David Zapatka Backhand Groundstroke Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a backhand groundstroke, “The same principles apply when you’re hitting a backhand groundstroke (as a forehand groundstroke) except that you move to the left rather than to the right (right-handed players). While some players change the…
Tag: Relishing Pickleball
Sports, November 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Want some tips to help you with your forehand groundstroke? Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a forehand groundstroke, “from the moment the ball leaves the opponent’s paddle, you should be tracking its flight with your eyes to aid you in judging the speed and direction of the ball. Move to the…
Sports, October 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Are you looking for an enriching retirement activity? Are you interested in quality exercise while having a good time? Are you interested in a social environment where you can meet friendly, fun people? Are you interested in making new friends in your community? Consider giving the fastest-growing sport in the world, pickleball, a…
Sports, September 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Is Pickleball a Good Bet? The Pickleball Players Association (PPA) and Genius Sports, a publicly-traded sports data and tech company, recently announced a long-term deal that sets the stage for sports betting in pickleball. Can you imagine walking into one of our local casinos, hearing raucous cheers and seeing a pickleball match on…
Sports, August 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Reader Liz Houser writes, “I just moved to SaddleBrooke in April and learned to play pickleball in early May thanks to my enthusiastic neighbor Shawne. I just read your article about common mistakes numbers 11 and 12—I found them to be very helpful. Would you be so kind as to send me the…
Sports, July 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 2020 Pickleball Rocks Players of the Year
David Zapatka 2020 was a crazy year. Many pickleball tournaments were cancelled. Public pickleball courts were closed and padlocked. That being said, Arizona pickleball players found ways to safely play, and even through the pandemic, new players found pickleball in record numbers. For 2020, Pickleball Rocks Clothing and Equipment Company recognized a mixed doubles pair…
Sports, June 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 11 and 12)
David Zapatka This 12 common mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first 10 mistakes over the past five…
Sports, May 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 9 and 10)
David Zapatka This 12 common mistakes column began after playing with some very excited and highly motivated new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first eight mistakes over the past…
Sports, April 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 7 and 8)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first six mistakes the past three months. This month…
Sports, March 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How To Fix Them (Mistakes 5 and 6)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first four mistakes the past two months. This month…