3 reasons to drive down the middle

Tips 💸

• 3 reasons you should drive the ball down the middle more often (PCKL Blog)
  
• Hitting the ball down the middle forces your opponents to communicate. And if their comms are down, your points are up. Drive the ball down the middle to create more confusion than a calculus class.

• How to apply pressure while dinking (YouTube)
  
• Your opponents should feel like they’re in an elevator with their ex — incredibly uncomfortable. When we dink, we often hit the ball to the same spots because it’s comfortable for us. But changing your dink shot selection is a simple strategy to make your opponents squirm.
   
• 3 Tips to Prevent the Lobber from Lobbing (Pickler)
  
• No need to sob at the lob. Here’s how you can beat the lobster and shell-ebrate more wins: Keep your opponents back. Target their backhand. And dink aggressively. 

• How to handle criticism from your partner (Reddit)
  
• The best doubles partners communicate during and between points. But what do you do when feedback turns into criticism? This thread has more than 20 responses of people helping you figure out that delicate tension. You’ll even see the USA Pickleball Sportsmanship Guide, which gives you 10 rules to being kind on the court.

• Why you should play skinny singles (The Dink)
  
• Doubles may be more fun but skinny singles is a way to improve your game without worrying about covering the entire court. The modified one-on-one game limits your shot selection so you can better find your weaknesses and work on shots you’re slower to try in doubles. 

Atlanta 🍑

• Where to play pickleball in Atlanta (Buckhead)
  
• As an Atlanta-based company, we have a heart for The Big Peach. Sadly, the city has a long way to go to become a haven for picklers. That’s why we’re here. We’re honored to partner with you in turning Atlanta into The Pickle City. Here’s a list of pickleball hot spots in and around Atlanta.

• PCKL Fridays (PCKL Blog)
  
• We’re making pickleball more accessible for Atlanta. If you’re reading this, you’re invited to PCKL Fridays — free pickleball open-play at Atlanta Pickleball Center from 2:30-4:30 pm ET. You can sign up (for free) and join the community here.

A must watch 😂

• John McEnroe wins a pickleball argument (YouTube)
• “If I hear one more time that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport I’m gonna throw up.” — Tennis legend John McEnroe. Get your barf bag ready, John, because we’re still growing — now thanks to you. Watch John McEnroe play pickleball with tennis legends for $1M. In this clip, he actually wins his first argument in 40 years. 

A fun read 😃

• Pickleball is play for adults (Medium)
• Pickleball is addictive because it lets adults feel like they went back to recess. Play can help us remain vibrant and happy. It can significantly boost our health. And it can make us fall in love with movement again. Even small doses of physical play can reduce the risk of premature death by up to 50%. 

In the news 🗞️

• The Big Apple? More like the Big Pickle (CBS)
• The famous Wollman Rink in Central Park is now home of the largest pickleball facility in the Northeast. With 14 designated pickleball courts through early October, New York found another way to make us spend our Benjamins. 

• Pickleball meets America’s pastime (Boston Globe)
• Baseball is back! Which makes it the perfect time for Pickleball4America to launch a Ballpark Festival Series by putting courts in iconic baseball stadiums like Fenway Park and Oracle Park. Cue the awful puns from picklers, such as shouting “homerun” every time you hit a serve deep. 

Thanks for reading PCKL 11. 

Dink Soon!

— Team PCKL