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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 8 Shots You Shouldn’t Hit—But Probably Do!

• From Farm Girl to Pickleball Innovator:
  Meet The Woman Behind The Ultimate Pickleball Bag

• How to Trick Your Body to Play Harder, Longer, and Still Feel Good
  (Even on the Hottest Days)

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Lower Back Strengthening Exercises To Relieve Pain

• Pickleball War Erupts In Exclusive West Palm Beach Gated Community

• Jamie Lee Curtis Freaky Friday Pickleball Video

• When The Other Pros Play Pickleball: Luka, Flacco, And The Power of the Paddle

• Seems More Legit': Zane Navratil's Surprising Endorsement Of Rival WPPA Rocks UPA

• Gaming News: Fortnite Finds Pickleball

• Coach Mary: Beat Indoor Pickleball Drills & Wall Drills

🥷SKILLS

8 Shots You Shouldn’t Hit
But Probably Do

Stop giving away points with these tempting—but low-percentage—choices.

Pickleball rewards patience, placement, and smart decisions—but even seasoned players fall for the same trap: trying the wrong shot at the wrong time. Maybe you're feeling pressure to “do something.” Maybe you're trying to end the point early. Or maybe you're just reacting without thinking.

Whatever the reason, these common but risky choices often result in free points for your opponent—and unnecessary frustration for you. Here are eight shots most players should stop hitting. You’ve likely tried one (or all) of them. The good news? There’s a smarter option available in every case.

Why These Shots Get You in Trouble 
These aren’t “bad shots” in theory—but they’re bad timing. Every shot on this list has something in.

👏 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

From Farm Girl To Pickleball Innovator:
Meet The Woman Behind The
Ultimate Pickleball Bag

At seven years old, Melanie Romero was learning to weld from her father on their New Mexico farm. She watched in awe as her dad would “reach into a pile of junk and pull something out," and then transform that scrap metal into working tractor parts. "I was just his little shadow," she recalls fondly.

That early exposure to creative problem-solving planted seeds that would later grow into multiple patented inventions. Each of Romero’s innovations arose out of necessity—including her latest: oktō, the ultimate pickleball backpack. “I needed a bag that could serve as my locker, kitchen, and office—all while spending hours at the court,” she says.

A Second Lease on Sports 
Romero discovered pickleball in the fall of 2022, and it changed her life. It gave her the physical competition she craved—even as a busy professional and older adult. Despite her demanding role as West Coast Regional Sales Manager (covering 13 states from Colorado to Alaska), she found herself on the court 2–6 hours multiple times per week.

“This sport has a very easy entry point,” she explains, “but it takes a lifetime to master. The pursuit of getting a little better each game kept me excited and coming back for more.”

Her flexible sales schedule allowed her to play during off-peak hours—but that created a new problem. “I still had to answer emails and voicemails while at the courts. That’s when I realized we picklers sometimes play when we should be working—so I needed a backpack with a built-in workstation.”

The Problem Every Player Knows
Like many players, Romero was tired of digging through overstuffed bags—or worse, carrying multiple bags: a gym bag, lunch cooler, and purse. “I didn’t want to dig past a sweaty T-shirt just to find my ChapStick,” she laughs.

💪 Health & Fitness Section
Weekly Advice To Keep You Fit & Injury Free

How To Trick Your Body To Play Harder,
Longer & Still Feel Good! Even
On The Hottest Days

Ever felt like you saw a shot coming but just couldn't get there in time?

Most players over think "my reflexes are just getting slower."

If you’ve played pickleball this summer, you know the story: the sun’s up, sweat’s pouring off your brow, and suddenly the fun starts feeling like work.

Maybe you tell yourself you’re just out of shape, or that “at my age, I’ve only got so much gas in the tank.”

But here’s what most rec players (and even a few pros) get wrong: The real reason you fade out in the heat isn’t just dehydration or lack of fitness.

A group of sports scientists recently dug through 51 studies on cooling and athletic performance. The “aha” moment? It turns out your perception of heat is just as powerful as your actual body temperature.

In other words, if you can convince your brain you’re not overheating, you can squeeze out more rallies, longer rallies – and a whole lot more fun.

Outsmarting Your Inner Thermostat

So how can you convince your brain you’re not overheating?

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Lower Back Strengthening
Exercises To Relieve Pain

🗞️NEWS

Pickleball War Erupts In Exclusive
West Palm Beach Gated Community.

When a West Palm Beach community tried to stop more pickleball courts from being built, the players did what any passionate group would do—form an LLC and fight back.

Noise complaints, property values, and political drama collided in a battle that shows just how far this sport has come. Read what happened when pickleball became a power struggle.

🤣JUST FOR FUN

Hysterical: Jamie Lee Curtis & Pickleball

🏀🏈 PRO SPORTS NEWS

When The Other Pros Play Pickleball:
Luka, Flacco & The Power Of The Paddle

Pickleball is second nature to our readers—but seeing elite pros like Luka Dončić and Joe Flacco credit it for million-dollar turnarounds? That’s something new. Luka dropped weight, fixed his footwork, and scored a $165M extension.

Flacco ditched the gym and says pickleball keeps him mentally sharp and physically ready at 40. Turns out, the sport you love might just be the secret sauce for the pros too.

See what they’re saying—and why the pickleball bug is hitting the big leagues.
Read about Luka here…
Read about Flacco here…

 💼 PRO NEWS

’Seems More Legit’: Zane’s
Surprising Endorsement of
Rival WPPS Rocks UPA

Zane Navratil just stirred the pot in pro pickleball. Despite being elected president of the UPA’s Pro Player Committee, he’s now praising the rival WPPA—calling it “more legit” thanks to its partnership with the same group that helped MLB players unionize.

With top players already backing the new association, Navratil is suddenly walking a tightrope between loyalty and leadership.
See what happens next in the growing battle for control of pro pickleball, click here…

👏 COMMUNITY NEWS

Meet The Queens Of Atlanta’s
Pickleball Scene

This isn’t just about playing for medals—it’s about friendship, community, and creating a space where women can thrive together. What started as a stroll through the park led to the formation of the Atlanta Pickleball Queens, a group that’s now 300 women strong and redefining what aging actively can look like.

Meet the women behind the movement—and see how pickleball became more than just a game. Click Here…

🎮 GAMING NEWS

Fortnite Finds Pickleball

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

CHARLOTTE, NC: ‘Judgement-Free’ Pickleball Zone
SWARTZ CREEK, MI: Mid-Michigan Deaf And Signing Community Come Together For Pickle Ball Fun
TOMS RIVER, NJ: Update on Potential Condemnation of a Church to Build a Park and Pickleball Courts
LOUISVILLE, CO: One Of Colorado’s Largest Indoor Pickleball Club Opens
PITTSBURG, KS: Johnson Family returns to Pittsburg for Pickleball Court Ribbon Cutting
ROSEVILLE, CA: Pickleball Kingdom To Occupy Former Roseville Big Lots Building
SALT LAKE CITY, UT: SLC Triples The Number Of nNw Pickleball Courts Opening At Glendale Park
KALAMAZOO, MI: New Pickleball Complex Opens In Kalamazoo County, Hosts 450 Players In First 2 Weeks

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

  💪 Indoor Pickleball Drills
& Wall Drills

BEAT THE HEAT: INDOOR PICKLE BALL DRILLS

It is summer in the Coachella Valley, but it is also hot all over the world! Here are some great ways to work on your game when it is 100 degrees or hotter outside. Also, you do not need a court, a partner, a group or a coach.

Ed Ju has 6 great videos on drills you can do on your own with just one ball, one wall. There are handball walls at many middle school campus sites, as well as high school sites.
· Your garage or a side wall of your home?
· A playroom or workout room wall inside your home?
· A large table can be placed, with a small table on top, or even better, a ping pong table placed with one end up and one end down.
· There are backboards at some parks. Rancho Mirage Community Park has two backboards that can be used for tennis or Pickleball.
· Purchase a Dink Master, which is a portable wall on wheels that you can use as a drilling partner. I own one!
This first video shows you how to set up a wall for drilling.

Ed shows some great ways to drill on a wall. Immediate feedback is the key training aid.

Ed demos three great drills:

1. Speed up, then block.

2. Bump, then cross.

3. Smash, then deflect. I do theses with my classes!

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