Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

What's the strangest paddle you've ever played with? Today, we'll check out the most oddly shaped paddle of all time, take a look at a father/son duo that stole hundreds of millions of dollars for a pickleball facility, learn how to hit the "scorpion" shot from Collin Johns, and a whole lot more.

Let’s do this! 👇

You know the phrase, "like father, like son"? Well, a father-and-son duo behind a massive pickleball and sports complex project in Mesa, Arizona were both sentenced to prison after being convicted of fraud.

The case centered on a failed development that had attracted hundreds of millions in investment. Randy Miller (70) and Chad Miller (41) were accused of misleading investors while raising funds for the complex.

Prosecutors said they used false information to make the project appear far more successful than it actually was, and they were able to raise roughly $300 million from investors who believed the complex would generate strong revenue.

To support their claims, the duo allegedly created and used forged letters of intent from sports organizations. These documents made it seem like major groups had committed to using the facility when they had not.

The complex, known as Legacy Park, opened in 2022 but struggled financially. It failed to generate the expected revenue and soon defaulted on its bond payments.

Within a short time, the project filed for bankruptcy and was later sold for a fraction of its original cost. Investors were left with massive losses (nearly all of the $300 million raised) and recovered only a small portion of what they were owed.

Authorities said the defendants also used some of the funds for personal expenses, including homes and vehicles.

After both men pleaded guilty, the dad was sentenced to a 6-year prison sentence and the son to a 5-year sentence. But on the bright side, at least they can play pickleball in prison. 😉

Turn Sideways to Hit Your Overhead Slams

This will allow you to generate optimal power as you can rotate through the shot. It's very difficult to hit the ball hard and accurately if you are facing square to the net. A great analogy that I like to use is throwing a ball in baseball, softball, and football. They almost always throw from a sideways stance, because that is the most efficient way to throw hard and accurately. In fact, the overhead slam in pickleball is very similar to the motion of throwing a ball. If you can throw, you can definitely hit an overhead. Just make sure you get sideways!

Many of us may feel that our points look like this, but chances are they don’t. 😀

Cutting corners is almost always the wrong thing to do, especially for big projects, like building a home, buying a car, or... building pickleball courts. You may not be looking to build courts yourself, but if you know someone who is or play at a club that's looking to
expand, then you owe it to them to make sure they're taking the installation process seriously.

Court Kings is the premier one-stop shop for commercial pickleball court construction that handles everything from site prep and concrete work to surfacing, nets, fencing, and consulting. Get in touch with the Court Kings team for a free consultation at [email protected].

Welcome to a new section where we will answer a commonly asked pickleball question. If you would like us to answer one of your questions, simply respond to this email and ask away!

Question: What if the ball hits my finger during a rally and goes back over the net? Is that allowed?

Answer: The answer is “yes” because there is a rule stating that if the ball hits your paddle hand below the wrist while you are holding the paddle, it is considered part of the paddle and the rally continues. On a two-handed shot, contact below the wrist on either hand is legal, as long as that hand is in contact with the paddle. However, if the ball hits any other part of the hand, arm, or body, it is a fault and you lose the point.

Paddles come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are a little longer than others, while some look a bit more like a square.

The length and circumference of the grip also varies, as does the thickness of the paddle itself. But despite the differences, all paddles at least look like pickleball paddles.

Not so fast. The Bird Falcon Elite Ergo paddle (see below) looks more like a laser tag gun than a pickleball paddle, which kind of makes sense since they call the grip a "pistol grip."

The paddle was supposedly made to be more ergonomic and to create less strain on your wrist and elbow.

And somehow, the paddle is actually USA Pickleball approved! Many people reviewed this paddle, and the reviews weren't exactly glowing. 

On the one hand, we respect the innovation of the paddle and applaud thinking outside of the box—albeit way outside of the box. But by most people's accounts, the design is too far out there.

However, another company called Xceler8 recently came out with a new ergo design based on the original Bird Falcon Elite Ergo paddle.

It's called the Xcaliber, and it claims to have improved upon the Bird Falcon by addressing issues like a lack of power and control, especially on the serve.

They’re just hurting themselves at this point. 😄

When you're exercising out on the pickleball courts, you are losing valuable minerals through sweat—minerals that not only stop cramps but also prevent brain fog on the court.

That's where Holey Performance comes in, an electrolyte and hydration brand specifically designed for pickleball players to help us stay fresh, sharp, present, and engaged on the court. They designed a program consisting of pre-game (for pick-me-up energy), in-game (for hydration), and post-game (for recovery and muscle health). It's a powerful combination that improves your energy, focus, and healing (especially greens and post game). Grab one and get another one FREE with code (BOGOCLINIC).

Speedups are a big part of pickleball—and they are weapons that we should all have in our toolboxes. For that reason, we also need to be able to counter speedups effectively. The standard counter on a speedup at our bodies is a backhand volley, but there is a less conventional, yet very effective, shot called the “scorpion,” that uses your forehand. So we figured we’d bring in one of the best players in the world at this shot (Collin Johns) to show us how to hit it. 👇

If you're over the age of 45 or 50, then chances are you're familiar with the comedian, Rodney Dangerfield. And if don't know of him, you should. He's best known for his catchphrase, "no respect," as in he never got respect. Well, that's how we should feel now that another batch of emojis are coming to the iphone, and we still don't have one for pickleball!

Look at some of these below that will be released this spring. Falling rocks? A treasure chest? Come on! Of all the emojis out there, it's wild that there isn't a pickleball one yet. Oh well, for now we'll just have to keep going with some version of this: 🥒🪩.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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