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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 6 Ways to Make Your Partner's Next Shot Easier

• What Helps When Your Calves Get Tight During Play

• DRILL OF THE WEEK: The Stack & Switch Drill

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Fix Neck Pain When Working Out

• Waters Hits 200 Career Titles With Triple Crown At PPA Chicago Cup

• GEAR REVIEW: Six Zero Quartz Pickleball Paddle

• What To Know About Pickleball Vacations for Seniors

• The Picklr Files For Bankruptcy, Plans Reorganization

• HUMOR: Training To Become The Best Female Pickleball Partner Of All Time

• Coach Mary: Don't Be Glued To The NVZ Line

🥷SKILLS

Six Ways To Make Your
Partner’s Shot Easier

Doubles strategy is usually discussed in terms of what a shot does to the opponents. A deep return keeps them back. A good dink makes them hit up. A ball to the feet makes the next shot more difficult.

There is another way to judge a shot that gets much less attention: what does it do for the person standing next to you?

Every ball changes the next situation for all four players. A shot that looks good on its own can leave a partner defending a difficult angle or dealing with a ball at the feet. A less ambitious shot may give that same partner an easy volley or a predictable ball through the middle.

Good doubles players are not only trying to hit effective shots. They are also making the court easier for their partner to play.

1. Keep the Ball Low When Your Partner Is Moving Forward

When a partner is advancing toward the kitchen, the quality of the ball sent to the opponents matters enormously.

💪 Health & Fitness Section

What Helps When Your
Calves Get Tight During Play

Your calves feel fine during the first few games, then suddenly start tightening up in the second hour. It's tempting to blame dehydration or reach for another stretch, but the real cause may be hiding in how you move, play, and recover.

See what causes calf tightness during pickleball and what you can do to keep it from cutting your games short.

🥷 Drill of the Week:

The Stack & Switch Drill

Stacking can give your team a real advantage by keeping both forehands in the middle, but one wrong move can cost you the point before the rally even starts. The Stack and Switch Drill helps you practice the footwork, positioning, and communication that make stacking work without getting tangled up with your partner.

Try the drill to learn how to stack confidently on serves and returns without losing track of the score or your position.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Fix Neck Pain
When Working Out

🏓 PRO NEWS

Waters Hits 200 Career Titles
With Triple Crown Win at
PPA Chicago Cup

Anna Leigh Waters made history at the PPA Chicago Cup, reaching 200 career gold medals at just 19 years old. She didn't stop there, adding another title to complete her 45th Triple Crown, though one of those victories required a dramatic turnaround.

See how Waters reached the milestone, pulled of the comeback, an added another Triple Crown to her remarkable career.

⚙️ GEAR REVIEWS
 
Six Zero Quartz Pickleball Paddle

NEW FROM PICKLER JUNCTION: The Pickler Junction Team’s reviews go above and beyond a simple thumbs up or thumbs down. They pull together independent testing, verified buyer feedback, community opinions, and objective performance data to show where the Six Zero Quartz Pickleball Paddle shines, and where it may not be the right fit, depending on how you play. Note: Review will list MSRP, link will show sale price if available.

Shopping for new pickleball gear? Reply here and we’ll tell The PJ Team what to review next!

✈️ TRAVEL NEWS

What To Know About Pickleball
Vacations For Seniors

Naples, Hilton Head, St. George, and Colorado Springs all offer plenty of pickleball, but the best vacation spot for an older player isn't necessarily the one with the most courts. A poorly timed trip, an unexpected walk in the heat, or open play at the wrong skill level can turn a promising getaway into a frustrating week.

See which destinations make sense for senior pickleball vacations and what to check before booking your trip.

 💼 BUSINESS NEWS

The PICKLR Files For Bankruptcy
Plans Reorganization

The Picklr, one of the largest indoor pickleball franchise operators, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after expanding to more than 70 U.S. locations. Founder Jorge Barragan admits the company made a costly mistake involving roughly 40 franchise locations, raising questions about the financial pressures behind pickleball’s rapid growth.

See what went wrong at The Picklr, why its clubs remain open, and what the restructuring could mean for franchisees and members.

🤣 HUMOR

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

PASADENA, CA: Young & Healthy's Pickleball Palooza Raises Money For Free Care For Local Kids
GUILFORD, CT: Guilford Seniors Show Off Skills At Pickleball Tournament
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA: Third Annual ‘Big Serve’ Pickleball Fundraiser Returns To Support Big Brothers Big Sisters
OVERLAND PARK, KS: Pickleball Tournament Brings Community Together To Help Overland Park Man Needing Liver Transplant
CHUBBUCK , ID: Upper Level Pickleball Soft Opening Set For Dec. 1
DENVER, CO: Pickleball Players Are Getting Bounced Around North Denver By Rule Changes
MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Twin Cities Women Embrace Pickleball




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

  💪 Don’t Be Glued To The NVZ Line

Jill Braverman offers a new way of positioning: “The New NVZ line.”

Jill calls this the Modern Kitchen Line – 3 feet behind the NVZ line. She says you should be moving up and back from the modern NVZ to the regular NVZ.

4 Benefits from Playing from the New NVZ Line:

1. Better bounce speed-up. Better weight transference. Weight goes forward. Never move backwards! Start at new NVZ, and you will always be moving in.
   Move back to move forward. Constant movement in this zone. Up and back.

2. Less attackable, and counter will be improved with more distance from traditional NVZ.
   If you hit a bad dink, move back quickly, get low, get paddle in front so you can reset. Move forward after the shot.

3. Less Lobb able! If you are a couple of feet off the line, it will be harder for your opponent to lob you. You can execute an overhead or run down a good lob.

4. If you are further back, you can move into your fourth from the new NVZ to the traditional NVZ. Better aerial attacks!

· IT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO MOVE BACKWARD THAN FORWARD!

· EVEN IF YOU TAKE IT IN THE AIR, YOU CAN STILLL MOVE IN. THESE TWO THINGS GO TOGETHER.

· YOUR SPLIT STEP SHOULD BE AT THE MODERN KITCHEN LINE, NOT AT THE TRADITIONAL NVZ. YOU CAN MOVE IN FROM THERE!

· DANCE ON AND OFF THE LINE, DEPENDING ON HOW GOOD YOUR DINK WAS. GOOD DINK, MOVE IN, BAD DINK, STAY AT THE NEW NVZ LINE.

· CLOSE TO THE NVZ IF YOUR OPPONENT’S HEAD IS DOWN!

Note: Pickleball is changing. I used to tell my students that they had to position at the NVZ. . .do not get stuck in the transition zone. I am adapting my instruction to include the “New NVZ zone!”

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