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- Fast Volley? Press Pause! Knowing When Not to Attack
Fast Volley? Press Pause! Knowing When Not to Attack
Mind Over Paddle, Does Changing Paddles Hurt Your Game? PB Emojis, Back Pain Fix, Huge Contract For Teenage Pro and More!
FIT PICKLER
May 15, 2025
Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages
What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:
Fast Volley? Press Pause! Knowing When Not to Attack
Mind Over Paddle: How To Win More Games Without Practicing More
Is Switching Paddles Too Often Hurting Your Game?
Hey Apple: It's Time For A Pickleball Emoji
Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Best Exercises For Core & Back Activation
Pickleball Plan Raises Fear Of 'Whitening' FL Beachfront Community
Quang Duong’s $500K Paddle Deal with Vietnamese Paddle Brand Sypik
New Pickleball Series 'How I Met My Partner' Nominated At Denver Film Festival
Pickleball Owners Trading Entire Teams!
Coach Mary: Looking At Incorrect Techniques & Proper Execution Side By Side
🥷 SKILLS
Fast Volley, Press Pause!
Knowing When Not To Attack
Things Are Getting Hot In The Kitchen!
In pickleball, few moments feel more intense than a fast hands exchange at the kitchen line. The ball is flying, the pressure is on, and instinct says: hit it harder, faster, now. But winning these exchanges isn’t just about quick reactions — it’s about control, timing, and knowing when not to attack.
Recognizing when not to attack in a fast exchange can be the difference between staying in the point and giving it away. Mastering the pause leads to better decisions, fewer pop-ups, and more consistent wins.
Why Speed Isn’t Always the Solution
Many players believe that the fastest hands win. In reality, speed without control leads to unforced errors, awkward contact, and easy counterattacks for your opponent. Fast exchanges at the kitchen line are often decided not by who hits first, but by who makes the first mistake.
⚕️HEALTH & FITNESS
Mind Over Paddle: How To Win
More Games Without Practicing More
How to win more games – without practicing more
Most pickleball players do some kind of warm up before the game. They stretch, jog a bit, maybe dink a few balls. But most people skip over a crucial part of the warm-up. The result?
When the game starts, they miss easy shots. They react slower. And they play worse, even though they could play better. What’s that important part they skip? The mental warm-up.
When your mind is ready, you react faster. You choose smarter shots. You make fewer mistakes. And when you play well, the game feels more fun.
Mental preparation isn’t hard. It takes five minutes or less. And no, it doesn’t involve crystals or chanting.
Here’s what to do.
🏋️ STAYING FIT with GLENN
Best Exercises For
Core & Back Activation
🏓 GEAR NEWS
Is Switching Paddles Too Often
Hurting Your Game?
One Of These Will That Darn Ball Over The Net!
Is your paddle-switching habit helping or hurting your game? Some players are swapping gear like it’s a fashion trend, always on the hunt for the latest "magic" paddle. But is all that switching costing you your feel, timing, and consistency?
Before you fall for the next carbon fiber promise, read this breakdown on how paddle hopping might be slowing your progress—and how to switch smart if you must.
🏓 NEWS
Hey Apple: It’s Time For A Pickleball Emoji!
🏓 No More Ping Pong Paddles (Even Tho We Just Used Two Today ☹️ )
Despite 36.5 million Americans playing pickleball last year, there’s still no official emoji to represent the sport. That’s why a San Diego-based startup is leading the charge to change that—designing a dedicated emoji and petitioning Apple to make it part of iOS 19. This grassroots campaign isn’t just about pixels—it’s about visibility, recognition, and digital belonging.
Read how the pickleball community is rallying for a symbol of its explosive growth—and why it just might work, click here…
🏓 COMMUNITY NEWS
Pickleball Plan Raises Fear of ‘Whitening’
of FL Beachfront Community
Whose Court Is It Anyway?
In Fort Lauderdale, a plan to swap long-standing oceanfront basketball courts for new pickleball facilities has ignited a storm of controversy—and raised uncomfortable questions about race, access, and community identity. What began as a $2 billion redevelopment vision is now a flashpoint for cultural tension in one of Florida’s most diverse cities.
Read how a game of basketball turned into a fight for visibility, equity, and the soul of a beachfront community, click here…
🇻🇳 GLOBAL NEWS
Quang Duong’s $500K Paddle Deal
With Vietnamese Brand Sypick
Your Golden Paddle Has Arrived!
A Global Power Shift—Driven by a Paddle
Quang Duong, Asia’s top pickleball phenom, just stunned the sport’s elite by ditching U.S.-based Selkirk for a rising Vietnamese paddle brand—and his father is spilling everything. From market dominance to dollar signs, this half-million-dollar deal just the beginning.
See the details and discover why Quang’s next match could mark a turning point for the entire sport, click here…
🤩 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
PB Series ‘How I Met My Partner’
Nominated At Denver Film Festival
Challenge Accepted!
Pickleball isn’t just building communities—it’s building relationships. A new docu-series capturing real-life court-side love stories is gaining critical buzz, and the behind-the-scenes story might be even more compelling than the show itself.
Find out why How I Met My Partner is making waves at film festivals—and what it says about the deeper impact of the sport.
Read the full story here…
👏 PRO NEWS
Pickleball Owners Trading
Entire Teams!
Shake On It?
Pickleball isn’t just growing, it’s rewriting the playbook on franchise ownership. In an unprecedented move, two Major League Pickleball teams didn’t trade players—they swapped entire franchises. With names like Kevin Durant, Odell Beckham Jr., and Justin Verlander in the mix, this shakeup has major implications for the league’s future.
Get the full story behind the historic deal—and what it could mean for the next phase of pro pickleball, click here…
🤣 HUMOR
🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS
RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
ENGLAND: Norwich Pickleball Champ 'Didn't Think It Was A Real Sport' Until He Picked Up A Paddle
TACOMA, WA: From Kids To 94-Year Olds, Everyone Is Playing Pickleball In Tacoma
MOBILE, AL: LOV Pickleball Tournament Raises Funds For Light Of The Village Summer Camps
IRON MOUNTAIN, MI: Local Schools Score With New Pickleball Equipment
THE WOODLANDS, TX: 12-Year-Old Pickleball Star Shines
ROANOKE, VA: 'Pickleball With The Police' Community Event
NEW ORLEANS, LA: Jefferson Parish Opens $2 million PB Complex In Metairie
GREENWOOD, NC: Humane Society of Greenwood Hosts Pickleball Tournament To Support Animals
DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!
HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY
💪 INCORRECT TECHNIQUES &
PROPER EXECUTION SIDE BY SIDE
CALLIE SMITH DAY!
Back to dinking tips, Check it out!
I love how Callie demonstrates the incorrect technique, and then waggles her finger at you. Then, after showing us the proper execution, she gives us a thumbs up.
Callie demonstrates the problem many new players have with bringing their arm back on the forehand side. To keep your dinks down, keep your paddle in front, short or no backswing, and piston your legs to lift the ball, using your core and shoulders for follow-through.
2. In this side -by- side comparison, Callie shows the big backswing on the left, and the short backswing and use of the legs and core on the right side.
3. Another good side-by-side comparison of good versus bad technique. On the right, she lets the ball get behind her, and she stays still, reaching back. She looks very unbalanced and is not in control. On the left side, she takes a quick step back, gets behind the dink, and is able to use her legs, core and follow-through, and then she moves back in to the NVZ line.