The lifecycle of a pickleball player

Tips 💸

• A 1-minute drill to level up your forehand dink (The Kitchen)
• The Kitchen takes one minute to help you master your forehand dink. And it may be the easiest drill that gives you the greatest return on your practice. Check out this clever exercise that doesn’t even require a paddle.

• How to work the angles of the court (The Pickler)
• Pickleball shows who paid attention in their 10th grade geometry class. Because if you can work the angles, you can work your opponents. Focus on the 3 p’s to optimize angles on the court: positioning, pace, and practice. 

• Things I wish I knew before I started playing pickleball (PCKL Blog)
• When you pick up a paddle for the first time, people only tell you things you need to know. The kitchen, letting it bounce, how to keep score, blah blah blah. But what about the things that would have been nice to know? We wrote the article we wish we had before our first dink. 

• How to read and react to returns (YouTube)
• You’re most likely to receive three types of returns: slice, topspin, or flat. Not all returns should be treated equally. Professional Simone Jardin teaches you how to handle the three most common returns so you can make the most of your 3rd shot. 

• 7 tips for tennis players transitioning to pickleball (Pickleball Union)
• Dear tennis players, we don’t hate you. We want to help you. Consider this our olive branch: 7 tips to make your transition a stroke of ease.

Fun reads 😃

• What makes you laugh on the court? (Reddit)
• Your passion revolves around a wiffle ball. There’s no excuse for taking yourself too seriously. From whiffed lobs to failed ATPs to farts, dozens of picklers share their most laughable moments.
  
  
• The lifecycle of a pickleball player (The Dink)
• When you pick up a paddle, you embark on the evolution of a pickler. You move through 4 stages: the beginner, the banger, the snob, and the “I’m training to become pro.” You can discover where you’re at in your evolution by measuring skills, entitlement, arrogance, and self-delusion. 

• The iconic designers behind lively pickleball attire (NYT)
• Norma Kamali is a 77-year-old fashion designer influential in the 80’s athleisure movement. Now she’s putting her talent behind the pickleball dress. 

Pros 🗞️

• Meet the most influential man behind pickleball (Austin Monthly)
• From Harvard to Wall Street to pickleball — Steve Kuhn does it all, including founding MLP, the most electric league in the game. He’s also responsible for drawing celebs like LeBron and Tom Brady to the sport. And you can blame him for your 3.5 rating. Because he also catalyzed the development of pickleball ratings.
  
  
• 10 questions with Erne master Tyler Loong (PPA)
• Tyler Loong once accomplished 10 Ernes in one professional championship match. So, yeah, he’s pretty good — like top-10-in-the-country-good. In this interview with the PPA, Tyler talks fatherhood, diet, and tips for amateurs. 

• #1 player in the world, Ben Johns, to play with our newest pickleball (PCKL Blog)
• We’re not crying; allergies are just rough in Atlanta. The Iron Paddles Pickleball Club, based in Arlington, Virginia, is hosting The Pros vs. 5.0s event on May 13th. The tournament will feature top pros like Ben Johns and Anna Bright. We’re honored the action will feature our Elite 40 pickleball, the most durable ball designed for competitive play.

Thanks for reading PCKL 11 — your one-stop-shop for pickleball content. As always, forward this to the pickler in your life who wants to better their game and have fun doing it.