Debbie Witten SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleballers show their true colors. As the weather has been turning warmer, a kaleidoscope of bright colors can be seen on the Pickleball courts. Pickleball is a low-cost sport (as compared with golf, skiing, etc.) and does not require any special clothing except for it to be comfortable and appropriate for…
David Zapatka This ‘12-common-mistakes’ column recently began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me: “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” Last month we reviewed the first two mistakes. This month we take…
Nancy Eisenstein Larry Burchfield is 2021’s President of SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleball Association (SBRPA). There were many changes to the club in 2020 due to the sudden appearance of the Coronavirus. Larry is hoping for a much better year in 2021 and for play and social events to return to as close to normal as possible.…
Alastair Stone Five years ago, Mac Melhuish and Alastair Stone were unbeatable when playing pickleball together, going 16-0 for the year. Then they had 160 years between them, and a plan was put in place to play in January 2021. Alastair would be celebrating 80 years, and Mac would already have had his very special birthday…
David Zapatka While playing at the IronOaks courts in Sun Lakes for the first time last month, I ran into a group of very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players. We played a couple games together and when we departed, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5…
Alastair Stone In spite of the COVID-19 impact, the board has been busy all year. The SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleball Association (SBRPA) has continued to play every day (except for the fewer than expected rain days) and having monitors has become a way of life! Membership numbers grow all the time (there are over 400 now) which means there…
Alastair Stone Many tournaments have been cancelled in Arizona recently, but seven SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleball Association (SPRPA) members are registered for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) pickleball tournament which is played in Tucson Nov. 13 to 17. Our correspondent found mixed doubles pair Joe Campion and Ronda Hayes getting in some practice. Good luck to them…
Alastair Stone At a recent newcomer’s session, the Pickleball Club was delighted to see Tennis Club members enjoying themselves on two of the courts! Our reporter liked seeing one of his former tennis coaches, Dean Alfrey, on the receiving end of instruction! And Bo Jessop, it’s okay if you were also trying to recruit new…
Alastair Stone Pickleball players all showed great respect to the sheriff in charge early one morning. Thank you, Shelley Ziegler, for showing us all how the monitor of the day should look and behave!
Alastair Stone SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleball Association (SBRPA) has introduced a new methodology for “testing up” to a higher level. Previously, one testee played three games with three testers and had to score a total of 23 points. Now, four testees have to go through a four-element program together. This covers serving, dinking (yes), a couple of…