I had the pleasure of heading south to Tyrone and playing with fellow members of the Tyrone Pickleball Club.  It was a special program night of partner play (you play with one partner all session and move around and play all the other teams.  In addition to partner play, many were introduced to rally scoring.  There was some good pickleball.  The wind was interesting at times.  Our opponents hit a high miss-hit shot that normally would have landed 10 or more feet out of bounds.  The wind blew the ball back onto the court and towards the net.  My partner and I were caught completely off guard.  We still managed to win the game despite the elements conspiring against us.  Let's take a trip to the Pickleverse.

1. Free Indoor Pickleball:  The Centre has hired a promotional company that creates advertising content using drone photography and video.  The Centre wants to make pickleball a featured sport so they opened up the four (4) courts in the small gym for 2 hours of free play on May 4th (Saturday) from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.  If you attend, keep in mind, that there may be some starts and stops during the filming segment of those two hours.  I have created a separate SignUpGenius link at the bottom of the blog.

2. C3 Sports:  For your future planning, C3 Sports will again shut down pickleball from June 30 to September 8, 2024.

3. Bellefonte High School:  I had a fun time assisting with training some new pickleballers at the Bellefonte High School auxiliary gym this past Monday night.  Bellefonte is running the program as a community education program.  While the court setup is less than desirable it was workable and folks were having fun.  Looking forward to a couple more nights with them.

4. Governors Park:  On my way to the high school I swung by Governors Park to check out the condition of the pickleball/tennis court.  It appeared that the borough had recently painted fresh pickleball lines.  There are two large cracks that run sideline to sideline but other than those the court was in better shape than I expected.  If nothing else, the court would be good for drilling.  If you do play, you have to accept that there will be some cattywampus bounces if the ball lands near or on the cracks.

5. Here's a funny video my wife sent me.  As a bit of background, the theme of this video and others like it is how a community of kindred souls was formed from people waiting for their partner to finish shopping in Target.  Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrLYJ2Nqt_4. 

6. Bernel Road Park v. The Centre:  if you sign up on a given day for one or the other and then decide to switch venue make sure to delete your sign-up from your original site so folks can see a more accurate list of players.

7. TeamReach App:  For new players, several players use the TeamReach app to organize play groups.  If you don't have the app the easiest way to get it is to email me and I will send you a direct invitation.  There are 263 players following the Bernel Briners, most of whom I never met.  While many use the app to arrange play, others use it to determine how busy the courts might be.

8. Tip of the Week:  I had previously talked about don't be a pencil while you are waiting for the ball to get to you.  An add on to that would be when it does arrive in your neighborhood move to the ball in a way that maintains a balanced stance.  I often see players trying to reach a ball by balancing on one leg and trying to reach out to make contact with the ball.  Quite often, a step or two will put you in a good position to be balanced and better able to hit the ball the way you want to.  

With warmer weather expected at the beginning of the week, remember to stay hydrated.  Use sunblock if playing outside and as always, have fun.  See you on the court or bike trail soon.

Free Pickleball Session:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-49358650-free

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-49358315-nvsc

C3 Sports:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-49358326-c3pickleball

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDYHOFFMAN20