Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

What do you think is the most overrated shot in pickleball? Today, we'll look at the most overrated and underrated pickleball skills, discover a new surgical procedure that brought one player back to the game, learn what not to do when you’re playing, and much more.

Let’s do this! 👇

Sports are by definition physical, as they involve our bodies and our ability to move them in various athletic ways.

But if you think sports are just physical, then you've got it all wrong. The physicality of sports are great, but the social and emotional effects they produce may even be greater.

One recent example is the case of Tami Lucius, a 54-year-old former college basketball player from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, who also loved playing tennis and other sports.

Unfortunately, chronic wrist pain kept her out of sports for roughly 20 years. Upon hearing about pickleball, Lucius tried playing and immediately fell in love with the sport.

She hoped that maybe somehow she could play pickleball without the pain, but it was not to be. Not only did pickleball aggravate her wrist, it bothered it to the point that she couldn't even perform daily acts of living, like making her bed or washing her hair.

So Lucius turned to Dr. Sanj Kakar, a hand and wrist specialist at Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, who performed a new type of surgery called the over-the-top TCC surgical technique that he and his colleagues came up with.

The surgery went well for Lucius, and it has been life-changing, as she is now able to play pickleball three times a week, and pain-free!

"It does bring tears to my eyes because I didn't realize how much I missed sports in general," said Lucius. "I get such a sense of identity, who I am, my passion for competition, my passion for people."

We always love to hear feel-good stories like this. But they happen every day. So if you're someone who has been sidelined by a physical limitation, remember that through physical therapy, surgery, or other modifications, you too can get back on the court. 💪

Don’t Stop Your Swing to Hit Soft Shots

Wanting to hit the ball soft doesn’t mean you should stop your swing. A relaxed, controlled follow-through is especially important on drops and dinks. Cutting your swing short leads to quick, choppy motions that often cause the ball to pop up. On soft shots, follow through to about chest level and keep your hand relaxed the entire time.

Do you ever wonder why pros dink back and forth so much before they pick the right time to speed up? It’s because of fast hands like these. 👇

There are certain goods or services in life where cutting corners isn't all that bad. But that usually involves things that aren't all that important to begin with, like the type of rubber band or tape you use. However, when you're doing something important, you need the best because you know it will have a long-term impact.

Nowhere is that more true than building pickleball courts, as they last for years and are the lifeblood of a pickleball facility or club. Court Kings is the one-stop shop for anyone who's interested in building courts because they work with major franchises nationwide, handling everything from site prep and concrete work to surfacing, nets, fencing, and consultation. So if you or someone you know is looking to build a pickleball facility, then reach out to the Court Kings team at [email protected] for a free consultation.

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

Pickled (verb)

When you “pickle” another team or get “pickled” yourself, it means that one team beat the other team by the score of 11-0. A golden pickle is when a team loses 11-0 without even having the opportunity to serve..

If you follow professional sports, then you've probably heard the adage, "defense wins championships." But what does that phrase really mean?

Well, in most sports, offense is more exciting—slam dunks, goals, home runs, touchdown passes, and knockout punches are all offensive plays. 

So you could argue that offense sells tickets because it's usually more entertaining. But if you want to actually win, then you need to focus just as much or more on defense. 

Another sports term with a similar meaning comes from golf: "drive for show, putt for dough." In other words, the drive is the sexy, powerful, glamorous golf shot—the one that can travel 300+ yards and garner "oohs" and "ahs" from the crowd. But the slow-moving, almost-boring skill of putting is what wins tournaments.

Does pickleball have a comparable set of shots? Yes, we believe it does. So we're going to list some of the glamorous shots or concepts in pickleball (that aren't as helpful as you might think). We'll call them "overrated." Then we'll name a few not-so-glamorous (but super important) ones that we'll call "underrated." Here goes...

Overrated
The Erne: You can be a 5.0 player without ever hitting an Erne. Does it look cool? Heck yeah! And sure, if you're good at it, the Erne can be a nice weapon to use. But is it necessary to become really good? No.

Age: Like the Erne above, do quick wheels help out sometimes, like if you need to track down a lob? Sure, but at least in doubles, there's not that much space to cover. So skills like shot selection, anticipation, reflexes, and proper swing mechanics are all WAY more important than youth.

Underrated
Footwork: Hands battles and ATPs are exciting in pickleball. Footwork? Not so much. But without good footwork, it's very difficult to be good because you'll often be reaching, off-balance, and striking the ball from awkward positions.

Court positioning: Good footwork puts you in the optimal position to hit your shot, but court positioning happens before that. Court positioning is the skill (built through learning, training, and playing) of knowing where to be on the court based on what just happened and what will most likely happen next.

The serve: A few years ago, the serve was dismissed as simply a shot to start the point off with, and nothing more. That perspective has completely changed as people realize that a strong, deep serve can set up the entire point in your favor by getting a weaker return, which gives you an easier 3rd shot.

So there you have it. Do you agree or disagree? Did we miss any shots or concepts? If you think we did, write back and let us know.

Do you want to play pickleball or hang out on the water? Uh, both! 😀

When it comes to pickleball paddles, players are looking for power and control. Why? Because those are the two types of shots you need to level up your game. Well, RPM is the hottest new paddle brand out there, and it's the only one that was created by a PPA champion level player, James Ignatowich. 

RPM recently released both a Gen 3 honeycomb core paddle (the Friction Pro V2) and a Gen 4 full foam paddle (the RPM Q2). They are incredible paddles with insane spin, and they're both taking the pickleball world by storm. Grab one today, and use code (clinic15) for 15% off.

It's common to hear about things you should do in pickleball. But it can be just important to know what NOT to do. Well, PPA Champion and friend of The Pickleball Clinic, James Ignatowich, (you know, the creator of RPM paddles above) is here to tell you 3 things you should not do when you play. 👇

Major League Baseball has a very long season consisting of 162 regular season games, half of which are played on the road. So having an outlet to reset (no pun intended 😉) is extremely important. Enter pickleball. The Milwaukee Brewers coaching staff uses pickleball as a way to have fun, bring the organization together, and keep their competitive juices flowing.

But the Brewers are certainly not the only pro sports team that regularly plays pickleball together and even holds tournaments with its players, coaches and support staff. Other teams that take pickleball very seriously include both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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