Erika Lochow and Bill Foraker In lieu of an annual Quail Creek Classic Pickleball Tournament fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Quail Creek Pickleball Club members organized a Holiday Gala at the Madera Clubhouse on the evening of Dec. 3, followed by a Pickleball Rodeo on Dec. 5. The Gala, under the leadership of…
David Zapatka Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a serve, “contact must be made below the waist, which is defined as level with the navel. Further, International Federation of Pickleball Official Tournament Rulebook rule 4.A1 states the arm ‘must be moving in an upward arc’ and…
David Zapatka Backhand Groundstroke Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a backhand groundstroke, “The same principles apply when you’re hitting a backhand groundstroke (as a forehand groundstroke) except that you move to the left rather than to the right (right-handed players). While some players change the…
David Zapatka The Arizona Pickleball Players league (APPL) has now expanded its popular team-based pickleball league into its fifth region. After founding the first team-based pickleball league, East Valley Interclub League in 2012 (which has grown ever since), the Arizona Pickleball Players League was formally organized as a nonprofit in 2019 by a group of…
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…
David Zapatka Are you looking for an enriching retirement activity? Are you interested in quality exercise while having a good time? Are you interested in a social environment where you can meet friendly, fun people? Are you interested in making new friends in your community? Consider giving the fastest-growing sport in the world, pickleball, a…
David Zapatka 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 the big screens in the…
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…
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…
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 10 mistakes over the past five…