I'm backkkkkkk!.  I completed my Great Cycle Challenge ride pledge today and the current mile count is 403.  For a few of the newer folks in the community I participate in an annual fundraising effort to collect money to support pediatric cancer research.  I have been participating for 7 years and much of my success in fundraising I can attribute to the wonderful pickleball community.  If you would like to learn more about the Great Cycle Challenge and my motivations you can check out this article that was in my hometown paper after I did one of my rides on the Redbank Valley Trail:  https://www.thecourierexpress.com/the_leader_vindicator/news/local/new-bethlehem-native-pledges-to-ride-400-miles-for-pediatric-cancer-research/article_1fc3dcb6-71e5-11ef-906c-8fc54e14332f.html .  If you have not donated and would like to, here is the link for my fundraising page:  https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/RandyHoffman .  OK let's take off for the Pickleverse and see if I can come back into orbit.  From playing a day or two on bike recovery days I discovered I need to get my "pickle" legs going again.

1. Dink For Pink:  The State College YMCA is still accepting entries for the Dink For Pink Charity Tournament and you don't even need to bring a partner.  Partners are randomly assigned from the bracket pool you play in.  In a way it is a lot like drop-in.  Here is the breakdown as to what brackets have openings and how many.  Intermediate Men (1), Advanced Women (5), Beginner Men (10), and Beginner Women (2).  OK, so where are my "beginner" dudes?  Perhaps the word beginner is throwing people off.  Let's swap in the word Novice.  A novice could be a person that has been playing less than a year, mostly or all in a social setting, knows most of the rules of the game, has the basic strokes but needs to refine them.  Give it a thought.  If nothing else your entry fee goes to charity.  Here is the YMCA link:  https://www.ymcaofcentrecounty.org/?s=pickleball.  Heck I even signed up (intermediate men).

2. Pickleball 101:  Time to kick the tires and light the fires for PB 101 again.  I have reserved courts for October 8 (a Tuesday) from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at The Centre.  There are 16 slots reserved  PB 101 will be the same format as in the Spring.  There will be the $8 facility fee but no charge for the instruction.  Once I get back in the saddle with PB 101 I will look at once again doing small group PB 201 sessions.  Here is the PB 101 sign-up and feel free to share:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-51626267-pickleball

3. Foam Pickleballs:  I have not seen or heard of anyone in out area playing with any of the new foam pickleballs but here is a good article with one player's opinion:  https://thepickler.com/pickleball-blog/foam-pickleball/

4. Tip Of The Week:  I may have mentioned this a part of another TOTW but it was something that really jumped out at me when I was playing those couple of times this month.  Everyone is getting better at this game,  Usually what happens as players improve is the speed of the ball increases  and more time is spent at or approaching the NVZ.  For you that means you have less time to react so having a good ready position is critical.  I am only going to focus on one part - have your paddle up to your waist or chest high.  I was kind of amazed at the number of paddles held down around the knee.  We are talking a fraction of second to react so being prepared can make a big difference not only in potentially winning a point but also in protecting yourself.
    

I am looking forward to seeing you guys more frequently.  Have a great week and see you on the court.

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-51626177-nvsc

C3 Sports:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-51626161-c3pickleball

Pickleball 101:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-51626267-pickleball

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDYHOFFMAN20