Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

We know you love pickleball, but what are some of your other interests? And do they pair well with pickleball or are they very different? Today, we'll take a look at another sport's obsession with pickleball, check out one state that took a stand on where pickleball should (and should not) be played, find out how tariffs affect the pickleball industry, and a whole lot more.

Let’s do this! 👇

People love ice cream, and people love pizza. But not too many people like mixing pizza with ice cream.

Where are we going with this? Well, people love pickleball, but they also love nature and preserving it for future generations.

So when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a Great Outdoors Initiative plan to develop Florida's state parks with business ventures including golf courses, pickleball courts and large hotels, Floridians voiced their disapproval.

Resistance came from everywhere and across party lines. "The public outcry, you could probably hear it all the way up to the moon or Mars," said Rep. Lindsay Cross from St. Petersburg.

In response to the resistance, DeSantis pulled back on his plan. But last week, Florida's House of Representatives went a step further when it voted 115-0 (that's like getting pickled more than 10 times in a row 😄) in favor of a bill called the "State Park Preservation Act."

The bill prevents the building of golf courses, pickleball courts, tennis courts and ball fields in state parks. Plus, cabins that hold more than six people will be prohibited from being built in state parks.

It's pretty clear that the public outcry is not against pickleball or golf or hotels. Floridians, like most Americans, love those things. But they also love nature and don't want the former to encroach upon the latter. 

In other words, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge is delicious — but not when you mix it with pizza.

Remember to Bend Your Knees!

Bending your knees is one of the simplest, yet most effective things you can do to improve your game. Getting low helps with nearly every shot, as you generate lift to get the ball over the net. Bending at the knees is better than bending with your back because it keeps your kinetic chain intact, so you can hit the ball hard and generate spin.

We’re not sure which is more impressive — that shot or managing to outshine Anna Leigh Waters for even a point when she’s your partner. 😄

We Met Some Happy Campers

We know we're just a month into spring, but we can definitely see the end of the school year, and that often means camp. Remember camp? Wasn't it great! You headed out to a new place to be active, have fun and meet new friends.

Well, kids aren't the only ones who can go to camp. Yup, you can too. And not just any camp, but pickleball camp! With Engage pickleball camps, you'll get the highest-level coaching during 2 or 3 day camps held at locations around the country! The coaches are superb, and you will receive 14-18 hours of intensive training that focuses on the pickleball shots and strategies you need to take your game to the next level. 

Plus, they're not just in the summer. Engage pickleball camps run all year round and are separated by level: Advanced Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced — and they are in states including Arizona, California, North Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Colorado and more! Find the perfect location for you right here and get ready for an incredible camp experience!

When you think of Colorado, what do you think of? Crisp, fresh air? Skiing? Maybe the recent championships from the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche? Well, it's about time we add pickleball to the list. Why? Because with its natural beauty as a backdrop, playing pickleball in this Rocky Mountain state is pretty darn awesome.

Below, you're looking at 15 pickleball courts located in Colorado Spring's Monument Valley Park. Luckily, it looks like there are some trees surrounding the courts. That's a good thing because we don't want people so distracted by the views that they keep falling into the kitchen. 😃

Are We Talking Baseball or Pickleball?

Baseball used to be considered America's pastime. Over the years, it has undoubtedly been replaced at the top by football (perhaps by basketball too), and has been criticized for being too slow, both in its pace of play and also in its ability to change with the times.

But new changes like the pitch clock, which limits the time between pitches, and potential automated calling of balls and strikes, have either been put into effect at the pro level or are being experimented with in the minor leagues.

What's another way Major League Baseball (MLB) is getting with the times? Pickleball.

There didn't seem to be a conscious effort to get into pickleball, it kind of just happened organically. And based on a recent ESPN article, the scope of MLB’s interest in our sport is staggering.

The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers recently conducted a match between its assistant general manager and Triple-A manager.

A lot of trash talk went back and forth between the two, so almost 100 members of the Dodgers' organization headed out to a local court to witness (and bet on 😄) the showdown.

The previous year's World Series champions, the Texas Rangers, got to a point where it was considered bad luck if the training staff did not play pickleball when the team was on the road in another city.

The Milwaukee Brewers built two courts at their facility, the Boston Red Sox have March Madness style tournaments, and the San Diego Padres have an ongoing power rankings system to determine who's the best player within the organization.

Not everyone in Major League Baseball is into pickleball. But it seems that those who are into it are absolutely obsessed. We’ve got three words for that… join the club! 💪

This is tough to do for a LOT of people. 😆

All About Perspective

You all know that the ball on the left is a real pickleball and the one on the right is a giant one. (Or at least hopefully you all know that. If not, you may have been playing the wrong sport for a while. 😀)

Even though the ball on the right is super big, when you're in the zone, a pickleball should almost feel that big. So big that you can't miss it, that you can see it coming from a mile away and get your paddle in exactly the right position before hitting your shot.

We hate to break it to you, but the best way to make the ball feel bigger is a lot of practice. 😄 But the other component is the ball itself. The Franklin X-40 pickleball is the gold standard for pickleballs because it’s the most balanced, consistent, and durable ball out there. That's why the X-40 is also the official ball of USA Pickleball and The Pickleball Clinic. Get some for yourself today.

Is there anything more frustrating in pickleball than hitting pop-ups? You can think about it, we’ll wait. 😄 Well, there’s one habit that you definitely want to break if you want to stop popping the ball up. Good thing Matt is here to explain what that is. 👇

Key takeaways:

• Don’t hit the ball on the rise. Moving forward to hit the ball right after it bounces and while it is still rising is called “short-hopping” the ball. You don’t want to do this.

• Instead, wait for the ball to come to you or position your body such that you can hit the ball at its peak.

It seems like the most common word in the news these days is "tariffs." Tariffs on foreign countries and then retaliatory tariffs the other way around. Well, one area that's being affected is the pickleball paddle industry, especially as it pertains to Canada. 

Like in the United States, pickleball has become extremely popular with our neighbor to the north. “We import probably 80 to 85 percent of all our products from the U.S. directly,” said Charles Neufeldt, co-owner of Pickleball Paddles Canada. "I would expect we’d need to raise our prices 20 to 25 percent.” Even for Canadian brands that make pickleball paddles, most of the materials needed to make them come from China or the U.S. So there will be an adjustment process, but at least for now, Canadian pickleball companies are trying to get more and more of their paddle components to be made in Canada.

Thanks for the read. See you out on the courts!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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