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Pickles To Turkeys + Pickleball On Grass?

Pickles To Turkeys + Pickleball On Grass?

Our Thanksgiving Pickleball List, Dinking On Grass, And Where NOT To Stand On The Court.

The Pickleball Clinic
November 22, 2023

Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

While we love to pickle, this week is turkey time! Today, we’ll share the aspects of pickleball we’re most thankful for, explore a different playing surface, and reveal where NOT to stand on the court.

Let’s get started 👇

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which got us thinking about what we’re most thankful for when it comes to pickleball.

Range of Athleticism

The barrier to entry to start playing and enjoying pickleball is relatively low — you can really enjoy this sport within one or two times of playing.

On the other hand, have you ever seen high-level pickleball?

Eye-hand coordination (hands battles)
Quickness (Ernies and Berts)
Agility (dinking)
Speed (singles)

The athletic abilities above are as much a part of high-level pickleball as they are in any other sport in the world!

Amazing Lingo

Take a minute to be thankful for the incredible terms in pickleball…

The Kitchen – What a great nickname for a forbidden part of the court.
Berts + Ernies – Because who doesn’t love Sesame Street?
Nasty Nelson – The shot and the name of the shot are just hysterical.
Skinny singles – Sounds so much better than “playing on half of the court.”
Bangers – Sounds so much better than “hard hitters.”
Body bag – A bit morbid, but still pretty cool.

Friends and Community

Last, but certainly not least, we are thankful for the people of pickleball. Whether we have made a few new friends from the sport or built entire communities that have changed our social lives, we are thankful.

OK, now it’s your turn. Which ones did we get right? Which ones did we miss? Reply and let us know.

In today’s Guest Bulletin, World No. 8 doubles player Andrei Daescu discusses the importance of developing consistent warm-up and cool-down routines.

“Whether you are a recreational player or a tournament player, make sure to develop some good warm-up and cool-down routines in order to prevent injuries and maximize your playing potential.

If tournament players are more experienced and have been exposed to good physio advice, recreational players who come out to play a few games in a social environment often skip the warmup and jump straight into point play; and that’s how you open the door to injuries. I strongly suggest a light jog followed by some dynamic stretches for about 10 minutes prior to play. Furthermore you should take care of your body after play as well, where I would recommend some static stretching for cool down.

Your body is a temple and you should take care of it as such. We all have so much fun playing this great game of pickleball, you don’t want to miss out on it because you’re sidelined by injuries that could have been easily prevented.”

Don’t hang out in the transition zone…

While it’s important to feel comfortable hitting shots in the transition zone (the space between the baseline and the kitchen line), you want to get out of there as soon as possible.

Ideally, if you hit a good shot, either a hard attack or a good drop, then you should move up towards the kitchen line. But if you hit a high shot, then you should move back towards the baseline — because it’s still easier to hit good shots from the baseline than from the transition zone.

In other words, you should never just stay still in the transition zone and hit from the same spot twice — you should either move up or back depending on the quality of your previous shot.

Hyperion C2 : The Next Evolution of JOOLA Innovation

The JOOLA Hyperion Pickleball Paddle is revamped with the latest paddle technology in the JOOLA Simone Jardim Hyperion C2. The paddle Simone Jardim now plays with keeps the Aero-Curve shape of the Hyperion while adding the Charged Carbon Surface Technology found in the Ben Johns Perseus Pickleball Paddle. The result is a well-balanced control paddle that delivers plenty of pop and power.

Learn what Simone loves about her new Hyperion C2 16mm:

You can plan a “shake and bake” with your partner — or you can do it all by YOURSELF!!

Turf’s Up!

Most of us play pickleball on hard surfaces like outdoor asphalt tennis courts or indoor hardwood basketball courts — but what about something softer? And greener? 🙂

Twenty miles outside of Melbourne, Australia, the Drysdale Clifton Springs Pickleball Club (DCSPC) just opened up eight new pickleball courts made of synthetic grass on what used to be a bowling green.

Over the weekend, DCSPC had a “birthday celebration” for their grand opening — no, they didn’t have shrimp on the barbie 😂, but they did have a “sausage sizzle followed by the birthday cake.”

The club has grown from 14 members last year to 169 members this year, and 80 of those players attended the festivities. According to one club member who had just played on the courts, the “bounce is very good.”

While synthetic grass is not as durable as real grass, it sure beats always having to add fertilizers and pesticides — oh, and mowing!!

We know there are clay pickleball courts, and we’ve even seen ice courts. ⛸️ Any other surfaces you know of? Let us know.