Happy Valentine's Day to those that celebrate.  My wife and I do but we do dinner out on the 13th to avoid the crowds.  In a search for some ice melt we took a road trip to Lowes in Mill Hall and since we were in the area we had a nice Valentine dinner at Curt's Smokin' Ribs.  I love their pulled pork sandwiches.  Yummy.  Our weather of late has been a pain in the behind but when we look at what has been going on in virtually all directions around us, we have been pretty lucky.  While the temps may still be cold, the pickleball has been hot.  Without any further delay, let's set sail for the far reaches of the Pickleverse.

1. Kudos to Ron and Janie K. for running a series of just for fun mini-tournaments during the 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM reserved sessions at The Centre.  They have run men's, women's and mixed brackets.  I was able to play in the men's bracket today.  Originally I was expecting to be just a +1 due to an illness in the group so I went in and played 2 hours of drop-in.  Bless my soul, didn't they scrape up a bonus body so I was now essential, no longer the +1 that could go home.  Oh my the way the pace changed was dramatic.  I did a screenshot (see below) of what my heart rate was and it definitely jumped in the last 2 hours.  The only dip was when we had a bye and got to sit down for a rotation.  It was nice to also see some of our Tyrone friends make the drive to participate.  I am continually amazed at how much and quickly players are progressing.

2. Tournaments - I have posted the information for the Johnstown tournaments below if you are interested.

3. Ouch - in less than a week at The Centre there have been players that have experienced a rolled ankle, an Achilles injury (requiring surgery), and an errant ball to the head.  While we don't play in safety bubbles there are a few things we can do to protect ourselves.  PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR!  I cannot stress this one enough.  Even if it's just some old sunglasses that you poke the lens out of, better than nothing.  SHOES - court shoes are made to give you a stable platform when moving on a court, running shoes are made to go in one direction.  WARM-UP - Ideally we would be doing light jogs and stretches prior to play but I realize everyone is out there to get the juice.  If you don't have a pre-play routine, think about what you can do to get all your moving parts ready.  Like pulling a car out of the garage, ease into things.  Play your first game or two at about 50%.  If you are the "all gas, no brakes" player, think about that pre-play routine perhaps.

4. Pickleball 101 - I set a date for a Pickleball 101 session for Tuesday, March 11, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at The Centre.  The SIgnUpGenius for the session can be found below.  Please feel free to share with friends or family looking to give pickleball a try.

5. Pickleball 201 - I have had a few players state they would be interested in doing a PB 201 group but they don't have other players to make up the trio (I'm the 4th).  To avoid me trying to coordinate everyone looking for other players that are interested I created a TeamReach group where you can post if you are looking for other players to form a PB 201 group OR if you want to organize a group to go in and just do drills or a 50/50 drill and play session.  If you are new to TeamReach go to your android or Apple store and download the app.  Once installed the group name you will search for is Pickleball 201.  Once you find the group, the code to join is:  dink4ever.  If you have trouble setting this up email me and I will send you an invitation to join.  We will give this a try and if it doesn't work, we will try something else.

6. Tip Of The Week - Until you play with a partner long enough it is tough to gauge who is taking certain shots, especially when things are going bang-bang and it is down the middle.  Most of your best shots are going to come off of you being set in a solid stance and well balanced.  From what I have observed (and I am guilty too at times) is that when you have to lean/stretch/lift up one foot to lunge for a ball between you and your partner, there is a good chance you would have been better off letting that ball go and having your partner play it.  Try keeping both feet on the ground.  If you need to get to a better position to hit a ball, step and slide to set up, don't go all flamingo.

OK, stay warm and safe as these storms roll through.  The SignUpGenius links for indoor play and Pickleball 101 are below.  Have a great week and I hope to see you on the court soon.

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-55158641-nvsc

C3 Sports:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-55158650-c3pickleball

Pickleball 101:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-55158643-pickleball

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDYHOFFMAN