Love YouTube.  I don't know how many times YouTube videos walked me through a repair that would have cost me at least 3 digits to have someone else handle.  Today was diagnosing a loud screeching noise when I backed up my CRV;  I have done various other repairs on our cars but I had never worked on brakes.  After a couple hours the offending small stone that worked its way into the brake parts had been removed and the brake had been reassembled.  The best part, the brakes worked after my repair.  So with that victory under my belt let's blast off to the Pickleverse.

1. Hot, Hot, Hot:  With temps soaring this week be weather smart.  Play during the cooler times of the day.  Hydrate.  Consider moving inside where it is climate controlled.  Don't over do it, take some time between games.  This weather pattern is ambushing us so we don't have much tolerance built up, so like I said, be weather smart.

2. Sunscreen:  A good friend of mine just had about ½ of his ear removed to treat a melanoma tumor.  Remember your sunscreen.

3. Free Evening Play:  On Friday The Centre is looking for 16 players to play 2 hours of pickleball and consume some food from the canteen while they do their drone promotion video.  The session is from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.  Perhaps a good opportunity for some dinks and drinks?  Just don't look for me to organize.  I can't even remember the last time I was in a bar.  Although this is the week I traditionally have a birthday beer.  The sign up for the event is down below with the drop-in links.

4. Bellefonte:  Just chalked out a potential pickleball court in a Bellefonte church parking lot today.  It is sort of an exploratory step to see "if we build it, will they come?"  I will keep you posted on how this develops.

5. Walker Township:  I was out measuring the tennis court and basketball court at the Walker Township Park.  Sadly there is not sufficient room behind the baselines to squeeze in multiple courts.  I will keep you updated as that develops.

6. Bellefonte Area High School:  Once again pickleball and badminton are being offered at the auxiliary gym on select nights through the summer.  Tina R. is one of the coordinators.  If you would like more information, email me and I will forward your inquiry to Tina.

7. Take 2 Pickles and Call Me in The Morning:  In case you need to feel good about your pickleball addiction:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8CkI22JZaa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

8. Thank you, Thank You, Thank You:  I am very happy to announce that due to a number of the pickleballers in our area I have flown past my 2024 fundraising goal for the Great Cycle Challenge to fund pediatric cancer research AND have surpassed a 7 year legacy goal of over $10,000.00!  I will turn down the volume on fundraising a bit until the rides start in September.  Just in case you want to jump in on the action, here is my fundraising page:  https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/RandyHoffman

9. Training Tip Of The Week:  I discovered this one this week.  I play with a paddle that has a black background on the carbon fiber face.  Playing outside the carbon fiber picks up a good deal of visible dust marks from hitting the ball.  I started to examine my paddle after every game.  On games where I felt like I was playing well I had a nice tight marking pattern in the sweet spot.  After a not so hot outing it looked like my paddle had the measles with marks all over the face.  A second trend I noticed was that I had a much better pattern on my forehand side than the backhand side.  If you don't have a carbon fiber paddle with a dark background  and I am at the courts I can lend you one of my demos and then we can examine the pattern after the game.

10. Race to 300:  The Pickle Jar and TeamReach App are racing towards 300 subscribers.  Which will get there first?

Be safe out there this week.  The links for the Free Night Of Pickleball and the drop-ins are below.  Peace (oh found a fun new pair of socks also).

Free Pickleball Session at The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-50062828-free#/

C3 Sports:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-50089649-c3pickleball

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-50089653-nvsc

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDYHOFFMAN20