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15 Tips to Improve Your Game & Top Exercises for Senior Picklers

New Noise Innovations, Real Estate & NASCAR

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FIT PICKLER
March 21, 2024

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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

  • Fitness Expert Glen Dawson: Pigeon Stretch Like a Pro

  • 15 Essential Tips To Improve Your Pickleball Game

  • USA Pickleball: Innovations to Lower the Noise Level of Pickleball

  • Pickleball Exercises for Seniors: Play Strong, Avoid Injury

  • Katy Perry & Mom “Spank” Lionel & Luke in PB Challenge

  • Real Estate Newest Keyword: Pickleball

  • An Unlikely Couple: Pickleball + NASCAR

  • The Fit Pickler Survey Contest: Enter Today!

  • Rally Rundown: Local Highlights

  • Coach Mary: Third Shot Drops AKA The Long Dink

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with GLEN

PIGEON STRETCH LIKE A PRO

🥷SKILLS

15 Essential Tips to Improve Your
Pickleball Game

Image Credit: Our AI Image folks have done worse!

Pickleball is an easy game to learn, an incredibly fun and challenging game to play and a difficult game to truly master. When first starting out, trying to remember all the advice and best practices can get overwhelming and may lead to overthinking in the middle of a game which leads to missed shots.

We’ve put together 15 “Core Tips” you must master to increase your skill level.  Drilling and purposefully practicing shots and game situations that you find challenging can really accelerate your learning curve.

The final tip, even the Pros agree is the most necessary skill to master!

Courtesy of John Zakour

🗞️NEWS

How USA Pickleball Officials Are Working To Make The Sport Quieter

Image Credit: We might be getting better at this after all

USA Pickleball’s managing director of equipment standards and facilities development, Carl Schmits, is on a mission to reduce the noise level of Pickleball.

Using state of the art technology, these efforts include, not only modified paddles and balls but some truly creative breakthroughs in sound dampening within facilities themselves.

 Taking a page from recording studio playbook, new developments include the use of sound-attenuating fabric, such as acoustic foam. The aim is to lessen the decibel level from 90 to 80 which could make the acoustic footprint seem about half as loud. Click here to read more about these exciting innovations…

💪 HEALTH & FITNESS

Pickleball Exercises for Seniors:
Prevent Injury and Play Stronger

Picklers over 50 make up nearly 20% of all players nationwide. Fitness is especially important for older players who want to keep playing strong and avoiding injuries.

Exercises that focus on core strength, agility and range of motion are essential for all players but more so as we age. Check out these tips that walk you through pre-game warmups, strength training, stretching and post-game cool down.

🎥 CELEBRITY FUN

If you need a little fun in your day, watch this hysterical
“American Idol” Pickleball Challenge. Katy Perry and her
Mom Mary Hudson, age 75, took Luke Bryant and Lionel Richie
to school on Katy’s home court.

🏠 REAL ESTATE NEWS

Pickleball Mentions in Home
Listings Up 64% From Last Year

Image: If Willie Wonka was a Pickler

Zillow reports that the latest “hot commodity” word in home listings is Pickleball! Mentions are up over 64%.

The popularity of the sport is so widespread that its not just the homes that feature a court of their own that are employing this sporty buzzword. Many home listings are touting their proximity to public courts as well!

Some home listings are even highlighting that their driveways are large enough to use as temporary courts. Click here to read more about this trend…

🏎️PRO SPORTS NEWS
An Unlikely Couple:
NASCAR & Pickleball

We made this up Denny Hamlin does not drive his car with a Pickleball Paddle

Professional NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is working to make the unlikely coupling of NASCAR and Pickleball a reality. According to Hamlin a surprisingly large number of racecar drivers are taking up Pickleball in their offseason, including Austin Dillon and Chris Ric.

It has become popular enough for car sponsorships, and courts are popping up on driver owned lots where the buses park. During an interview you can see on Instagram, Hamlin said of these spaces, “they’re putting these courts in and, I mean, they’re full till one o’clock in the morning. So, we all play quite a bit and it certainly gets more and more competitive. So I’d love to see the crossover happen more and more.”

✅ 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


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

  💪 The Untold Truth About
Third Shot Drops

The 3rd Shot Drop: AKA: The Long Dink

I love the way Zane introduces this topic and demonstrates the skill.

When you hit a 3rd shot drop, remember why you are executing this shot:
Because you need to create time to get to the NVZ!

The third shot drop is basically, a long dink. No matter where you are on the court, you are using the same hips, shoulders, lift, touch. You just make it go further with more follow-through from the transition zone, and with even more hips, shoulders, lift and follow-through from the baseline.

You need to contact the ball low, and in front of you. This requires footwork, to move back so your body is behind the ball. It is executed with your hips, shoulders, and follow-through, NOT with your arm.

Remember, you are coming in after this shot, so your weight should be moving forward after contact. Come in with your paddle up, ready to dink, reset and attack.

Please realize that the younger pros do not need to be as precise with this shot as the older player. If you are not fast, quick, or mobile, you need a great third shot drop, so you have time to get to the NVZ. Practice this shot often.

When you are drilling, be sure to practice third shot drops from all areas of the court.

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