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- Mastering The Misdirection Dink
Mastering The Misdirection Dink
The Backhand Return, The Mental Game, Heartwarming Video From Germany, The Wimbledon of Pickleball & More
FIT PICKLER
March 13, 2025
Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages
What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:
Mastering the Misdirection Dink
Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Lower That High Hip in 3 Moves
The Backhand Return: Hit It Or Run Around It?
Cut Down On Unforced Errors With Mental Training
Moffitt Cancer Center Studies Benefits of PB For Cancer Survivor
Pickleball Taps Into Growing Sweet Spot Of The Stock Market
The Major League Pickleball 2025 Draft Grades
Waters Racks Up Another Triple Crown PPA Victory
New Targeting Rule: Cracking Down on Reckless Shots
‘Wimbledon Of Pickleball’ Opens In Fort Lauderdale
Rally Rundown: Local Highlights
Coach Mary: I Love My Lob Serve
🥷SKILLS
Mastering The Misdirection Dink
Quick, Look Over There!
A well-placed dink is one of the most effective shots in pickleball, but many players make their dinks too predictable. The misdirection dink adds an element of deception, making opponents hesitate, shift their weight the wrong way, or even completely misread the shot. This small adjustment can create openings, force weak returns, and disrupt an opponent’s rhythm.
Instead of always hitting dinks straight or crosscourt in a way that is easy to anticipate, the misdirection dink disguises intent until the last moment. With subtle paddle adjustments and precise execution, this shot can become a powerful weapon at the net.
What Is a Misdirection Dink?
A misdirection dink is a deceptive soft shot at the kitchen line where the body and paddle initially suggest the ball will go in one direction, but a last-second adjustment sends it somewhere else.
🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA DAWSON
Fix High Hip In 3 Moves
♟️Strategy
The Backhand Return
Hit It or Run Around It?
You Turn Me Right Round, Like A Record Baby…
When that serve zips toward your backhand, do you confidently return it or scramble to hit a forehand instead? Many players hesitate on their backhand return, making them an easy target for aggressive servers. But with the right technique, your backhand can be a weapon—not a weakness.
Should you trust a two-handed backhand for power and control? Stick with a slice to keep the ball low? Or run around it for a forehand? The answer depends on the situation—and getting it right can transform your return game.
Find out when to hit it, when to slice it, and when to run around it—so you can return with confidence every time, Click Here..
🧠 MENTAL STRATEGY
Cutdown on Unforced Errors
With Mental Training
Working Out The Brain Muscles
Nothing is more frustrating than handing free points to your opponent. A missed dink, a rushed return, a careless shot into the net—these unforced errors can quickly derail your game. But here’s the truth: most mistakes aren’t just about mechanics. They start in your mind.
Pressure, frustration, and distraction cause players to lose focus, rush shots, and spiral into self-doubt. The best players don’t just train their strokes—they train their mental game to stay composed, confident, and in control.
Want to minimize costly errors and play with more consistency? Discover the mental performance techniques that can help you reset, focus, and keep your game steady—even in high-pressure moments. Read more here!
🪙 HEALTH NEWS
Moffitt Cancer Center Studies the Benefits
of Pickleball For Cancer Survivors
Survival Skills
Moffitt Cancer Center and the YMCA of the Suncoast conducted a structured medical study to explore how pickleball could benefit cancer survivors. With 23 participants, including 18 survivors, researchers tracked their progress over several months—measuring physical activity, social support, and overall well-being. The study aimed to determine whether this fast-growing sport could become a key part of survivorship care.
The findings might surprise you—see what the research revealed, Click Here…
❤️Warms The Heart
This German Video About
Recreational Pickleball Players
💰 MONEY NEWS
Pickleball Taps Into Growing Sweet
Spot Of The Stock Market
Things Are Looking Up
Pickleball’s rapid rise isn’t just shaping the sports world—it’s making waves in the stock market. Fund manager Nathan Rawlins highlights a surprising connection between the sport and mid-cap value stocks, pointing to Zimmer Biomet, a top player in orthopedics, as a major beneficiary of pickleball’s popularity (and its injury-related demand). Alongside this unexpected pickleball tie-in, Rawlins discusses two other companies thriving in today’s market sweet spot, offering stability in uncertain economic times.
Which companies are positioned for growth, and how does pickleball fit into the bigger financial picture? Find out here!
🏓 PRO NEWS
Major League Pickleball
2025 Draft Grades
Who Scored Highest?
The Major League Pickleball 2025 Draft has reshaped the landscape of the sport, with teams making bold moves, surprising picks, and a few questionable decisions. One of the biggest shocks? The New York Hustlers, a 2024 playoff team, completely overhauled their roster—only to end up with one of the lowest draft grades.
From powerhouse rosters to unexpected gambles, this year's draft was anything but predictable. Dive into the full draft analysis and see how your favorite team stacks up!
🏓 PRO NEWS
New Targeting Rule: Cracking
Down on Reckless Shots
There’s No Bullseye In Pickleball
The game is getting faster, but the UPA-A is making it clear—reckless targeting above the shoulders won’t be tolerated. A new rule introduces fines, point penalties, and even match forfeits for players who deliberately or recklessly aim powerful shots at an opponent’s head or neck.
With safety at the forefront, officials will now assess intent and context before enforcing penalties. Could this reshape aggressive play at the pro level? Read more to see how this rule will impact the future of competitive pickleball, Click Here…
SIDE NOTE:
Fines and point penalties are nothing compared to what can happen when you target someone in a prison pickleball match. Scott Peterson, the murderer serving a life sentence, found that out the hard way. See More Here…
Waters Racks Up Another
Triple Crown PPA Victory
You Go Girl!
The PPA Tour landed in Florida, and the competition was fierce. A rising teen star stunned the top seed, Christian Alshon claimed his first singles gold, and Anna Leigh Waters proved—once again—why she’s the undisputed queen of pickleball, securing yet another Triple Crown.
From unexpected shake-ups to dominant performances, this event had it all. Get the full recap and see who’s making waves on the pro circuit, Click Here…
STADIUM NEWS
’Wimbledon Of Pickleball’
To Open In Fort Lauderdale
Image Credit: Brad Tuckman
Fort Lauderdale just became a must-visit destination for pickleball players. The Fort, a $30 million, 10-acre facility, is redefining the sport’s experience with 43 courts—including the world’s first dedicated pickleball stadium—plus a lakeside restaurant, a recovery center, and even glow-in-the-dark pickleball events.
With live-streamed matches, national tour stops, and a growing membership, this isn’t just a place to play—it’s a full-blown pickleball paradise.
What makes The Fort stand out from any other facility? Find out here!
🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS
RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
CANADA: Head Of Cardiology At St. Michael's Foundation Challenges Ben Stiller To Pickleball Showdown
New York City, NY: Pickleball Is Returning To Central Park A Month Earlier Than Usual
BAYTOWN, TX: Local Woman Urges Others To Learn CPR After Saving A Man's Life On The Pickleball Court
FORT COLLINS, CO: Colorado State University Intramural Pickleball Offers Accessible Campus Involvement To Students
INDIANAPOLIS, IN: Pickleball Club To Host 24-Hour Marathon For Riley Children's Home
BLUFFTON, IN: City Collecting Donations For Pickleball Courts
BERMUDA: Court House Unveils Indoor Pickleball Court
STAUNTON, VA: YMCA's New Hope Road Facility To Include Childcare And Teen Center As Well As Pickleball Complex
DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!
Fact-based news without bias awaits. Make 1440 your choice today.
Overwhelmed by biased news? Cut through the clutter and get straight facts with your daily 1440 digest. From politics to sports, join millions who start their day informed.
HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY
💪 I Love My Lob Serve
I LOVE MY LOB SERVE!
Be sure to watch all three videos more than once. I teach the lob serve consistently in my classes, but very few of my students have embraced it. Here are a few reasons why it is a great addition to your toolbox.
· With topspin, the lob serve is slow, it lands deep, and it kicks forward, keeping your opponent back.
· You can execute it with a regular or drop serve.
· It is particularly effective against opponents with great slice returns. It bounces so high, and that takes away from their ability to slice.
· It drives your opponent nuts! They must move back, they must wait, they have too much time to think. This creates short returns and errors.
Note: Be sure you contact the ball below your waist. Piston your legs, get low, and start your paddle pointing down to the ground, to get low to high topspin. Use your hips and shoulder rotation, plus follow-through to get depth. Contacting too high is illegal, and you will not get topspin or depth.
Sara Ansbury hits some key points in this first video:
· Use against opponents with slice.
· Create space and follow-through with your contact point, low to high.
· Check out her contact position, her follow-through, and her finish.
· Frustrate bangers!
In this short but sweet video, the instructor says: “Use a lob serve to keep your opponent back, creating a short return, that enables you to attack with a third shot drive.”
Jordan Briones demonstrates 5 effective serves. The second one is the lob topspin serve. The third one is the lob serve.
· Low to high to create topspin.
· Slow down your stroke. Lengthen it.
· Gives them too much time to think, creating errors.
· Lift it straight up, and end with your knuckles to the sky to create topspin.
· Piston your knees down to create more rotation and lift.
· Follow-through with your paddle, and your off arm turning your shoulders by throwing it behind you.
· Not a good option in the wind.
Closing: Pickleball has lots of power, smashes, put-a-ways. Smart players know when to use the dink to set up the smash, and the lob serve to create a weak return. Pickleball is chess, not checkers!