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…
Tag: pickleball
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 10 mistakes over the past five…
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 and 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 over the past…
Sports, April 2021
The Creekers
Steve Shapiro The Arizona Pickleball Players League (APPL) expanded to the Tucson area in 2021. Before the expansion, the league had been in the Phoenix Metro/Casa Grande area. The APPL is made up of a men’s and women’s league for skill levels 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5/5.0. Quail Creek took part in the Tucson area…
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 and 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 over the past…
Sports, March 2021
12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 5 and 6)
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 four mistakes the past two months. This month, we…
Sports, February 2021
Relishing Pickleball: Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 3 and 4)
David Zapatka This 12 common mistakes column began after playing with some very excited and highly motivated new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple of games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” Last month we reviewed the first two mistakes.…
Clubs & Classes, February 2021
Sahuarita Food Bank Drive: Helping Folks in Need
Candace Plumlee Caring Quail Creek neighbors always come through, but this year with COVID there was a need none of us anticipated. Via the Quail Creek Pickleball Club, you gave, and you gave, and you gave. Paula Davis organized, with the help of the QC Pickleball Club and others in our Quail Creek neighborhood, a…
Sports, January 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
David Zapatka While playing at the IronOaks courts in Sun Lakes for my first time last month, I ran into a group of very excited and highly motivated new pickleball players. We played a couple games together, and when we departed, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become…
Sports, December 2020
Relishing Pickleball: Dink Responsibly
David Zapatka Often called the most important shot in all of pickleball, the dink is the critical shot aspiring players must learn to improve their game. The dink is a shot hit slowly and softly into the opponents’ non-volley zone, as close to the net as possible. If the opponent hits this ball hard, it…