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Pinning Your Opponent: How to Trap Them In a Weak Position
The Side Spin, Fake It Til You Make It, Will PB Save American Malls? PB in Rehab Hospital and More!
FIT PICKLER
February 27, 2025
Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages
What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:
“GOT IT CONTEST” WINNER ANNOUNCED
Pinning Your Opponent: How to Trap Them In a Weak Position
Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: 3 Lower Trap Exercises to Balance Your Shoulders
The Art Of Sidespin In Pickleball
Will Rock Climbing & Pickleball Save American Malls?
How To Fake Being A 4.0 Pickleball Player (Until You Become One)
The Transcendent Power of Pickleball
The Rehab Hospital That Just Added Pickleball
Struggling Garment Firm In Ho Chi Minh City Ventures Into Pickleball Business
Humor: Family Feud Question, Is Pickleball The Answer?
Coach Mary: Backhand Attacks!
🏆FEBRUARY WINNER OF THE “GOT IT” CONTEST
This month’s Prize: “I Speak Fluent Pickleball”
T-ShirtWinner: “Lori D-H.”
Congratulations!
(Check Your Email for Details)
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🥷 SKILLS
Pinning Your Opponent: How To
Trap Them In a Weak Position
Stay, Ubu Stay!
Most pickleball players think winning comes down to hitting harder, faster, or more aggressively than their opponents. But what if you could win more points without swinging harder—just by keeping your opponents stuck in bad positions?
This strategy is called pinning, and it’s one of the most effective ways to take control of a rally without taking unnecessary risks. Instead of forcing a winner, pinning is about using placement, pressure, and patience to keep your opponent stuck in a spot where they can’t attack effectively.
If you’ve ever felt like your opponent was dictating the game, forcing you into awkward shots, or keeping you stuck deep while they dominated the net, chances are, they were pinning you. The good news is that you can do the same to your opponents—and this article will show you how.
What Does “Pinning” an Opponent Mean?
Pinning is the act of limiting your opponent’s movement and shot options so they can’t play comfortably. It’s not about hitting flashy winners—it’s about making life as difficult as possible for your opponent by keeping them in a bad position.
🏋️ STAYING FIT with GLENN
3 Lower Trap Exercises to
Balance Your Shoulders
🥷 SKILLS
The Art of The Sidespin
Whose Side Are You On?
Ever feel like your opponent's shots have a mind of their own, curving just out of reach? That’s the magic of sidespin—and if you’re not using it, you’re giving away easy points. Adding sidespin to your game can make your serves more unpredictable, your dinks more deceptive, and your drives downright frustrating for your opponents.
Learn how to master sidespin and start making your shots unreturnable.
Click Here…
🗞️ NEWS
Will Rock Climbing & Pickleball
Save American Malls?
Shop Til You 3rd Shot Drop!
As traditional malls struggle to stay relevant, some are turning to unexpected solutions—like transforming vacant spaces into pickleball courts. With consumer habits shifting and online shopping on the rise, malls are rethinking their purpose, adding experiences that bring people in and keep them coming back. Could pickleball be a key to their survival?
See how malls are evolving and why pickleball is becoming a centerpiece of the revival.
Click Here…
♟️ STRATEGY
How To Fake Being a 4.0 Pickleball
Player (Until You Become One)
Fake It Til You Make It
Everyone wants to level up their game, but what if you could look like a 4.0 player before you even get there? It’s not just about skill—it’s about presence, strategy, and knowing how to carry yourself on the court. From the way you warm up to the shots you attempt (or wisely avoid), there are subtle cues that make experienced players take you seriously.
Want to know the little tricks that can make you seem like a 4.0 while you’re still working on your game? Here’s how to sell it—and maybe even start playing like one for real.
🎶 COMMUNITY NEWS
Transcendent Power Of Pickleball
I’d Like To Buy The World A Paddle
Pickleball’s rapid rise isn’t just about its accessibility—it’s about the way it brings people together, breaking down barriers of age, gender, and background. At the Global Business Summit 2025, Pranav Kohli shared insights into why this sport has become more than just a game, but a movement reshaping recreational play worldwide.
With personal stories and a look at the factors fueling pickleball’s explosive growth, this read more about what makes the sport so uniquely unifying. Click Here…
⚕️ HEALTH NEWS
The Rehab Hospital That Just
Added Pickleball
Code Dink!
Rehabilitation is about more than just medical treatment—it’s about movement, recovery, and returning to an active life. A new hospital in Apex is taking that philosophy seriously, offering cutting-edge therapy spaces for patients recovering from strokes, surgeries, and orthopedic injuries—along with something you don’t usually find in a medical facility: pickleball courts.
See how this innovative approach is helping patients regain strength and confidence in a whole new way. Click Here…
🇻🇳GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Struggling Garment Firm In Ho Chi Minh City Ventures Into Pickleball Business
From Backstitches To Backhands!
As traditional malls struggle to stay relevant, some are turning to unexpected solutions—like transforming vacant spaces into pickleball courts. With consumer habits shifting and online shopping on the rise, malls are rethinking their purpose, adding experiences that bring people in and keep them coming back.
Could pickleball be a key to their survival? See how malls are evolving and why pickleball is becoming a centerpiece of the revival.
🤣 HUMOR
Family Feud Question, Is Pickleball
The Answer?
🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS
RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
CLEVELAND, OH: Once-Condemned Warehouse Becomes Cleveland's 1st Pickleball Facility
MANILA CITY, PHILIPPINES: Fil-Am Teaches Pickleball To Underprivileged Kids For Free
BRENTWOOD, TN: Dead Ball: Vote On Indoor Pickleball, Tennis Facility In Limbo
AUGUSTA, GA: New Tennis, Pickleball Courts Could Be A City Cash Cow
STORS, CT: The Passion For Pickleball Makes Its Way to UConn
TUSCALOOSA, AL: University Of Alabama Spends $75M On Student Services, Pickleball Courts
RICHMOND, VA: Pickleball Tournament Held For Colorectal-Cancer Prevention
YORK, MAINE: Pickleball Club's Scaled-Down Expansion: Latest Plan Tackles Noise Issues
DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!
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HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY
💪 BACKHAND ATTACKS!
Backhand Attacks!
Do you love your backhand volley? Do you feel comfortable attacking on the backhand side? Do you feel like you are incorporating your hips, shoulders, follow-through on your backhand attack?
Many players are comfortable resetting and blocking on the backhand side, but not so much with the attack. If your opponent pops it up, or even places it high enough to attack with topspin from below the level of the net, you need to be able to take advantage and attack from the backhand side. Zane Navratil shows you three key offensive tips for the backhand attack.
The Poke:
· This is a punch shot, with little topspin. It incorporates lots of shoulder and follow-through!
· Take away space and reach out in front to attack.
· This is about pinpointing your opponent’s weaknesses: aim for their chicken wing, or for open spots in the court.
· Watch the great demo!
The Roll
· This is a low to high brush shot, creating topspin.
· Point your paddle down, at 6 0’clock. Brush up and out, over the ball, to create topspin.
· Bend your knees and use your entire body to execute.
· This shot takes more time than the Poke, and it is more of a finesse shot. Use it to pin your opponent back at the baseline as they attempt to come in. Be sure to use your off arm to engage your shoulders!
The Flick:
· This is almost a combo of the Poke and the Roll
· It is quick. It is low to high. It involves lots of wrist, not just body.
· It creates topspin with power, so the ball goes low.
· Strong wrist, strong arm, strong snapping motion.
· Contact in front before the ball travels down.
· Don’t forget: all these shots incorporate hip turn, shoulders, body. You cannot execute these with just your arm or wrist!
Watch the videos more than once. Great demo!
So many players are not able to go on offense on the backhand side – this is the answer to that challenge.