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Elon, China, Tennis & More
FIT PICKLER
January 11, 2024
Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages
What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:
Fitness Expert Glen Dawson: Shoulder Exercises for Picklers
Tennis TV Launches 24/7 Pickleball Streaming Channel
Will the Popularity of Pickleball Threaten Tennis?
Elon Musk Opens a Bodega with a Pickleball Court
Entrepreneurs Cashing in on the Pickleball Craze
The Pickleball Wave Hits China
Coach Mary: Back to Dinks!
🏋️ STAYING FIT WITH GLEN
SHOULDER EXERCISE FOR PICKLERS
🗞️ IN THE NEWS
PICKLEBALL TV:
READY TO STREAM 24/7?
The Tennis Channel along with the Professional Pickleball Association (the PPA) have launched PickleballTV. Currently the channel is free and ad supported but according to the PPA, the plan is to create a streaming, live video-on-demand service.
Currently on Fubo, Freevee and Plex TV, pickleball fans can also catch all the action on the PickleballTV website at PickleballTV.com. To learn more about this exciting new media, you can read more here…
Will the Popularity of Pickleball Threaten Tennis?
An excellent article by Sky News recently discussed the tension in many communities between Tennis and Pickleball in terms of court space. This poses the question: “Is the sport of Tennis under threat from Pickleball’s meteoric rise?”
Tensions can run high in city council meetings debating the controversy. And some cities even report fist fights and arson!
Die hard tennis fans, like Andy Schwick, a USTA rep, takes issue with the proliferation of Pickleball courts at the expense of tennis courts.
He was quoted as saying, "I think it's great that people are playing. I'm all for pickleball, but not at the expense of tennis. I have concerns about lines being drawn on tennis courts. It's like playing T-ball at Dodger Stadium.”
But others, like former Number One World Tennis player, Andre Agassi, is calling for peaceful coexistence, saying "They can play nicely in the sandbox together. In the United States, where a lot of tennis clubs have been struggling, pickleball has actually brought their club back to life."
See more here…
🤩 CELEBRITY
Elon Musk Opens a Bodega in
Barstop Adding a Dedicated
Pickleball Court
The ever controversial, Elon Musk, is stirring the pot even more after his tweet some months ago regarding Pickleball: “Pickleball will crush tennis. Way more convenient.”
This prompted Tennis great Andy Roddick to remark, “And it will never crush tennis. It’s so much fun to play but it’s not even comparable as a viewer. Ping pong is also really fun would rather be kicked in the nuts than watch it on TV.”
Now Musk has announced he is building a Bodega with a pickleball court in Barstop in his Hyperloop Plaza, across from the SpaceX and Boring Company offices.
Read more here…
đź‘ŹCOMMUNITY
Entrepreneurs Cashing In on
The Pickleball Trend
Diehard Pickleball fans, Mary and Tom Noon are just one example of entrepreneurs meeting the market demand for accessories to go along with the fastest growing sport in the country.
Founders of PureDink, a jewelry store dedicated to Pickleball lovers, they say the only downside is they got so busy, they hardly have time to play anymore!
Keeping the spirit of fun in Pickleball, the couple has some great names for their unique pieces, such as “Pickler Party Pendant” and “The Backspin Bracelet”
See more here…
🌏 WORLD NEWS
Pickleball Has Made its Way to China
From sea to shining sea and across the world, Pickleball appeal continues to grow at a record pace. Social media is being credited with the rise in popularity of the sport, especially from Chinese lifestyle influencers who hold great sway in China.
Players in China are expressing the same sentiments about their love of the game as those in the United States, the ease with which one can learn it, the balance of fun and competition and the social aspect.
Interviewed by the China Project, 32 year old social media stategist, Julie Wang recently referred to herself as “a veteran gym quitter.”
(Julie, we here at Fit Pickler can relate to that! 🤣)
But she is sticking with Pickleball! She says, “Unlike going to the gym, playing pickleball doesn’t feel like a chore. It’s actually fun and enjoyable.”
See more about Pickleball in China here…
HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY
🏰 PROTECT THE CASTLE DRILL: BACK TO DINKS
In this video by Coach Danea of All Things Pickleball reveals how she “went from 0 to 100 with my dinking after learning this!”
Be sure to watch the video several times.
Danea poses the question: When should you let the ball bounce, and when should you take it out of the air?
Answer: Take as many balls as possible out of the air that you can, without lunging forward or losing balance. If you are off balance, you will become defensive.
Observation: She sees many students backing up from the NVZ (the kitchen) to have more time and let the ball bounce. I see this all the time with my students as well.
Danea makes a great case for not doing this. The best real estate in Pickleball is the NVZ line! This is where you want to be to beat your opponent. HUG THE LINE. Do not let your opponent back you up.
Contact point: Not at the side of or behind your body. This creates pop ups. Do not hit from your shoelaces.
Paddle is in front, with a loose grip. Avoid hitting high dinks.
Everything is out in front! What if you cannot reach the ball in the air without lunging and getting off balance? Use a short hop. Drop your paddle down to the ground, and let it bounce, but quickly contact it immediately.
Good Practice Drill: Protect the Castle
Place a target in the kitchen in front of you. Your goal is to keep your practice partner from hitting your castle, and at the same time, you are trying to hit their castle.
I have a friend who calls this “Protect the Kitty.” Same idea. I love this drill. I use spots, cones, or small hoops.
When you do this drill, you realize how many balls you can take out of the air, with a volley dink, with your feet behind the kitchen line.
To Make It More Competitive:
Add speed-ups. One advantage in taking a dink out of the air is that you can become offensive. Using topspin (low to high) you can attack a higher dink that you take out of the air, hoping to create a pop-up from your opponent.
Note: Do not lunge over. Keep your upper body up, with bent knees. Do not let your torso bend forward (think those lawn birds that dip to drink water).
