Well, I had hoped to be reporting tournament results today but sadly rain was a thief of fun in the Tyrone area.  I understand the tournament may be rescheduled in the near future so stay tuned.  Allegedly temperatures will settle down a bit in mid-week but the chance of showers pop up frequently with Monday being the best chance of rain free (though hot) weather.  Just remember to be safe and stay hydrated.  Drink before you are thirsty.  If you wait until you are thirsty you are already behind schedule.  Let's blast off like a Simone Biles tumbling run and explore the Pickleverse.

1. Walker Township:  I have not had a chance to observe how much traffic the Walker Twp. Park court has had over the past week.  Hopefully residents are discovering the court and using it.  I created a TeamReach site for the Walker Twp. court.  I would ask that even if you believe there is a small chance you would play on this court to download the TeamReach app (if you don't have it already) and join the Walker Whackers.  The join code is: Walker2024.  The hope is to demonstrate to the Park/Rec committee and the township supervisors that expanding on their pickleball facilities would be a benefit to the residents and the county in general.  If you have trouble joining, email me and I will send you a direct invitation.  I have also attached a map to show where the court is.

2. Bellefonte (Faith Church):  I don't know if the church has moved forward with any pickleball play yet or if anyone with a net has dropped in over the past week but I am happy to note the church has asked about putting down a second court before their church picnic in mid-September.

3. The Centre:  I checked with one young man and he looked at the upcoming schedule and it appears the Summer camp will end on August 23rd.  From a pickleball perspective it is usually quiet there unless it rains.   From my experience and what others have advised, there are usually 2 courts set up for play.  The 3rd court is left open and the 4th has a bounce house on it.  No we can't inflate and go to the bounce house.  On this past Friday the rain drove a number of Bernel players, some Suburban and a few that had logged in via the SighUpGenius.  At its peak I believe we had 17 players.  To handle the load the net for the third court was wheeled into place and a 4th court was established in the large gym.  The net is kept over there currently.  As long as the bounce house is on court 4, if another court is needed someone will need to confirm with the desk that the back corner of the main gym where the pickleball courts are, is available until 11:00 AM. 

4. Tip Of The Week:  I am not on a full blown endorsement on this just yet but I am becoming a believer.  We all know that as we wait to hit the ball, we assume a good athletic stance with our paddle up and angled anywhere from 12 o'clock to about 10 o'clock.  This is still very good advice and carries a lot of people for most of their pickleball journey.  Then all of a sudden, you are finding yourself in firefights and you just seem to be the player that is day late and a mile behind.  As you scale the skill ladder balls will be flying faster.  To improve your ability to react like a cobra on cocaine you need to be less static and more dynamic.  I read the linked article, and thought it was worth giving it a try.  When I am at the NVZ line I now track the flight of the ball on my opponent's side of the net like I had a laser pointer coming out of my paddle and I want to zap the ball.  It is too early to tell but I do feel like this method has allowed me to have a quicker reaction to hit the pickleball out in front of me which gives me more control on placement and decreases the time my opponent has to react.  So if I look like I am out there conducting the 1812 Overture (the part with the cannons), it's just me trying to improve my game.  Here is the link to the article: https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/what-is-paddle-tracking-and-how-can-it-make-you-a-better-pickleball-player/.

That's all for now.  If I get an update about the One Day Fun Day reschedule I will post it ASAP.  Have a great week and the link for The Centre is below and remember you can also arrange to reserve private court time from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-50541533-nvsc
 

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDYHOFFMAN20