Have you ever faked an injury or illness to get out of doing something? Today, we'll find out about one ex-cop who received workers' compensation for a made-up injury, determine if pickleball or padel will get into the 2028 Olympics, learn the best way to hit a backhand slice dink, and a whole lot more. 

Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Have you ever faked an injury or illness to get out of doing something? Today, we'll find out about one ex-cop who received workers' compensation for a made-up injury, determine if pickleball or padel will get into the 2028 Olympics, learn the best way to hit a backhand slice dink, and a whole lot more. 

Let’s go! 👇

The next time you try to collect workers' compensation for an injury you sustained at work, remember not to get caught on tape running around! 😆 Let us explain...

Nicholas Sanchez, a cop in Gary, Indiana (by the way, here's Ron Howard as a boy singing about the town from the musical, The Music Man) collected $17,000 over a period of three months after saying he was hurt from slipping on snow-covered stairs while on the job.

That sounds about right. Except for one problem — he was recorded on video, just one month into that period, playing in a pickleball tournament! 😱

At that point, he should have cited divine intervention from the pickleball gods who magically healed his injuries for a few hours so that he could achieve pickleball glory. (Or at least he could have said it was his identical twin in the tournament.)

All kidding aside, the courts didn't think any of this was funny, as they charged him with two counts of Level 6 felony fraud and two misdemeanor counts of fraud.

However, a pre-trial agreement evidently states that if Sanchez stays out of trouble for a year, pays nearly $500 in court fees and $2,500 in restitution, prosecutors will agree to drop charges.

While we're not his lawyers, let alone lawyers at all, the idea of paying $3,000 for $17,000 that you received sounds like a pretty good deal. 😀

Anyway, the moral of the story is this — yes, we know pickleball is super addictive. But you can't play it while collecting money for an injury you made up. Or at least if you do play, make sure you're NOT being filmed!

Avoid Attacking Low Balls

This advice goes for balls that are off the bounce or out of the air. If you are making contact with the ball below the net, it is difficult to hit an offensive shot. If you hit straight from below the net, the ball goes in the net. If you hit up (to get it over the net) and soft enough to go in, it’s an easy put away for your opponents. If you hit up and hard it is likely going to go out. You can attack from a few inches below the net with topspin, but anything lower than that usually should not be attacked.

Sure, hit us backhands all day — we know what to do with them. 💪

Can You Wear Pickleball?

Have you ever driven through a business district at the end of a work day? You generally see swarms of people on the sidewalks all walking in the same direction and all basically looking the same too. The same concept exists in a lot of places, like country club tennis courts with the typical monochromatic pastels.

Well, instead of looking just like everyone else, our friends at Club 002, decided to go another route. They realized that pickleball is different. It's about community, hanging out, and having fun on the courts. At Club 002, it's all about showing your confidence and wearing your vibe. Check out their collection of tees and use code "TPC10" for 10% off.

Pickleball’s greatest player of all time, Ben Johns, did a little Q + A with us…

The Pickleball Clinic: As a player, what is one thing you do different from everyone else?

Ben Johns: I’m not sure I do anything entirely different than other players. But I would say the best way I learn is by mimicking other players that do specific things very well, and doing that with lots of different players that each do specific things well, and assembling my skills by putting together other player’s specialties. So that might be more unique.

Be sure to follow Ben on Instagram and YouTube.

Which Will Be an Olympic Sport First?

Ever since its meteoric rise in popularity the past several years, people have been discussing if and when pickleball will become an Olympic sport.

Well, padel, another racket sport that has become popular in Europe, also wants to join the Olympics party.

While both sports have massive followings, there are many requirements that must be met in order for a sport to enter the Olympic games.

One requirement deals with there being a single international governing body for the sport, while another requires a minimum number of countries to play the sport around the world.

Because of the many requirements, at this point, it looks like neither sport will be eligible for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 😓

While we do understand the allure of being in the Olympics, we're not all that concerned about it. Here's why…

There are many Olympic sports, such as racewalking, synchronized swimming, and curling that probably have less worldwide participants combined than pickleball has in just one American state. Would you rather trade places with one of those sports? We wouldn't.

Also, America's #1 sport, football, isn't even in the Olympics. And soccer, the world’s #1 sport, is in the Olympics, but it doesn’t even come close to being the most prestigious event in the sport. The same can be said for sports such as tennis, basketball, and golf.

So if pickleball makes it into the Olympics, that's great. (And yes, selfishly, we want it to get in at least at the same time as padel.)

But regardless, we're more than happy to be talked about by celebrities, featured in Super Bowl ads, and played at least once by over 50 million Americans. 💪

Granted, you may hit most of these balls out, but at least you’ll feel powerful. 😄

It Was the Best Day — and Then the Worst

The sun’s out, the temperature’s nice, and everything is good in the world. You just had lunch, maybe a nice cup of coffee, and you're ready to tackle the rest of the day. You also can't stop thinking about that sweet angled dink you got by Lucy without her even touching it — and that overhead smash you nailed past James. Ahh, what a wonderful world. 

But wait... do you have your paddle? You go over to your pickleball bag to check. It's not there! OK, maybe it's in the car? So you go out to the car and check. Nope, not there either. Maybe Jim accidentally took it home? So you call Jim. He doesn't have it either! No! Great day — ruined!

The above scenario has happened to thousands of pickleballers, but it no longer has to. Why? Because of the QR code sticker from PaddleTrac that will track and locate your paddle so you’ll never lose it again. You can have yours today, and you can get it for FREE when you use code “CLINIC”.

The backhand slice dink is an extremely important shot to have in pickleball. If you hit it well, this shot will keep you safe and alive in so many points decided at the kitchen line. Good thing Coach Matt is here to tell you everything you need to know in order to hit it just right. 👇

Key Takeaways:

• The slice should come from the paddle face being open, NOT from using a big, choppy "U” shaped swing.

• Keep your arm straight! Don’t bend your elbow — that leads to chopping at the ball.

• Cock your wrist back.

In an effort to become profitable at the league level, MLP (which only started in 2021) is looking to create two expansion teams. This represents an opportunity to own a franchise at a relatively low price, compared to other professional sports franchises.

The league has a target of around $15 million per team. As a reference point, the Arizona Drive recently announced that it was selling a controlling stake in its team in a deal valued at more than $10 million. If the expansion teams are created, the new owners would be allowed to determine the teams’ locations.

According to CNBC, ownership in these new teams would also come with equity in the parent company UPA (United Pickleball Association) as well as in DUPR. Their goal is to launch the new teams in time for the 2026 season. Evidently interest is high, with almost twenty parties showing interest.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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