Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Still recovering from your big turkey meal? Today, we’ll tell you what was on our Thanksgiving table, update you on quiet pickleball paddles, reveal the best time to hit a lob, and discuss a whole lot more!

Let’s do this. 👇

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We sure did…

Normally we want everyone to stay out of the kitchen, but we made an exception for our Thanksgiving feast.

We started things off by putting Ernie, the turkey, in the oven. And we stuffed him with our special Tyson McStuffin recipe.

Then we got to work on our bangers & mash, which we spiced up with a little bit of Parenteau cheese.

The meal was filled with all types of pickles, including a golden pickle, which had zero items next to it.

For beverages, not everyone wanted to have alcoholic dinks — so we made sure to have tons of Anna Leigh water on the table.

Afterwards, we put on our long Ben johns and went out a for a hike — except for those who ate too much and crawled into their pickle-shaped body bags.

It was a very special day filled with all types of people, including singles, skinny singles and couples. We hope your celebration was just as special, and we wish you all a very happy holiday season!

Top Champions pickleball player and co-founder of the National Pickleball League, Rick Witsken, shares 5 tips on how to improve your game.

“Hello Pickleball Nation!

Please consider the following when deciding the best process for improvement for your pickleball game:

1. Practice vs rec play - I strongly suggest more practice focusing on intentional dinking, dropping and driving. Add additional tools to your tool chest.

2. Tournaments - It's a good idea to have plenty on your calendar where the outcome of one event doesn't define you. Don't be afraid to play up in level. For me personally, I am looking forward to playing some Open Pro tournys in addition to Senior Pro tournys.

3. Be very selective which YouTube videos you watch. Many want to be the authority on pickleball instruction. (Even your partner sometimes.😂) In my opinion, it takes time to be a premiere coach and does help to have played at the highest level.

4. Remember to give back to the game. What you reap will be greater than the time you invest.

5. Have pickleball specific exercises that are relative to our sport. Deadlifting and maxing out on reps are not recommended. Focus more on resistance training and high reps.

Let's Go RipSken pickleball and the National Pickleball League :-).”

A good time to lob…

If you want to catch your opponents off guard with a lob, try lobbing a dink volley. That is, if you're reaching into the kitchen line to take a dink out of the air (that you wouldn't otherwise attack), try lobbing it over your opponent's head.

From this position, most players expect either an attack or a dink, but not a lob. Plus, it's easier to disguise the swing this way!

ProXR’s Latest Paddle (and the perfect holiday gift)

What’s the greatest gift you can give this holiday season?

It very well could be the gift of pickleball. Think about it.

It’s a fun activity that keeps you active in a time of year when many of us want to rest. The opportunity to stay in touch with loved ones of all ages keeps us happy.

Giving the gift of pickleball is a great option for nearly everyone in your life — spouse, children, parents, grandparents.

ProXR Pickleball is committed to the passion of pickleball. As a family company, ProXR understands the benefits of bringing pickleball to all your loved ones. Use code CLINIC20 to gift ProXR to everyone you want to join you on the court this new year.

Novak Djokovic used to do impressions of the top tennis players’ serves. Here’s pickleball’s version…

The Sounds of Silence (Almost)

Since pickleball has taken off over the past few years, there has been one major and constant thorn in its side… NOISE.

According to Kausik Sarkar, a professor at George Washington University, a pickleball makes a mid-frequency noise when it hits a paddle — which makes it actually sound louder to the human ear than an equally loud low or high frequency sound.

Fortunately, the sport isn’t just bemoaning the problem — it’s actually working to do something about it…

• Bob Unetich, a retired engineer and the expert in the field of pickleball sound mitigation, regularly consults with USA Pickleball and others to help implement noise-reducing strategies.

• USA Pickleball recently certified the OWL Sport paddle, the very first Quiet Category paddle proven to reduce noise by 50 percent.

OWL Sport ambassadors John McEnroe and Drew Brees stopped by The Today Show last week to promote the new paddle — “Unlike me, it is quiet,” said McEnroe. 😂 

The new developments in noise mitigation have not solved pickleball’s noise problem — but they are certainly a step in the right direction.

And if we also have to wear wigs like that, then so be it. 😂

Paddle + CBD = Giveaway!

🚨Giveaway Time🚨 3 winners will receive a Splish Recovery CBD Set for joints and muscles AND a Special Edition “Heal Your Hero” R.A.W. Carbon Fiber Paddle! Enter on Instagram here, or in our Facebook Group. Good luck!

Want to STOP popping up your dinks?

Well we want you to stop too!! 😂

Key takeaways:

• Shorten your backswing and follow-through

• Loosen your grip

• Get low

• Get behind the ball

Remember Drew Brees from above? Well, he may have set all kinds of NFL passing records, but in a recent interview with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, he said:

“Look, I’ll let you in on a little fact. I don’t throw with my right arm anymore. My right arm does not work. So, when I throw in the backyard right now, I throw left-handed.”

Brees says that while a dislocated shoulder (suffered early in his football career) lead to his current condition, he can still play pickleball with his right hand because the majority of pickleball shots are hit below the shoulder.

Thanks for the read. See you soon!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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