game. It is the most common mistake, because players do not realize they are not prepared early enough. Players in their quest to get to the NVZ line tend to be running out of control at the point of contact of the ball on their opponents paddle. Players sacrifice early preparation for a better position on the court which is very poor technique because if you are moving at point of contact of the ball on your opponents paddle then you are not able to hit a low ball, go back for a lob, or move right or left as quick.

The proper technique is to split step [feet are parallel to each other and shoulder width apart. Similar to the old game of hop scotch] and hesitate for a split second in the proper ready position at the point of contact of your opponent touching the ball. Watch the face of your opponents paddle to be able to read if you will be hitting a forehand or backhand shot and be prepared to cross step to the ball (click here for Pickleball Footwork video). Using the slit step allows you to have a little forward motion and be in control to move quickly in either direction.

If you use this technique every single time your opponent touches the ball it will make you a quicker and more consistent player.

- Coach Mo

Disney opens re-branded ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando

Walt Disney World opened its re-branded ESPN Wide World of Sports on February 25 in a ceremony that only Disney could stage.

Athletes (everyone from golf legend Annika Sorenstam to the Cincinnati Bengals' Chad Ochocinco) walked a "green carpet" made from turf and signed autographs for fans, many of whom had won sweepstakes or booked special travel packages to be there. Florida Governor Charlie Crist even flew in to take the stage and discuss how important youth sports are to Florida, both in tourism dollars and in health and wellness.

New Orleans Saints (and Super Bowl Champion) kicker Garrett Hartley put one over the gate of the complex with an assist from Minnie Mouse. The gate opened and out poured dozens of sports stars, ESPN personalities and youth sports athletes, led by Mickey Mouse, who was dressed and ready to take the field himself.

And then the real fireworks began. Really. Fireworks.
We're guessing Disney could fit six, maybe even 12, Pickleball courts inside one of its fieldhouses for a round-robin tournament. And I, for one, can't wait for that Sports Center highlight reel.
to read the rest of this article.

by Leigh M. Caldwell

The Villages is Pickleball Paradise

I first heard about pickleball from a friend who lives in an active adult community in New Mexico. She described the sport as a cross between tennis, badminton and ping-pong. I thought it was some crazy made-up sport, only played in secluded pockets of the country. I was right about it being a crazy, made-up sport, but it is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, especially popular in senior communities.

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BUILDING A MIRACLE: Villager 1 of 12 coaches to help Brooks select 1980 US Olympic hockey team

By STEVE DAY, DAILY SUN

to read this article on The Villages Daily Sun website.

THE VILLAGES — It was one of the biggest upsets in not only Olympic competition, but of all sporting events. When the United States hockey team defeated the Russian hockey team to take the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics, it was truly the shot heard around the world.

Dick Movsessian, a resident of the Village of Tall Trees, spent two weeks in 1979 helping to select the team that would represent the United States in that historic game.

“I spent 14 days helping (U.S. Olympic hockey head coach) Herb Brooks in the tryouts,” Movsessian said. “They chose 12 coaches from around the United States to come to the National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs.”

Movsessian had plenty of coaching experience that caught the eye of Brooks.

He coached hockey for 29 years at North Middlesex (Mass.) High School. The Villages resident also had coaching stints at Fitchburg State College and Mount Wachusett Community College, both in Massachusetts.

Movsessian began playing hockey as a junior in high school before playing for Boston University.

“I was the Rudy on the varsity team,” he laughed. “I had just begun skating two years before I went to Boston University. I was just happy to be on the team. I was a much better coach than a player.”

To select the Olympic team, players were placed on one of four teams divided by geography — Central, Southern, Midwestern and New England. Three coaches from each area were selected — a former Olympian, a college coach and a youth hockey coach. Movsessian was chosen for his work with a Junior A hockey team.

“I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time,” Movsessian said.

According to Movsessian, about 400 people tried out in the New England area alone. Anybody could try out. Roughly 100 players made it to the final tryouts in Colorado. Three players came from Movsessian’s area — Jim Craig, Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk made it. They performed in games much like Olympic competition.

“It was basically a college all-star team that was selected to go to Colorado,” Movsessian said.

The duty of the coaches was to cut the number of players to 26, although the entire 26 were not guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team.

“The team would then be cut to 20,” Movsessian explained. “Of the 20, only 18 would actually make the team and the other two would be spares (who) got to play only if someone was injured.”

The team’s head coach, Herb Brooks, was asked to lead the squad because of his past Olympic hockey experience, albeit a limited one.

“Brooks was one of the spares in the 1960 Olympics, so he knew what it was like,” Movsessian said. “(The spares) would get to travel with the team but they didn’t get anything — no uniforms or anything.”

Although 12 coaches were brought in to help choose the team, it was not completely in their hands. Actually, it was completely in Brooks’ hands.

“We had meetings about what we thought, but Brooks handpicked his team before coming there,” Movsessian said. “He took suggestions, but 80 percent of the players came from his part of the country.”

Many players on the team impressed Movsessian.

“Jack O’Callahan did an excellent job,” he said. “All of the New England players did.”

Although Mike Eruzione was not the best player on the team, he was one of the most valuable.

“He was the oldest player on the team,” Movsessian said. “I think he was 28 and he was looked up to. That is why he was picked by Brooks. He was not nearly the best player.”

But in Movsessian’s eye Craig, the squad’s goalie, was the most important.

“The goalie is like the pitcher in baseball,” Movsessian said. “He was spectacular; he certainly did all he could do in the game with Russia.”

The game against Russia, a complete shock to the entire world, was a miracle in so many ways.

Prior to the Olympics, the Russian team went 5-3-1 in exhibitions against U.S. teams made up entirely of NHL players. They had beaten them 6-0 in the Challenge Cup in 1979.

“It was something to beat them — it was a miracle,” Movsessian said. “We thought we could get a bronze medal, but not a gold.”

Movsessian could have been at the rink for the Miracle on Ice. He had gotten free tickets. But being a hockey coach at the time, he had to follow the same rules his players did.

“I had a rule: ‘You don’t miss practice.’ (We had practice), so I had to stay with my teams,” he said.

Mother Nature didn’t cooperate that night either “I was watching it and a big snowstorm was going on. The television went out in town after the first period. I had to drive to the adjoining town and go to a tavern to watch the end of the game.

“Everybody went nuts when the United States won — even people who didn’t know anything about hockey. It wasn’t just the biggest upset in Olympic history, but one of the biggest upsets in sports.”

Thirty years later, hockey still holds a special place in Movsessian’s heart.

“I love watching hockey,” he said sincerely. “It makes me nostalgic.”

In The Villages, Movsessian has inaugurated a floor hockey league and is known as “Coach Mo” at the local pickleball courts. He has a pickleball Web site called pickleballcoach.com and has made an instructional pickleball DVD. Movsessian also gives free pickleball clinics in local communities.

It just proves — once a coach, always a coach.

Pickleball in Arizona, a Growing Trend

Last night I had dinner with clients who live in Sun City West AZ.  The topic of conversation throughout the dinner table was the 10 new Sun City West Pickleball Courts  and the Grand opening  yesterday at the Palm Ridge Recreation Center.  The R.H. Johnson Recreation Center already had 5 pickleball courts making the...

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Article Author: Leolinda Bowers

Florida Senior Games State Championship

The 2009 Florida Senior Games State Championships are a program of the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization, presented in conjunction with the Lee County Sports Authority.
This year was the 18th Annual Event and more than 1600 athletes registered for the various events. Registration for the pickleball venue was up nearly 30% from last years 88 registered players.

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by USAPA Ambassador Donna Donald

Doubles Serving Question	Coach Mo	March 03, 2010, 01:37:07 PM
Difficulty with ball control on hard returns	fangtp	March 01, 2010, 12:11:17 PM
The Stoopid Test	PickleballCoach.com	March 01, 2010, 10:05:52 AM
no volley zone	Coach Mo	February 23, 2010, 07:20:07 PM
new member anyone play near Denton TX?	flying butcher	February 23, 2010, 07:46:57 AM
Ball over the net and back	PickleballCoach.com	February 16, 2010, 11:05:51 PM
DEMENTIA QUIZ	PickleballCoach.com	February 16, 2010, 07:42:54 AM
Whats this place for?	PickleballCoach.com	February 16, 2010, 07:40:15 AM

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