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…
Tag: Pickleball
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…
Sports, May 2021
What’s With the “Pickle” in Pickleball?
Mary Ann Bane One of the first questions a pickleball player may be asked is, “Why is it called pickleball?” Where is the pickle? Some long-time players still may have no idea, but most have heard the often-repeated story regarding the origins of the name. But, is there a possible twist? Let’s start with the…
Sports, May 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them: Mistakes 9 and 10
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 eight mistakes the past four months. This month…
Sports, April 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 7 and 8)
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 six mistakes the past three months. This month…
Sports, April 2021
Spring Is in the Air!
Mary Ann Bane We may have lost one hour of sleep during the spring time change, but look at all the daylight we gained for pickleball in the evenings! (Not that we didn’t appreciate playing on winter evenings under our awesome lights, now on all 16 courts!) With spring, comes the beginning of the next…