Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 3 Ways to Take Up Space at the Net Without Getting Burned

• What To Eat Before Pickleball

• DRILL OF THE WEEK: The Dead Dink Challenge

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Neck Pain Remedy (Only 3 Moves)

• Detroit Disruptors Launch as the City's First Professional 40+ Pickleball Team

• 365 Franchising in Fair Haven Looks to Take Automation Model National

• Vizual Edge Named Official Vision Training Partner of USA Pickleball

• Fort Lauderdale’s Priciest New Home Comes With a Rooftop Pickleball Court

• HUMOR: That Ball Was OUT!

• Coach Mary: Pickleball Etiquette

🥷SKILLS

3 Ways To Take Up Space
At The Net
Without Getting Burned

Getting to the kitchen is one of the first strategic lessons most pickleball players learn. The team controlling the non-volley zone (NVZ), commonly called the kitchen, usually has more options to attack, take balls out of the air, and pressure opponents who are still trying to move forward.

The trouble starts when “get to the kitchen” turns into “get to the kitchen as fast as possible.”

You hit a decent third-shot drop, see it heading toward the kitchen, and charge. Or you block a hard ball from the transition zone, watch it land softly, and immediately take three big steps forward. Then your opponent contacts the next ball while you are still moving and sends it directly at your feet.

You were trying to take space. You gave away balance.

Taking space at the net is not one decision to move forward. It is a series of small decisions based on what your last shot actually earned. Sometimes you can take several steps. Sometimes one step is enough. Sometimes the smartest way to claim more court is to stay exactly where you are until the next ball gives you a better opportunity.

💪 Health & Fitness Section
What To Eat Before Pickleball

Ask a group of pickleball players what they eat before playing and you will hear almost everything.

One person plays at 7 a.m. on nothing but coffee. Another eats a full breakfast on the way to the courts. Someone else keeps a banana in the bag because that is what athletes are supposed to do. Then there is the player who arrives for three hours of open play after eating nothing since lunch.

The problem is that there is no single perfect pre-pickleball meal.

What makes sense depends heavily on when you are playing, how long you expect to stay, how demanding the session is likely to be, and how much time your body has to digest before the first game. A meal that works beautifully three hours before play may feel terrible 30 minutes before. A snack that is enough for a short session may not carry you through a long morning of open play.

The useful question is not simply, “What should I eat before pickleball?”

It is, “What should I eat for the pickleball I am about to play?”

In practical terms, the pattern is fairly simple. The more time you have before playing, the more room you generally have for a normal, balanced meal. As play gets closer, smaller and simpler foods often become easier to tolerate. And if you expect to be on court for several hours—especially in the heat—you may need to think beyond what you eat before the first game.

If You Have Three or More Hours Before You Play

This is the easiest situation because you have time to eat a normal meal and digest it. 

🥷 DRILL OF THE WEEK

The Dead Dink Drill

Most players judge a dink by one thing: did it land in the kitchen? This drill uses a tougher standard. A dink that sits up after the bounce can be just as attackable as one that lands out, and the Dead Dink Challenge teaches you how to stop giving your opponents those easy opportunities.

Learn how to hit dinks that stay low after the bounce, create more pressure, and make life much harder for the player across the net.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Neck Pain Remedy
(Only 3 Moves)

🏓 GEAR NEWS

Detroit Disruptors Launch As The
City’s First Professional 40+ Pickleball Team

Detroit is getting its first professional 40+ pickleball team. The new Detroit Disruptors are joining Champion Series Pickleball with plans to compete nationally while building local events, partnerships, and community programs around one of the sport's fastest-growing age groups.

Learn who’s behind the team, where they'll compete, and why Detroit was chosen for the league’s newest franchise.

🗞️ NEWS

How Pickleball 365 Franchising
In Fair Haven Looks To Take
Automation Model National

Most indoor pickleball clubs rely on big buildings, front desks, and lots of staff. One Michigan facility is betting the future looks very different, with 24/7 automated access, just a handful of courts, and a model it says can work in smaller communities across the country.

See how Pickleball 365's franchise model works and why its founders believe smaller, tech-driven clubs could reshape the indoor pickleball business. Click here…

🗞️ NEWS

Vizual Edge Named Official
Vision Training Partner of USAP

Pickleball isn't just about faster hands anymore. USA Pickleball has partnered with a vision training company that focuses on reaction time, ball tracking, focus, and split-second decision-making, skills many players never think to train but use on every point.

Learn what the new member benefit includes, how vision training works, and why USA Pickleball believes it can help players of every skill level.

🏠 REAL ESTATE NEWS

Fort Lauderdale’s Priciest
New Home Comes With a
Rooftop Pickleball Court

This Fort Lauderdale mansion is asking $55 million, the highest price ever for a newly built home in Broward County. Among the wine room, spa, theater, and waterfront views is one feature even luxury homes rarely have: a rooftop pickleball court with 360-degree views.

Take a tour of Ember House and see how pickleball has become one of luxury real estate’s newest status symbols. See Photos Here…

🤣 HUMOR

That Ball Was OUT!

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

LAS VEGAS, NV: Las Vegas Builds $12M Pickleball Complex to Draw Players and Tourists
LARKSPUR, CA: A Marin County Pickleball Fight Ends With a 4-Court Compromise
COACHELLA VALLEY, CA: Scorpions Pickleball Exhibition Had Action Laughs and Even Terrell Owens
GRAND RAPIDS, MI: How A Pickleball Tournament In Grand Rapids Exploded Into A Global Event
DOTHAN, AL: Dothan Bets Big On Pickleball As $6.4 Million Complex Opens
SALEM, NH: ZBA Approves Outdoor Pickleball Courts
TRAVERSE CITY, MI: Pickleball Coach from Traverse City Revealed as 'Big Brother' Houseguest
ORLANDO, FL: You Can Play Pickleball With a Celebrity Chef Near Disney World, and We’re Obsessed


DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!

  💪 Pickleball Etiquette

Here are 3 Great Videos That Discuss Pickleball Etiquette

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