Happy Birthday Pickleball!

The Overhead Smash Shot, Love Letter to PB and Jaime Foxx

Author

Elena
July 04, 2024

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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

  • It’s Summer! Happy Birthday Pickleball!

  • Fitness Expert Glen Dawson: How to Do The Hip Airplane

  • Unleashing a Devastating Overhead Smash

  • Colorado Lawsuit: Pickleball Courts Causing 'Unbearable Conditions'

  • Community News: A Love Letter to Pickleball

  • Humor: A Whole New Take on Stepping Into The Kitchen

  • Travel: 22 Amazing Pickleball Destinations Around The World

  • Jamie Foxx's Health Update Involves Pickleball

  • The Fit Pickler Survey Contest: Enter Today!

  • Rally Rundown: Local Highlights

  • Announcements: RPPA Free Membership & PickleCon

  • Coach Mary: Beating the Heat: Drills You Can Do Indoors!

🎂 Happy Birthday Pickleball

It Was The Summer of 1965:
Revisiting the Origins of Pickleball

While the exact date of the invention of the game of Pickleball has never been proclaimed, most agree the sport started on the island of Bainbridge in the “Summer of 1965”. So we chose the most iconic day of summer, July 4th to say Happy Birthday to Pickleball!

It’s a great time to revisit this wonderful interview with one of its founders, Barney McCallum, called “The Origins of Pickleball: How It All Began.”

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with GLEN

How to Do the “Hip Airplane” to
Stabilize Your Hip, Ankle, Knee
& Core (w/ special guest)

🥷SKILLS

Unleashing A Devastating Overhead Smash

The overhead smash is a fundamental weapon in your pickleball arsenal. Whether you're a seasoned player or a newcomer, understanding and mastering this shot can significantly elevate your game.

Why the Overhead Smash Matters
The overhead smash is more than just a flashy display of power; it gives you a strategic advantage, allowing you to seize control of the point, pressure your opponents, and create winning opportunities. While it may seem straightforward, the smash involves nuanced technique and precise timing to execute effectively.

Elements of an Effective Overhead Smash
1. Preparation and Positioning:
o Read the Play: Anticipate high incoming balls and move quickly to position yourself underneath.
o Ideal Stance: Feet shoulder-width apart, non-dominant foot slightly back, paddle raised high above your head.
o Grip: A firm continental grip is recommended for optimal control and power.

⚖️ LAW & ORDER

Colorado Lawsuit Claims
Pickleball Courts Causing
'Unbearable Conditions'

Five residents are suing the city of Lone Tree in Colorado, seeking to shut down the recreational center’s six outdoor pickleball courts.

Armed with noise studies they commissioned that showed the decibel levels 10-12 Dbas over the legislative permissible levels, the plaintiffs allege the courts constitute a public nuisance.

They allege, “Defendants’ Courts produce impulsive or shrill pickleball strikes hitting on average 62.1 dBA every two seconds from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily seven (7) days a week.”

The city has not commented publicly on the suit, but this serves as another example of the need for court builders and residents to work together to accommodate players while not disturbing the quality of life of the locals.  

👏COMMUNITY NEWS

A Love Letter to Pickleball

Writer, Jamey Cross, has written what can only be described as a love letter to pickleball in the Wilmington StarNews. She describes finding the sport during Covid and finding connection along the way.

Cross writes, “Stepping onto the pickleball court in 2022 tasted like normalcy after years of social fasting. There I was with a group of real people, not Zoom squares, talking and laughing and playing and connecting.

Plus, the game was fun and quick to learn – even for someone whose coordination and overall spatial awareness left me tripping and falling while simply walking. Just like that, I was hooked.”
Read the full article here ….

🤣HUMOR

Don’t Step Into the Kitchen!!

@tsn

Don’t step in the kitchen. 😂 via @The Kitchen Pickleball

✈️TRAVEL

22 Amazing
Pickleball Destinations
Around The World

From wine country to the Dominican Republic and from Panama and St. Kitts to Cape Cod and Colorado, this wonderful Forbes article shows you the perfect pickleball destinations!

🤩CELEBRITY NEWS

Jamie Foxx's Health Update
Involves Pickleball

Actor Jamie Foxx, 56, fell ill last April from a mysterious illness that left him hospitalized for 20 days. While he has not revealed the exact cause of his illness, his daughter opened up about his healing process.

She says his enthusiasm for the sport of pickleball has been a mainstay of his recovery.

“He’s playing a lot of pickleball! That man and pickleball; it’s like he’s playing twice a day every day. It’s a whole thing. He’s fully in it.”

📜 ANNOUNCEMENTS

RPPA OFFERS FREE MEMBERSHIP
TIER FOR PLAYERS

The Recreational Pickleball Players Association allows pickleball players across the country to message one another, create local groups and events and get great deals from vendors who are a part of the first ever business directory for all things pickleball. VIP Members can access fitness training as well as pickleball coaching and community resources that serve to connect communities and advocate for more courts.
Check it out here …

PICKLECON IS COMING

Mark your calendars and grab your ticket to the Inaugural PickleCon convention in Kansas City from August 8-11th. Over 100 courts will be available in the Convention Center and over 80 vendors will attend, including The Fit Pickler!
Get more information here…

✅ SURVEY CONTEST ✅

🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS


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

  💪 BEAT THE HEAT:
Drills You Can Do Indoors

It is summer. It is hot. And no one
wants to drill outdoors. 

I found four great videos for you to drill indoors and even practice on your own. Follow these for some great ideas!

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