Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

We've all been the best or worst player on the court at some point. But what if you're always the best player and it's starting to get a little boring? Today, we'll tell you what to do if you get too good for your group of friends, discover a new pickleball bandit, reveal one of the most effective pickleball strategies, and much more.

Let’s go! 👇

If you have played pickleball for even a few weeks, then you'll know that it's a sport centered around community and friendship.

Sure, it can be competitive if you want it to be, and just playing the sport is extremely fun and exciting in its own right. However, most players would agree that the community of friends you share the sport with is one of the most important parts of the pickleball experience, if not the most important.

Well, every good drama needs a central conflict, a dilemma of sorts, in which the protagonist is presented with two options, both of which require a major sacrifice.

So, what is that conflict that so many pickleball players have to endure? It's this: what happens when you get too good for your group of pickleball friends?

You have become close friends with many of these people. What are you supposed to do now—just move on to a totally different group with people who you may not even like?

This is not an easy situation to be in, but let's go through a few ways to deal with it. Option 1: You continue to play with your group of friends, but perhaps take away one or two days a week from that group and use them to play with a more advanced group.

Option 2: You encourage the people in your group to improve their games by subtly suggesting that they drill more or even take lessons at your local pickleball club.

Option 3: You just move on to a better group and hope that your old pickleball group allows you to hang out with them at other times. Option 4: You choose friends over level of play and accept the fact that you’ll just have to be stuck at your current level.

None of these options are perfect solutions, but we recommend one that combines keeping your friends while also giving yourself the chance to play with better players.

Of course, there's always Option 5—intentionally trying to get worse at pickleball—but we don't really recommend that one. 😉

Assess the Quality of Your Side’s Third Shot Drop

Don’t automatically rush to the net after a third shot drop, read the quality first. If it sits up high, stay back, reset, and prepare to defend. If it stays low and forces a tough return, then move forward. And no matter what, pause and get set when your opponent hits, even if you haven’t reached the kitchen yet.

Do you want to see all the shots of pickleball in just one point? Here you go. 👇

Did you know that we're doing a GIVEAWAY with Franklin? Yup, 5 lucky winners will receive a Franklin C45 Series Paddle, and 10 lucky winners will get a 3-pack of Franklin X-40 pickleballs. Here's how it works...

Visit our post about the giveaway on either our Facebook or Instagram accounts. Like the post, follow a few accounts, share the post with 3 friends, and voilà, you will be entered into the giveaway. Good luck, and we hope you win those Franklin balls and paddles!

Welcome back to the section where we define a word or term that is widely used in the pickleball world…

Side-out (noun)

While all of you probably know how to keep score, you may not be familiar with the term “side-out,” which means that a team has just run out of its serves and now the other team gets a chance to serve. This term can also be used to describe the type of scoring in general. So “side-out scoring” (as opposed to “rally scoring”) is the name of the most common pickleball scoring system where only the team that is serving can score a point.

Have you ever gotten injured and been really disappointed because that injury prevented you from participating in an activity or sport?

Assuming you answered "yes" to the question above, have you ever been so disappointed by your injury that it actually turned to anger and a little jealousy at other people who could still participate?

Well, a man in the Poconos not only felt both of those emotions, but decided to do something about it by vandalizing pickleball nets at public parks in Tannersville, Pennsylvania.

The man was seen—on crutches—in video surveillance cutting the pickleball nets at TLC Park and then a few days later doing the same thing at nearby Mountain View Park.

After the two incidents, police issued a crimewatch post asking for assistance from the public in identifying the suspect.

A man named Saif Kaleem matched the description on the video footage and was brought in for questioning. During the police interview, Kaleem admitted to cutting the pickleball nets.

He told police that he had recently sustained a pickleball injury at Mountain View Park, and now his "summer was ruined."

The Pocono Township Police Department said that Kaleem was charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and trespassing.

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Yeah, it might take a while. 😀

Everyone talks about the third shot drop or the third shot drive. But what about using them together? And no, we're not talking about the "drip," which combines them into one shot. We're talking about hitting both shots back-to-back. It's called the "3rd shot drive, 5th shot drop" pattern, and if you're not using it, you're missing out. Here's coach Matt to show you exactly how to use this lethal combo. 👇

Outside Phoenix, Arizona on Lake Pleasant is the Pleasant Harbor water park. It offers many water-related activities including slides, paddling, swimming, and a floating pickleball court! The surface looks like it takes a bounce nicely, so if you're in the area, and you like the water, then you might want to check it out. 👇

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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