Sorry it has been so long , but anita and i have been up in Maryland for the last 4 weeks.
This
weeks tip is two fold. First what is one of the best ways to learn
quickly??? That would be to watch as many top players play on video
since most of us dont have these players local. Go to youtube and in the
search line enter " jeff shank pickleball". I have watched some of
these nationals matches 20 times or more.
This does a couple of things for you. One is you see how YOU should
be playing. If the top players are playing a certain way, what makes
you think that YOUR way is better? I constantly watch top players and
try and emulate them.
Second, you see what shots are possible. If others can make certain shots, with practice, you can also.
Next,
you should be PRACTICING. Yes practicing, not just playing. Anita goes
to two practive groups a week and i attend one ( not one that i am in
charge of or started, but one another advanced player started and i
asked if i could come to.). If you dont know anyone that is currently
running practice groups, start your own. I would be glad to explain to
you some of the drills that we do, and you could use in your practice
group.
Next, you should be attending current clinics that are out
there. Deb Harrison does one every friday and i do one the first
wednesday of the month. Both of ours are at Miona. You can call Miona
for more info. And the club has a clinic each Tuesday at Eisenhower in
conjunction with club open play.
Lastly , the time to go on the Spain pickleball tour is coming
up. There tours are in Sept this year and are very reasonable. I know
that several villagers have already signed up. I encourage everyone to
check out the info site.....
www.vivapickleballtours.com
jeff and anita shank
I was down at Pebble Creek, Goodyear, AZ to watch the action on the final day today. Ran in to a bunch of certified refs. having a lively discussion on some recurring points of contention during matches.
ReplyDeleteAfter a while I felt it was so caught up in questionable line calls, raising your other hand (nonpaddle) to catch the umpires/refs eye, at what point to do it, confusion with the score or first or second server etc. etc.
I said it was getting too litigious and that takes away from the competitive and fun elements of the game. Sure there are rules and regulations but you can still be competitive and sportsmanlike at the same time w/o nitpicking about every little detail.
I feel like I'd like to say 'see you on the Court' and not 'in court', lol!
My pet peeve is the way the score is said using three numbers, rather than using words and numbers. For example first serve,second serve, side out and so on.
In other words the score ought to be numbers and people/players (server) ought to be referred to with words. Thanks for your time.
Cheers!