Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

We know that you know that pickleball continues to get more and more popular. But can you back it up with numbers? Today, we'll take a look at a new report that goes into detail about pickleball’s growth, discover a group of veterans who play, learn about a 94-year-old pickler, and a lot more.

Let’s go! 👇

A new report just came out called the “2024 State of Pickleball: Participation & Infrastructure Report.”

It was created by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) and was released in conjunction with the USA Pickleball National Championships in Mesa, Arizona.

While the results may not shock you (because many of us are jaded to pickleball’s growth and success 🥱), the data is still extremely impressive…

For the third year in a row, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, growing 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and a whopping 223.5% in a three year span.

Just as impressive, the sport grew in every age group, with the 25-34 age group leading the way, and more than 1 million children under the age of 18 taking up the game from 2022 to 2023.

Another great sign for the health of pickleball is that every region in the United States witnessed an increase in pickleball participation — the South Atlantic region led the way with 2.8 million pickleball players.

“As we continue to support this rapid expansion,” said Alex Kerman, Senior Director of Research & Business Operations at SFIA, “our priority is to ensure that pickleball remains accessible and enjoyable for everyone, fostering a thriving community of players.”

Regarding the continued growth of pickleball, we’ve got three words, “Heck yeah!!!” (OK, we only needed two. 😉)

Don’t Overlap Your Fingers on a Two-handed Backhand

If you hit a two-handed backhand, make sure that your fingers are not overlapping. Many players will overlap their hands because they either can’t fit both of them on the paddle, or it feels comfortable at first. This will lead to a loss of power, control, and stability. Your hands should be touching, but not overlapping. If your paddle’s handle isn’t long enough for both your hands to fit, you can put the finger of your non-dominant hand (which should be your top hand) up on the face of the paddle like a ping pong grip.

If you don’t think that volley dinks are effective, then maybe it’s time to reconsider. 🫨

Relief Is on the Way

Just like any sport, if you play pickleball hard, you're going to have common aches, pains, and general soreness. (You may also have uncommon soreness from being pelted five times in one match or by breaking the fence while trying to run down a lob. 😉)

Regardless of where your soreness comes from, we have a solution. Our friends at Jigsaw Health have come out with Jigsaw MagRelief, an ultra-pure magnesium lotion that you can rub directly onto your legs, feet, knees, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, or wherever you're sore. Get some today and use code “clinic10” at checkout for $10 off.

If you could describe “pickleball in paradise” with one picture, this might be it. It’s the Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay Resort on the island of O‘ahu in Hawaii! Across the island from Honolulu, picklers can pickle at this luxurious hotel right on the water, known for its legendary waves and beautiful beaches. Surrounded by palm trees and the sound of the ocean waves, this is a magical place to play pickleball.

Volleying with Veterans

Last week on Veterans Day, the second annual Veterans in Pickleball event was held at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. 

Almost 100 veterans from all of our military branches came out to play. It's a tournament for veterans by veterans and this year's theme was "Battle of the Branches."

"I came out of active duty and retirement, and you lose your team," said Scott Farish, who is involved with the Veterans in Pickleball organization. "Well, I have a team now, I have a group, and it’s somebody you can count on."

Veterans are a group of people who have been through a lot. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 7 out of every 100 veterans will experience PTSD at some point.

While hopefully most of us are grateful to veterans for their service, many veterans feel isolated. 

"Everybody has something you don’t know about, going on with them," Farish said. "Well a veteran might have seen some things, might have been dealing with things that they really don’t want to talk about, because they find it hard to relate to someone who hasn’t been through that same kind of event."

"You just reaching out, is taking that step, and it’ll slowly break down that barrier, it’ll slowly break down the wall," said Farish. "Our goal is to get those people out into a place like this, playing pickleball, watching pickleball... and maybe that barrier breaks down, and maybe they’ll be better the next day." 

Beautifully said, Scott. Here's to all our veterans, and everyone for that matter, coming together and experiencing a sense of community and togetherness through pickleball. 💪

Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere. 😀

Spoken Word Poetry: Pickleball Style

If you play pickleball, you’re gonna want to use JOOLA. / Whether you live in Cali or NOLA,/ drink water or cola, / play violin or viola, / eat chips or granola, / wherever you go-la, / you oughta know-la, / that from paddles to bags and clothing to eyewear, / if you want to get on a roll-a, then you gotta choose JOOLA.

Check out all that JOOLA has to offer.

So you’ve been playing pickleball for a bit, but you’ve been stuck at that 3.0 level. You want to be a 3.5 player, but you don’t know how to get there. Well, we sent up the bat signal (or hmm, let’s call it the “Matt signal” 😀) and Coach Matt answered the call. Here he is to show you a few things you need to do in order to raise your game.

Key Takeaways:

• Always run up to the kitchen line after you return your opponent’s serve. Plus, try not to hit short returns. Instead, try to hit higher and deeper returns so that you have more time to get up to the kitchen.

• Use your backhand volley if the ball is coming at your body. Also, hit a correct backhand, which has the back of your hand facing the net, not your inverted palm.

• Always go back to the proper ready position after you hit a shot. That means keep your paddle up and be ready for any ball to come at you.

There is a woman named Joyce Jones who is kind of a big deal in the pickleball community. She is 94 years old, lives in Seattle, and has been playing pickleball for more than 40 years. In fact, Joyce and her husband were taught the game by the creator of the sport, himself, Joel Pritchard.

Joyce is still playing and competing, and she’s been to every pickleball Nationals since the event started, except for one year when she was sick. When asked about Nationals, Jones said “I enjoy the camaraderie, and I also like being 94, the oldest person in the tournament every time,” she laughed, “including the men.” Joyce has an incredibly upbeat personality and considers herself to be extremely lucky. She also says that she’s enjoying playing pickleball now more than ever. 💪

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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