David Zapatka Forehand Groundstroke Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence, by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a forehand groundstroke, “from the moment the ball leaves the opponent’s paddle, you should be tracking its flight with your eyes to aid you in judging the speed and direction of the ball. Move to the…
Tag: Pickleball
Clubs & Classes, October 2021
You’re Invited: Denton Pickleball Club Open House
Ken Quarfoot and Mary Ann Bane Take a look at the crowd watching these players! It’s a common sight to see the courts and the viewing seats filled! Like so many, you might be asking what is going on with all of that pickleball activity? They are out playing at 6 a.m. and they are…
Sports, September 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Is Pickleball a Good Bet? The Pickleball Players Association (PPA) and Genius Sports, a publicly-traded sports data and tech company, recently announced a long-term deal that sets the stage for sports betting in pickleball. Can you imagine walking into one of our local casinos, hearing raucous cheers and seeing a pickleball match on…
Sports, September 2021
Pickleball Club Member’s Generosity Reaches the Dominican Republic
Mary Ann Bane It warms my Pickleball Club member heart to share this story with you. It is a story of initiative and generosity. It started with Rod and Monica Daake. Their daughter, Jennifer, and their son-in-law, Chris, are administrators at the Santiago Christian School in the Dominican Republic. The school has over 600 students,…
Sports, August 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Reader Liz Houser writes, “I just moved to SaddleBrooke in April and learned to play pickleball in early May thanks to my enthusiastic neighbor Shawne. I just read your article about Common mistakes numbers 11 and 12, I found them to be very helpful. Would you be so kind as to send me…
Sports, August 2021
The Pickleball Non-Volley Zone and Why I Seldom Cook
Mary Ann Bane Every court game such as tennis, basketball, badminton, etc. has its own unique court markings and rules for those markings. Pickleball is no exception. It’s obvious even to a non-player that the outside lines mark where the ball would be considered in vs out. The vertical line dividing the back portion of…
Sports, July 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 2020 Pickleball Rocks Players of the Year
David Zapatka 2020 was a crazy year. Many pickleball tournaments were cancelled. Public pickleball courts were closed and padlocked. That being said, Arizona pickleball players found ways to safely play and even through the pandemic, new players found pickleball in record numbers. For 2020, Pickleball Rocks Clothing and Equipment Company recognized a mixed doubles pair…
Sports, July 2021
Pickleball Paddles—Don’t Let the Details Get in the Way of Getting Started!
Mary Ann Bane Peter Piper picked a peck of pickleball paddles. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickleball paddles, which pickleball paddle did Peter Piper pick to play? Well, that’s my pickleball adaptation of the children’s classic tongue twister. Was it confusing? For people new to the sport and even some seasoned players, it…
Sports, June 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 11 and 12)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first ten mistakes the past five months. This month…
Sports, June 2021
Pickleball Club Members Are Headed to Montana!
Mary Ann Bane You read that headline right! But no worries, they are coming back! What’s drawing them to Montana? Well, it’s beautiful for starters, and a vacation is always nice, but if you guessed a pickleball tournament, you are right again! Find out why this tournament is special and why quite a few Ranchers…