Tips to beat bangers and reach 4.0

Tips 💸

• Tips for when your 3rd shot isn’t thriving (YouTube)
• Everybody has those days — when your 3rd shots are like having soup for dinner: just not hittin’ the spot. Thankfully, there are some simple steps you can take to find your groove: watch your body language, establish your footing, do a 50% groundstroke, prepare for the 5th shot dink, and move toward the kitchen. 
  
• What is the best pickleball tip you’ve ever been given? (Reddit)
• You can find anything on Reddit. Like people ready to roast you and dogs that resemble their owners. But if you search in the right places, you’ll find a gold mine of advice. We did the searching for you and found some of the best pickleball tips the internet has to offer.
  
• 4 tips to help you go from 3.5 to 4.0 (The Dink)
• If you have an athletic foundation — like you were a first round pick in middle school kickball — you can reach the 3.5 level in pickleball. But making the leap to 4.0 will take intentional practice. Here are 4 tips to help you get there: a proper grip, higher 3rd shots,  aggressive 4th shots, and smart dinks.
  
• 3 offensive shots for when the ball is below the net (The Pickler)
• It’s difficult to accomplish an aggressive shot when the ball is below the net. While playing it safe could keep the point going, you need to be as aggressive as a taxi driver in LA to win points at a higher level. The Pickler helps you learn how to topspin volley, speed-up, and lob.
  
• A strategy to beat bangers (Pickleball University)
• Not “Stronger” by Kanye. Bangers are picklers who drive the ball every chance they get. It can be an annoying style of game to play against, and it’s even more annoying when you don’t know how to stop it. Here are five tips for beating bangers, including where to aim your shots and how to hold your paddle. 

Pickleball etiquette 👍

• The one rule that’s OK to break in pickleball (PCKL blog)
• One of pickleball’s quirkiest rules happens before you ever hit the ball. It’s the one rule people often break and a rule we shouldn’t be sticklers about.
  
• How do you paddle tap at the end of a game: head or handle? (PCKL blog)
• Everyone should touch paddles after a game — even if you lost all 11 points to lobs. During covid, many players resorted to touching paddle heads as a way to avoid swapping sweat through handles. Now, many players prefer touching handles as a way to protect the head of their paddle. But which way is right? 

A professional love story 💘

• Love on the court (PPA)
• Julian Arnold and Lauren Stratman are dynamite on the pickleball court, finishing in 2nd place at the PPA indoor championships. There are also fireworks between them off the court as they recently expressed their love for each other in post-game interviews. Is mixing love and pickleball a smart or scary gameplan? 

A hilarious watch 🤣

• Meet James Ignatowich: champion and comedian (YouTube)
• James Ignatowich recently won two gold medals at the PPA indoor championship. But his most exciting moments were after the matches when he got the mic. Here’s a compilation of his hilarious post-game interviews, including our favorite quote: “Big Papa Jimmy. The monkey’s off my back and daddy’s home.”

In the news 🗞️

• Do you have pickleball derangement syndrome? (The Boston Globe)
• People are getting more obsessed with pickleball than sorority girls are with Sunday brunch. The Boston Globe is calling the widespread obsession pickleball derangement syndrome. Do you have it? Check your calendar and bank account to find out.
  
• PCKL on the Pat McAfee Show (YouTube)
• We sent sports analyst Pat McAfee some PCKL merch. The paddles made it on one of his shows, where he praised how generous the pickleball community is. We agree. Your generosity is how we can do what we do. To help us spread the love of pickleball, will you generously forward this email to a pickleball fan in your life?