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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• The Third Shot That Lets You Walk To The Kitchen

• The "Healthy Breakfast" That Sabotages Morning Games

• DRILL OF THE WEEK: “Poach or Pause” Cross Court Game

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Fix Your Wrist Pain Today

• Ohio Ninth Grader Is Making An Impressive Mark In Professional Pickleball

• The Pickleball Athlete's Guide to Mental Stamina: Staying Sharp Through Marathon Matches

• PCI and MUSC Launch Coaching Course To Certify Pickleball Instructors in Parkinson's-Specific Clinics

• Paralyzed Veteran Finds Purpose in Pickleball

• Coach Mary: The Backhand Drop, With Two Hands

🥷SKILLS

The Third Shot That
Lets You Walk To The Kitchen

Most players rush to the kitchen on their third shot. They hit a drop, then sprint forward, eyes locked on the net, hoping the ball clears it. If the drop is even a little low, they’re already in no-man’s-land when the opponent speeds it up. The result is a frantic volley, a pop-up, or a retreat that never ends.

The best transition players don’t sprint. They walk.

They hit a third shot that buys them enough time and margin that they can move forward under control, arrive balanced, and be ready for whatever comes back. The shot itself isn’t magic. It’s a specific shape with a specific job: clear the net comfortably, land deep enough to push the opponent back, and give you time to move forward behind it.

This is the third shot that lets you walk to the kitchen.

Why most third shots force a sprint

The problem isn’t effort. It’s the shape of the shot.

💪 Health & Fitness Section

The “Healthy Breakfast”
That Sabotages Morning Games

The healthier your breakfast, the worse you might play 

Think about some of the most common healthy breakfast options. Oatmeal with chia seeds and almond butter. A green smoothie. Eggs with avocado toast. 

Those are genuinely good foods. On a regular day.  Before two hours of pickleball, it's a different story. 

Your Gut Has Other Plans 

Here's what happens when you step on the court after a healthy breakfast. 

Fiber slows digestion. Fat slows it even more. Big meals take a long time to clear your stomach. And when you start moving — quick side steps, hard pushes to the kitchen line, short explosive sprints — your body pulls blood away from your gut and sends it to your muscles. 

That breakfast is still in there. Working. Your stomach feels full and heavy. Your legs feel slow. Some players get bloating. Some get cramps. Most just feel weirdly off — like they're playing in someone else's body. 

This isn't rare. Stomach trouble before exercise is one of the most common complaints in sports nutrition research. And the usual suspects are fiber, fat, dairy, and large portions eaten too close to activity. 

It's not a bad breakfast. It's a bad breakfast for right now. 

🥷 DRILL OF THE WEEK

”Poach or Pause”
Cross Court Game

Cross-court dink battles look calm, but that’s where most bad poaches are born, players either never go or go at the worst possible moment. This drill turns that into a decision you can actually train, teaching you to read ball height, positioning, and timing before you ever step across the middle.

See the exact cues that tell you when to go and how to avoid the poaches that cost you points.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Fix Your Wrist Pain Today

🏓 PRO NEWS

Ohio Ninth Grader Is Making An
Impressive Mark On Pro Pickleball

A 14-year-old ninth grader is traveling the pro circuit, balancing schoolwork between matches, and already beating top players, including a win over world No. 2 Federico Staksrud. What started as hitting balls with wooden paddles during COVID has turned into daily training, national rankings, and a schedule most adults would struggle to keep up with.

See how he’s managing school, travel, and rapid success while climbing the pro ranks.

SIFA Report Confirms:

MENTAL SKILLS

The Pickleball Players Guide
To Mental Stamina:
Staying Sharp Through
Marathon Matched

You feel it by game three, your legs are fine but your decisions get slower, your hands late, your shot selection off by just enough to cost you points. The difference isn’t fitness, it’s mental fatigue, and it builds with every rally across a tournament day.

See the simple between-point and between-match system top players use to stay sharp deep into long tournament days, click here…

  🗞️ NEWS

APCI & MUSC Launch Coach
Course To Certify Pickleball
Instructors In Parkinson’s Specific Clinics

A new certification is teaching coaches how to run pickleball clinics specifically for players with Parkinson’s, built with input from neurologists and focused on movement, balance, and safety. It’s not just “get out and play,” it’s structured, evidence-based coaching designed for a group that’s already showing up on courts in growing numbers.

See how the program actually adapts drills and what coaches are being taught to do differently on court, click here…

👏 COMMUNITY NEWS

Paralyzed Veteran
Find Purpose In Pickleball

Nine years after a motocross accident left him paralyzed from the chest down, a Navy veteran is back competing, traveling the world with Team USA, and showing up to play pickleball every week. What started as something “easier than tennis” turned into a routine that brought joy, structure, and a completely different outlook on life.

Read how he rebuilt his competitive life and why pickleball became part of it.

🤣 HUMOR

When They Ask Me
About My Partner

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

MERIDEN, CT: Beautiful Lives Project Raises $30K At Pickleball Tournament
SEATTLE, WA: New 10-Court Pickleball Club Brings The Heat To Fremont
PALM DESERT, CA: Palm Desert Grad Is Making Waves As A Pro Pickleball Player
SUMMIT COUNTY, CO: Pickle In The Snowy Peaks Tournament Provides Family Competition And Funds For A Good Cause
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, NE: Pickleball Players Hit The Court For Charity
ST. GEORGE: UT: Pickleball In The Desert: How St. George Became One Of The Sport's Premier Destinations
GREENSBORO, NC: Greensboro Hosts First-Ever Pickleball Tournament
NORWOOD, OH: Pickleball Power Play: Pickle Lodge Snags Aces At Factory 52 In Norwood


DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!

  💪 The Backhand Drop
With Two Hands

Tanner Tomasi invites guest player Casey Diamond to demonstrate
his signature shot: the backhand drop, with two hands.

Step 1: Make sure you are getting low with the ball, and your shoulders and your feet are pointing towards your target.

Step 2: Be sure to contact the ball on the rise and explode towards your target.

Step 3: Be sure to finish over your right shoulder, which will create the arc of the ball over the net.

Tanner explains that this shot is important to have, because of the topspin, which makes it more aggressive. You are taking control of the point, instead of using slice, which is more defensive.

This technique can be used for third shots, dinks, and speed ups. The topspin makes it a great weapon to put your opponent on defense

Not Yet a Subscriber? Click Below to Get Our Newsletter Every Week - Its FREE