Whew, what a week!  After a great tournament at The Centre, I got to do a lesson with a certified instructor from Florida, The Centre hosted a pickleball clinic that was attended by players from PA and then there were some great games played despite the weather outside trying to mess with us.  With so much to talk about let's blast off to the Pickleverse.

1. Dinking In The New Year was a big success.  Players came from all around PA and even a couple of players from out of state attended.  For the first time, members of our community participated and they had a great time and a few even brought home some hardware!  Congratulations to Wade and Robby for their silver medals in men's doubles and to Cindy Lyn and Kathy for their bronze medals in women's doubles.  I have some photos from the tournament attached to this posting.  I also want to thank everyone who came out to cheer our warriors on.  A number of them mentioned how much that meant to them.  Next year, let's see if we can double the number of entrants.  I may even dip my toe into the water.

2. I asked a number of our gang if they had any lessons learned they wanted to share or thoughts they wanted to share.  Here are some of what they said:  1) It was fun watching higher-level play. Some of the stuff they do is beyond me, but one takeaway that I already knew but was reinforced was to be patient and play the high-percentage shots. So many points were made by the player just hitting the ball low, down the middle, and a bit behind the opponent's feet. As I watched those points being made I kept thinking, "Now I can do that"! - Mardi F.  2) Take time to get to know the people you are playing against. Remember they are just pickleball players like you doing life, so be interested, fascinated, and even helpful if possible. - John R.  3) Relax, this is not brain surgery, and no one will die…have fun. - Kelly S.  4) There is lots to learn from watching very good players and then I think you need to drill or practice the specific skill you want to improve upon. - Lori B.  5) I think my main takeaway was my surprise at the discrepancy between the attitude I wanted to have (I'm here for fun) and the nerves that definitely affected my playing. Kim told me later that he and Donna have been to classes where they learned the mind tactics for playing in a tournament and I think that aspect of play is something I want to learn more about. - Faith M.  6) There was a game where one of our friends spectating observed some tendencies of our opponents that they brought to our attention.  It was very helpful as in game survival mode I was not as observant as I should have been of where the other team's weaknesses were. - Kathy H.  7)  At the tournament, I learned that with a drop serve, you can actually drop the ball inside the court line before you hit it with your paddle.  I didn't realize that and I'm not sure there is an advantage to it but it's interesting. - Colleen R.

3. On the Monday after the tournament, I treated myself to an hour private lesson with Mindy Yoder (https://suncoastpickleball.com/bio-mindy-yoder/) and asked her to help me improve my 3rd shot drop and a few other points.  If you played with or against me this week, you may have noticed that all of a sudden, I am hitting real 3rd shot drops that aren't constantly getting whacked back down at my feet.  Mindy was then gracious enough to allow me to observe her teaching her 2-day clinic.  In exchange, I was the ball boy.  Looking forward to applying what I learned in PIckleball 101 and Pickleball - Next Step.  If we ever get her back up here, I would highly recommend her.  Fortunately, she was originally from the state of Indiana so winter weather was not too much of a shock for her.

4. For players who like to be in the know, this link is for the 2024 USAPA rulebook https://usapickleball.org/docs/USA-Pickleball-Official-Rulebook-2024-v1.pdf.  One interesting section I was not aware of is the official recognition of rules for playing Mini (or as some call it, Skinny) Singles.  When there are just two of you and you are too old and slow like me to cover the entire singles court, Mini Singles is not only a fun game but a great training game since you have to be able to target only one-half of your opponent's court.  Sometimes you have to target the half of the court that is directly in front of you and at other times you have to target the diagonal court.  Much like in rally scoring, the score will determine which court you will be serving from/to.  if there are any open courts while you are waiting this would be a great way to get some extra play in while waiting for your rotation for doubles.  You may even start to see this in some tournaments.

5. A NEW NET!  The Centre obtained a new roll-away net to replace the mangled, sad-looking thing that kept us playing on 4 courts.  So far folks have been pleased with it.  There are a couple of differences from what we are accustomed to though.  The first thing you will notice is there is no center post.  The net height at the sidelines is pretty well set when assembled.  The center of height of 34 inches is obtained by a crank located on one of the posts.  The second difference is that except for a few inches in the center, the bottom crossbar is too low for a ball to roll under.  If a ball is needed on the other side of the net, you will have to pick up the ball and toss it over, unless you are good at bowling and can roll under that center section.  Just to prolong the life of the net, if you are reaching over the net to pick up a ball, do not put pressure on the top of the net.  BTW - the bottom crossbar is intentionally bent by design, it was not trashed by some juvenile miscreant. 

6. The first cataract surgery went well and the second is scheduled for January 30th.  Based on how the first one went I will be looking at a Pickleball 101 in mid-February.  I am putting together a plan for a two-hour PB-Next Step and when I hope to do a trial session in mid-February also.  In the meantime, if you want to just get a small group (3 or 4 + me) to work on some specific drills let me know and we can discuss it.  The format would be drill for about an hour and then play an hour to try and apply what was learned or sharpened in game mode.

7. Here is a little something to make you smile, The pickleball evolution:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0Pn0jiAgtP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Below are your SignUpGenious links. I hope to see you on the court soon.

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-47350009-nvsc

C3 Sports:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-47350012-c3pickleball

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDY20