Pickleball Serve

Pickleball Sideline

Pickleball Return of Serve

Pickleball Ready Position

Pickleball Drop Volley Technique

no-volley line imaginary extension?	Coach Mo	September 01, 2010, 06:34:05 PM
Tournament fund raiser	PickleballCoach.com	July 31, 2010, 02:08:24 PM
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Righty and Lefty as partners	evanjorn	July 14, 2010, 09:27:05 AM
Apike Paddles	flying butcher	July 03, 2010, 08:02:51 AM
video on youtube posted	PickleballCoach.com	June 09, 2010, 08:49:54 AM
Where Can I Buy Pickleball Equipment?	PickleballCoach.com	June 06, 2010, 01:08:04 PM
Pickleball Clinics DVD SHOWING!	fangtp	May 24, 2010, 12:22:13 AM

HOW TO GET TO THE NET AFTER SERVING

The serving team is at a disadvantage because the returning team will be at the net before the return of serve is touched by the serving team.
The serving team must get to the net as fast and as safe as possible to level the playing field.

The third hit is very important - 1.The serve 2. The return of serve 3.The serving team's second hit.

There are three methods to get to the net.

1.Blast the ball as low and hard as you can over the net. This is counter productive because it does not give you enough time to get all the way to the NO VOLLEY ZONE line and it is a low percentage shot against a good volleying team.
2. Lob down the middle over the left players backhand which is not an easy shot.
3. Dink the ball into the no volley zone. This slow soft shot will give you and your partner plenty of time to get to the net. It is not an easy shot.

Practicing and mastering this strategy will quickly bring your game to the next level. Find a partner to feed you balls and you try to hit the ball into the NO VOLLEY ZONE at different distances from the net and then you feed your partner balls. What ever method you decide to use communicate this to your partner first so he will know when to move to the line.

If you do not get all the way up to the no volley zone line before your opponent is about to hit the ball, you must stop in a spit step position [both feet parallel to each other in your volley ready position].

Never ever be moving at the point of contact of your opponent touching the ball.
It is better to stop in no man's land balanced and ready to move in any direction than a little closer to the net and not balanced or ready.
The third hit is very important for you to get to the next level.

Good luck.

- Coach Mo


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Laugh if you must,

but pickleball is serious business for local ambassadors of the game

Just saying the word pickleball aloud could emit laughter from all corners of a room.

It's a funny word, yes, but it's no laughing matter for loads of players around the country.

Just ask Grand Rapids residents John and Jeanne Schowalter, local pickleball ambassadors who will demonstrate the sport they picked up a few years ago in Surprise, Ariz.

"I think the sport probably would have grown quicker if they hadn't named it that. It sounds like a children's game," said John Schowalter, a retired auctioneer from Kalamazoo. "Some people in Washington named the sport after their dog Pickles."

The pair will join Dick Draigh and representatives from the Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department for a pickleball demonstration 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Belknap Park tennis courts, 30 Coldbrook St. NE. Another demonstration will be held at the same time and place June 17.

"Some people just encouraged us to give it a try. We did, and we liked it," Schowalter said. "One of the reasons we like it is because it's competitive, yet social, where people just really have a lot of fun playing it.

"Pickleball is more verbal, more noisy than tennis. It's a very social game. Most people that start playing it get addicted. You build a community relationship."

Schowalter, 63, said the RV park near Phoenix where they stay in the winter now has 80 pickleball players.

"It's an extremely fast-growing sport in the adult community, but is now being taught in junior high and high school," he said. "Some RV parks have up to 600 players.

PICKLEBALL

Play area: A badminton-size court (20-by-44 feet) with the net lowered to 34 inches at the center. Equipment: Perforated plastic baseball, similar to a Wiffle ball, and wood, composite or graphite paddles. Cost: Balls are $25 per dozen, and paddles are $30 to $75. Players: Singles or doubles Scoring: First team to 11 points, leading by two, wins. Points only scored while serving. Each player gets one underhand serve and continues until the opponent breaks serve. Each serve must bounce once in the opposing court, and the return must bounce once. After that, the ball may be hit from the air.

"We have people that are 85 playing it in our RV park, but we're trying to get the younger people involved.

Schowalter, who gave up golf for pickleball, said tennis players convert to the sport well.

"Anybody that ever had a racket in their hand," he said. "We're finding that more and more young people are playing it. It's a great sport because you don't have to invest a whole lot of money and equipment."

Schowalter, who plays every day while living in Arizona and several days a week in Michigan, said pickleball has done wonders for his 42-year marriage.

"We're really blessed because we can play together," said Schowalter, who plays several doubles tournaments each year with his wife. "A lot of couples won't play with their spouses because it just doesn't work. It's really good character building  and helps your marriage to do something like this.

"I learned to quit coaching her while we play and to stay out of her way. That translates into the way you relate in your daily life, too."

Plus, the injuries are rare, Schowalter said.

"You have to play within yourself," he said. "There are very few injuries in the sport. Once in a while, you'll see a pulled muscle, but it's pretty rare.

"There isn't a lot of long stretch running. The injuries mostly occur when a person goes for a shot they're physically not able to get."

John Judnich, recreation supervisor for the Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department, said staffers are introducing the sport to the community in hopes of forming a fall league.

"There are some communities in West Michigan that have pickleball, but we're hoping to bring it to Grand Rapids," Judnich said. "We're interested because it hits all age groups. I think there's a potential for it to be a growing activity."

Article provided by: Cris Greer / Grand Rapids Press

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this article.

 

Myrtle Beach celebrates
International Pickleball Week

A new sport is becoming quite popular.

And Myrtle Beach city leaders and media personalities took their crack at it Tuesday at Pepper Geddings recreation center.

It's pickleball!

It's kind of a mix between badmitton and tennis, suitable for all ages and fitness levels.... even our Ed Piotrowski. He participated in the tournament.

Myrtle Beach has a bunch of regular players at its fitness centers and it wanted to let more people know about it.

Pickleball player Anthony Marraccino tells NewsChannel 15, "Its a fun game. It's the easiest game there is to learn. Almost anybody can play and learn this game in a half-hour or hour."

Myrtle Beach put on Tuesday's tournament as part of International Pickleball Week.

- article as posted on CarolinaLive.com

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