Never get body bagged again

Tips 💸

• How to know when you’re ready to coach pickleball (PCKL Blog)
  
• We sat down with Coach Emory Clark, a certified pickleball coach and member of Team PCKL, to learn what it takes to coach fellow dinkers. What we found? You’re probably more prepared than you think. 

• When you should punch or block at the net (YouTube)
  
• When you’re at the kitchen, there are some shots you should deflect — just absorb the heat and hang in there. And there are other shots you should punch like Michael B. Jordan with Rocky in his corner — with conviction. Top 5 player in the world, Tyson McGuffin, shares tips and drills for punching and blocking at the net.

• Never get body bagged again (Pickler)
• If you find yourself getting popped by pickleballs game after game, then maybe it’s not your opponents’ fault — maybe it’s you. Pickler gives you 7 tips to decrease your chances of getting a tattoo that resembles a waffle. 

• How and why to stack (YouTube)
  
• If you’re even thinking about entering a doubles tournament, then you should practice stacking. Stacking is when you start on the same side of the court as your teammate for the serve, then move to a strategic spot after the serve. It allows you to play to your strengths and give your opponents a different look. The perfect strategy for a team with a lefty. 

• Strategies for hitting and returning lobs (The Dink)
• You can love it or you can hate it, but you can’t ignore it: the lob is growing more popular than the mom that serves Pizza Rolls. When the ball goes up, time seems to slow down and chaos creeps in. The Dink gives you easy to implement strategies for dealing with lobs. 

Behind the scenes 🕵️

• Go behind the scenes of getting a paddle USA Pickleball approved (Pickleball Union)
• Our director of digital marketing, Mitchell Chapman, sat down with Pickleball Union to talk through what it takes to get a paddle approved for tourney play. TL;DR: it’s a longer journey than a LOTR story — but not nearly as fun.

Health ❤️

• Can pickleball help you live longer? (Providence)
• The sweat and increased heart rate you experience in a 13-11 game is good for your health, but there’s another part of pickleball that can contribute to your longevity: relationships. Research shows that social sports tend to create greater longevity than solo ones — unless your doubles partner kills you for refusing to drop.

• Play like a child (Outside Magazine)
• A trap of pickleball can be that you get so focused on winning that you fail to have fun. It’s fun to win, but it’s not fun to be so concerned about the outcome that you’re performing more than you’re playing. This article points out the benefits of play, including a strengthened emotional intelligence and resilience. 

In the news 🗞️

• Florida man plays pickleball in 48 states in 48 days (Yahoo News)
• Here’s a fun game: Google “Florida man (insert anything)” and see what pops up. You’re bound to find wild stories of men from the Sunshine State doing things that’ll make you question the effects of sand. If you Google “Florida man pickleball,” you’ll find Dean Matt, a man on a pickleball roadtrip across America.

A fun read 😁

• 6 ways pickleball on tv is changing pickleball for you (Fast Company)
• TV influences behavior. For example, it’s hard to watch LeBron play and not want Nikes. Pickleball is growing in popularity on the screen, and the increase of viewership will evolve the sport. Here are 6 ways it’s already happening.

 

Pros 👔

• Atlanta loves competitive pickleball (Forbes)
  
• This past weekend, more than 1,400 players participated in the Acrytech Atlanta Open, the PPA’s first grand slam of the year. Sixteen-year-old Anna Leigh Waters won her 12th PPA triple crown, and JW Johnson won his first PPA single’s gold of the year. Our favorite part? Seeing all the PCKL paddles in action. 

Thanks for reading PCKL 11. 

Dink Soon!

— Team PCKL