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HOW and HOW TIGHT to Hold Your Paddle
Optimal Recovery Strategies, NYC and the Six Stages of PB Obsession
FIT PICKLER
March 28, 2024
Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages
What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:
“GOT IT” and “SURVEY CONTEST” WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Fitness Expert Glen Dawson: Revitalize Your Body: Strategies for Optimal Recovery
Get a Grip! “How” and “How Tight” to Hold Your Paddle
NYC Landlords Luring Workers Back to Offices with Pickleball
Where Do You Fall? The Six Stages of Pickleball Obsession
Pro News: Details of the 2024 MLP Draft Revealed
Cocktail: The Pickleball Smash
The Fit Pickler Survey Contest: Enter Today!
Rally Rundown: Local Highlights
Coach Mary: Tips For Rec Play When Players Have Varying Skill Levels
🏆MARCH WINNER OF THE “GOT IT” CONTEST
This month’s Prize: “PICKLE UP BUTTERCUP”
T-ShirtWinner: “Russell S.-W.”
Congratulations!
(Check Your Email for Details)
© Original Design by The Fit Pickler
🏆MARCH WINNER OF
“THE SURVEY CONTEST”
Congratulation “Camperie”
Check Your Email for Your Prize!
🏋️ STAYING FIT with GLEN
Revitalize Your Body: Strategies
for Optimal Recovery
🥷 SKILLS
Get a Grip! “How” & “How Tight”
To Hold Your Paddle
Get a Grip!
Your grip is the handshake between you and your paddle, the silent partner in your volley, and it can make the difference between a winning dink and a shot gone rogue.
There are two aspects to understand when delving into pickleball paddle grips. How you hold your paddle and how tight you hold your paddle.
First, know that three main grips (how you hold your paddle) include the Continental, the Eastern, and the Western—each has its own charms and challenges. Second, the pressure applied (how tight you hold your paddle) is frequently referred to on a 1-10 scale.
👩🍳🗞️NEWS
NYC Landlords Luring Workers Back
to Offices With Pickleball
Who Can Resist the Lure of Pickleball? 😉
Manhattan realty is at 21% vacancy, so in order to fill offices, owners are realizing they need to get creative. And in this market, creative means more amenities. The days of stuffy cubicles and snack machines in the break room are long gone!
Durst Organization principal David H. Neil says “Eight or nine years ago, amenities packages were very rare — maybe two or three in Manhattan...now, there about seventy of them, either open or in the works.”
From ice cream machines to meditation studios and live concerts to golf simulators and pickleball courts, the amenities are getting fancier and fancier.
🤣 HUMOR
Where Do You Fall? The Six Stages
of Pickleball Obsession
🎵🎶You were always on my mind…🎶
Are you at the start of your journey, sort of “Pickleball Curious? Maybe you’ve dipped a toe in the water and are a “Pickleball Novice?” How long until you start proselytizing, handing out rule books on street corners?? What comes after Pickleball Enthusiast?
🗞️ PRO NEWS
2024 MLP Draft Details Revealed
Major League Pickleball is readying for their big event on April 2nd. It’s Draft Day, where during a dynamic bidding war, each team will draft a total of 4 players, two men and two women out of the 48 eligible players for the Premier level.
Each team has $500,000 of “draft dollars and up to $500,000 of their own real money to spend for a total of $1M per team.
🍸COCKTAILS
The Pickleball Smash
Come On Now, Sing Along:
“They did the pickleball smash
(The pickleball smash) It was a game day bash
(They did the mash) It caught on in a flash
(They did the mash) The pickleball smash”
Grab your High Desert cactus vodka and some jalapeño slices and
head over here to see this refreshing recipe…
✅ SURVEY CONTEST ✅
We would love to get to know you better
So we can provide the most value possible!
Please fill out this quick 1 Minute Survey.
As a BIG THANK YOU,
At the end of each month we will choose one name
from those who replied and send the Winner a
$150 AMAZON GIFT CARD!
🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS
RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
JAPAN: Pickleball May Be Starting a Slow Build in Japan
JOHNSON CITY, TN: Quillen College of Medicine hosts it's 1st-ever PB Palooza to benifit St. Jude's
OXFORD, MI: Baptist Cancer Center-Oxford plans to hold pickleball tournament benefitting cancer
RICHMOND, : Richmond residents protest pickleball project at Craneway Pavilion
LEWES, DE: Pickleball causes racket at Cape Shores
APELIKA, AL: Alabama PB Club is open 24 hrs - 365 days a year
HOLLY HILL, FL: Pictona Founders Put Daytona Area on the Map For Pickleball Fans
PORT ST. JOE, FL: Pickleball Tournament raises $20,000 for Sea Turtles
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
💪 TIPS FOR REC PLAY WHEN
PLAYERS HAVE VARYING SKILL LEVELS
Learn, Teach, Practice & Be Nice
Some of my students have brought this concern to me recently: How should they deal with occasions where the skill level of the players on the public courts vary widely.
Here are some strategies to dela with this situation.
Be Cognizant of Designated Courts:
If you play at a venue with designated skill grouping, this should be easier. For example: at some facilities, there is a beginner court, an intermediate court, and an advanced court. Notice which paddle slots are most appropriate and only vary if it’s not crowded and there are not otherwise enough players in other slots.
When you are the more advanced player playing against players with less experience:
1) Adapt your game to make the points fun. Return easier to the more beginning player, and then harder to the more advanced player.
2) Focus on your own game, and a specific skill. Rather than thinking about winning and scoring points, work on executing a skill that you know you need to work on, one you have not mastered yet (maybe your third shot drop, dinking, deep returns, etc.)
3) Try to hit to both opponents equally. Do not pick on the weaker player or aim for their backhand. Do not smash winners at a weaker player!
4) Do not offer advice or tips unless you are asked!
5) Try to not make it obvious that you are taking it easy. This might make your opponents feel bad and giving them some challenge will help them improve.
When you are the less advanced player playing against players with more experience:
1) Let the other players know that you appreciate their advice, and you are open to suggestions. Avoid making excuses (i.e. “I came from tennis!”) and do your best to keep the rallies going.
2) If you are given a tip, try to implement it, and ask for feedback if appropriate. Even if you fail, be appreciative!
3) If they are open to it, ask questions, but try hard to know the score, and know the basics, such as where to stand when.
4) Concentrate on your footwork and preparation since the ball will arrive quickly. Try to keep your serves and returns deep!
5) Stay balanced and ready at the NVZ – paddle in front!
If you want to improve and play with higher level players, here are a few suggestions:
1) Sign-up for group drill classes to meet other players who want to get better.
2) Arrive early to public courts. This way if others need a fourth, you can easily rotate in, and they will be glad to help you.
3) Enter local Round Robin events to play against those of your skill level, and to meet more Pickleball peeps!
4) Try to find others who would like to drill before they play. Then you can work on your game prior to group play, and you will have a buddy to rotate in with!
What if someone at a public court is mean to you and will not let you rotate in with them?
1) Try not take it personally. They are focused on their court time, and they may not be thinking about others. Go to another group.
2) Do not do this to others! What goes around comes around. Be sure to include single players in your group.
3) After you meet some peeps and get their contacts, start a meet-up group! There are several Pickleball apps for inviting group play. People love it when someone takes this responsibility and hosts a group!
