Pickleball Protests in San Francisco

True Crime, Best State For Pickleball, Voodoo Stretching & More

Author

FIT PICKLER
January 25, 2024

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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

  • Fitness Expert Glen Dawson: Voodoo Stretching

  • Pickleball Protest in San Francisco

  • GOT IT Contest WINNER Announced

  • White Collar Crime Comes to Pickleball

  • New Research: The Best State to Play Pickleball In Is….

  • Former NHL Hockey Players Are Gliding Over to Pickleball

  • The Perfect Pickle(ball) Drinks

  • Coach Mary: Avoiding The Most Common Pickleball Injuries

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with GLEN

VOODOO STRETCHING FOR PICKLERS

🗞️ IN THE NEWS

PICKLEBALL PROTEST IN
SAN FRANCISCO

Shouts of “Hell No We Won’t Go,” and signs declaring, “More Pickleball, Less Fentanyl” filled the 12 courts at the Presidio Wall Playground in San Francisco this week as Protestors defied the City’s order telling players to take down their nets.

The battle began this past summer when the owner of a $36M mansion started a petition to suspend pickleball play at the park, claiming the noise caused her property value to go down.

In the kind of irony you won’t find in an Alanis Morissette song, that homeowner actually has a pickleball court of her own in her backyard!

“It’s unbelievable that someone has a pickleball court in their yard and wants to get a pickleball court shut down,” said one player, Woody Wicks. Mary Hicks, an ambassador and instructor said, “This is pickle disobedience…they will not stop us from playing.”

Even though the number of pickleball courts in San Francisco have increased seven fold since 2018, many players say this closure would severely affect the community. Citing a 1400 signature petition showing the mental health of the surrounding area residents has improved considerably with the community created around these courts, residents are asking the city to reconsider.

See the creative ways the protests are continuing and the workaround the community is attempting, read more here…

🏆JANUARY WINNER OF THE “GOT IT” CONTEST
This month’s Prize: Campbell’s Pickleball Soup Tote Bag
Winner: “BeckyB” (Check your email BeckyB)

© Original Design by Artist T. Santora

⚖️ LAW & ORDER

WHITE COLLAR CRIME
COMES TO PICKLEBALL

The Securities Division of the Indiana Secretary of State has issued a Cease and Desist letter against Rodney U. Grubbs and All About Pickleball LLC for violations of the Indiana Uniform Securities Act. They allege the company was soliciting money for fraudulent investments.

According to their statement, "Grubbs used pickleball tournaments to meet and solicit investors and told them at the time the money they invested would be used to grow his company by allowing him to buy more inventory.”

Nothing says Pickleball has hit the mainstream like a white collar true crime story. Read more about it here…

👏 COMMUNITY

Which State is the Best State To
Play Pickleball in?

Have you ever wondered what the best state in the USA is to play pickleball? Well, if so, lucky for you, researchers at Pickleball Union set out to answer that very question!

Taking into account factors such as rainfall, temperature, air quality, the number of courts as well as past and upcoming pickleball related events, all the states were ranked out of a possible 100 points.

Arizona topped the charts with 74.6 points and Louisiana came out last with 25.3. Of course Utah and Arizona ranked high, but we here at Fit Pickler were surprised by who rounded out the Top 5.

To learn more and see where your state ranked, read more here…


🏒 PRO CORNER

Former NHL Hockey Players Are
Gliding Over to Pickleball

Making the transition from Professional Tennis to Pickleball seems like a logical next step, but going from Professional Hockey to Pickleball is a move many never saw coming.

Kris Draper who played in the NHL for 20 years and won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings was a reluctant Pickleball convert initially, but now he is participating in the Pickleball PRO PBX tournament which features former pro athletes competing in various events.

While Draper did play tennis competitively in his teens, he credits hockey for his successes so far. He notes that the agility required on the ice as well as well honed hand-eye coordination are the skills that lead him to believe that former hockey players can easily make the transition.

To read more about other NHL to Pickleball converts, click here…

🍸DINKING & DRINKING

PICKLE(BALL) CLASSIC DRINKS

Check out these four Pickle(ball) drinks that actually use Pickles!
The easiest one is known as The PickleBack and consists of just two ingredients, Whisky and Pickle Juice.

Learn how to turn your Bloody Mary, Martini or even your Whisky Sour into Picture Perfect Pickler Potable Potions! (Say that 3 times real fast!)
See Recipes here…



🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY

  💪 INJURIES ARE ON THE RISE
LEARN TO AVOID THEM NOW
SO YOU CAN PICKLE INTO YOUR 90’S!

Check Out Glen’s Video Above For
SomeGreat Stretches For Areas
Where Injuries Are Common

My Advice to Help You Avoid the Most
Common Injuries in Pickleball

Recently more attention has been paid to the cost of injuries stemming from Pickleball participation.  To read a recent story about the financial costs associated with these injuries from the James Gordon for The Daily Mail,
Go here… 

 Here of some Highlights:

∙     The article lists some trends that are responsible for the uptake in injuries:  The growth of the sport, the number of new players, info from United Health Care on the uptick of injuries and elective surgeries, and the exploding growth of more courts being added to most communities.

 ∙    They notes that  most injuries occur in players 60 years old or older.

 ∙     Injuries include, but are not limited to, broken bones, sprains, strains, concussions, and heat emergencies.  I can add that heart attacks can also occur, since we had one a year ago here in the Coachella Valley. 

 ∙     Also on the rise:  Tennis/Pickleball elbow, Achilles tendon strains, calf strains, rotator cuff and shoulder overuse injuries.

 My Peronal Observations & Some Tips to Avoid These Injuries

∙     I see many players do very little stretching, warm-up, or preparation prior to game play.  Since the sport requires quick changes of direction, lateral and up and back movement, good balance, and adequate hand-eye coordination, it is critical to prepare your body prior to game play!

 ∙     Many of my incoming students have played, but have not been given adequate instruction concerning balance, footwork, use of hips and shoulders, and paddle positioning.  They have not been instructed to use their hips and shoulders, and instead they use too much backswing and arm motion, which results in overuse of the shoulder and elbow.   

 ∙ They have not been schooled on how to safely retreat to defend a lob, and they have not been drilled on good balance as they transition from the baseline to the NVZ zone.  Here then, is the major reason why people get hurt:  they have not been prepared for the uncertainties that come with game play!

∙     Too many players play too many days a week, and for too many hours at a time.  If they were a collegiate athlete with an adequate conditioning program, this would not be a problem.  Moderation in the number of days, and the number of hours of play will cut down on the number of wounded warriors.

 ∙     Most players do not drill or get instruction!!  If you drill in a controlled situation on your fundamentals, different shots (dinks, volleys, groundstrokes, resets, serving, lobs, lob defense, use of spin, footwork, soft hands, movement from the baseline to the NVZ, etc.) you can easily prevent injuries in game situations that are not controlled.

 CONTROL YOUR OBSESSION!! 
Many of my students ask, “Why is Pickleball so addictive?”  They refuse to moderate, and then they get injured.

 Why is it so addictive?  This is a topic for another column!  Maybe next week.  In the meantime:

 1.   Pace yourself.  Moderate days and hours of play.

2.  Drill often, do not just play games.

3.  Incorporate Rally scoring, so the games are not so long.

4.  Take a class from a certified PPR/IPTPA instructor and learn how to use your body safely and properly to avoid injury.

5.  Shoes!  Be sure to have a good pair of court shoes, good for lateral movement.  Not just for walking, running or leisure.

6.   Expand your horizons!  Add other activities to your fitness regimen.  Pickleball may be the only thing you want to do, but perhaps add walking, hiking, Pilates, yoga, aerobics, biking, swimming, golf, weight training, martial arts, line dancing, etc. to your workouts.

7.  Do not forget to hydrate!  Play early or in the evening, or indoors.  Drink water, use sunscreen, bring shade, wear sunglasses and headgear.

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