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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• How Proper Footwork Wins Points Before You Swing

• “Listen to Your Body” Is Wrong – Try the Traffic Light Test Instead

• “GOT IT” Contest Winner Announced

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: How to Avoid Wrist Pain for Good (Top 3 Fixes You Need Today!)

• UPA-A Cracks Down: Pickleball Paddle Brands Face $50K Fines for Flouting Standards

• CourtReserve: $54M Growth Investment Raised For Advancing Club Software

• Milwaukee Firefighters Playing Pickleball

• More Churches Using Pickleball For Community Building and Outreach

• Pickleball Paddle Innovation Earns $10,000 Prize

• Coach Mary: “I Wish I Had Learned This Shot Earlier!”

🥷SKILLS

How Proper Footwork Wins
Points Before You Swing

Ask any great player what separates consistent performers from streaky ones, and they’ll give the same answer: Footwork.

Most players obsess over grip pressure, spin, and paddle angle—but the real difference between clean winners and clumsy errors happens before the paddle ever moves. Proper positioning, balance, and recovery determine the quality of every shot.

Footwork doesn’t just make you faster. It makes you calmer, more accurate, and less prone to injury. It’s the invisible foundation that supports everything else in your game.

Why Footwork Decides Consistency

You Can’t Fix a Shot Made From the Wrong Spot
Even perfect technique can’t save bad positioning. Being a step late or off-balance changes your contact angle and ruins control.

🏆OCTOBER WINNER OF THE
“GOT IT” CONTEST
^{This month’s Prize: “I SPEAK FLUENT PICKLEBALL”
T-ShirtWinner: “Michael M. ”
Congratulations! (Check Your Email for Details)}

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

“Listen To Your Body” Is Wrong
Try The Traffic Light Test Instead

We’ve all heard it: “Just listen to your body.” The problem? By the time your knees ache or your energy drops, the damage is already done.  Pickleball teaches us to read the court. Why not read our bodies the same way? 

 That’s where the Traffic Light Test comes in. In one minute each morning, you can tell if today is a green, yellow, or red day. It’s your morning scoreboard. 

A Simple First Check 
Your heart beats all day and night. But the number of beats while resting can tell you a lot. This is your Resting Heart Rate (RHR). 

Here’s how to check it: 
Before you get out of bed, place two fingers on your wrist or neck. 

Count beats for 30 seconds.  

Double the number. That’s your RHR. 

If your number is about the same as your normal? Green light. A little higher than usual? Yellow light. Way higher? Red light. 

The Body’s Battery Meter 
Now let’s talk about Heart Rate Variability (HRV). It sounds technical, but it’s easy to get.  

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

How To Avoid Wrist Pain For Good
(Top 3 Fixes You Need Today)

🏓 PRO NEWS

UPA-A Cracks Down:
Pickleball Paddle Brands Face $50K
Fines For Flouting Standards

Pickleball’s paddle wars just got real. The United Pickleball Association of America (UPA-A) is cracking down hard—issuing fines of up to $50,000 for brands whose paddles fail new on-site performance tests. With several top models already banned from play, the message is clear: power paddles that push past the limits won’t make the cut.

Read how UPA-A’s strict new rules could redefine fairness, technology, and trust in professional pickleball, click here…

💼 BUSINESS NEWS

CourtReserve: $54M Growth Investment
Raised For Advancing Club Software

Racquet sports are booming — and now, so is the software powering them. CourtReserve, the platform behind more than 2,000 clubs and 5 million players, has secured a $54 million growth investment from Mainsail Partners to supercharge its AI-driven club management tools. From streamlining bookings to building community, this deal could redefine how racquet and pickleball clubs operate in the digital age.

Read how CourtReserve’s $54M boost is set to revolutionize the future of racquet and paddle sports management.

👏 COMMUNITY NEWS

Milwaukee Firefighters
Playing Pickleball

At Milwaukee’s busiest firehouses, the sound of sirens isn’t the only thing heating up — it’s the pop of pickleballs echoing through the station halls. Firefighters are turning downtime into playtime, using the fast-growing sport to stay fit, blow off steam, and strengthen camaraderie between calls. What started as a pandemic pastime has now become a citywide craze — a perfect mix of competition, laughter, and teamwork.

Step inside the firehouse where brotherhood meets backspin and see how pickleball is fueling fitness and fun across Milwaukee’s finest, click here…

 💼 COMMUNITY NEWS

More Churches Using Pickleball
For Community Building & Outreach

Across America, churches are finding a new way to bring people together—on the pickleball court. From Maryland to California, congregations are embracing the nation’s fastest-growing sport as a tool for connection, outreach, and faith in action. Whether it’s prayer before play or laughter after a long rally, churches are discovering that a simple game can open doors to fellowship and renewal.

See how communities of faith are using pickleball to build friendships, strengthen outreach, and grow the kingdom—one serve at a time, click here…

🗞️ NEWS

Pickleball Paddle Innovation
Earns $10,000 Prize

A Sunshine Coast innovator is making waves both on and off the court. Norbert Zielinski, founder of PACT Paddles, has taken home the top prize at the 2025 Generation Innovation Challenge, winning over $10,000 for his cutting-edge pickleball paddle design. As Australia’s love affair with pickleball grows, Zielinski’s win highlights a new generation of entrepreneurs blending sport, technology, and creativity to shape the game’s future.

 Learn how this young innovator is redefining the future of pickleball—one paddle at a time, click here…

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

CANADA: Pickleball Court In Heart Of Newfoundland Fishing History Is Only Accessible By Boat
BAYTOWN, TX: Kiwanis Pickleball Tournament Nets $14K
PHILADELPHIA, PA: These Philly-Area Businesses Are Betting On Pickleball's Popularity
WHITEHALL, PA: Expansive Pickleball Facility Sets Opening Date At Lehigh County Shopping Center
MYRTLE BEACH, SC: City's Largest Pickleball Courts Are Underway
LEXINGTON, SC: Pickleball Coup: The Youth Are Taking Over
IDAHO FALLS, ID: Popularity Of Pickleball Continues To Grow, Will It Become A Hight School Sport?
NEW CASTLE, PA: Police Group Officially Opens New Pickleball Court

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

  💪 I Wish I Learned This Shot Earlier!

Tanner Tomasi demonstrates the two-handed response to a third shot drop to your backhand side. Short but sweet video! Check it out.

• Notice the demo of the bad way to defend this. It is a “push” shot with the elbow leading. This allows your opponent to attack you.

• Compare this to the two-handing topspin return! Quick, using your hips, shoulders, low to high, targeting open space.

• Do not use maximum power and pace on this shot. You need less speed, more topspin and targeting.

• This shot puts more pressure on your opponent and forces them to earn their way to the NVZ.

• On the flip side, most players do not have this shot, so aim your third shot drop to their backhand!

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