David Zapatka 2020 was a crazy year. Many pickleball tournaments were canceled. Public pickleball courts were closed and padlocked. That being said, Arizona pickleball players found ways to safely play, and even through the pandemic, new players found pickleball in record numbers. For 2020, Pickleball Rocks Clothing and Equipment Company recognized a mixed doubles pair…
Tag: pickleball
Sports, June 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 11 and 12)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me: “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first 10 mistakes the past five months. This month, we…
Sports, May 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them: Mistakes 9 and 10
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first eight mistakes the past four months. This month we…
Sports, April 2021
Pickleball Winner’s Corner
David Zapatka David Zapatka and Dianne Zimmerman, Bronze Medal, 5.0 Mixed Doubles, 60+ age bracket at the Arizona Grand Slam, held in Phoenix at the Desert Ridge JW Marriott Resort
Sports, March 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 5 and 6)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me: “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first four mistakes the past two months. This month, we…
Sports, February 2021
Relishing Pickleball: Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 3 and 4)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” Last month, we reviewed the first two mistakes. This month, we take a…
Sports, January 2021
Pickleball Club Cottonwood Does It Again for the Holidays!
The Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood, from the Cottonwood Palo Verde community at Alma School and Riggs Road, has done it again! For the last several years, the club has been collecting funds and other donations for the Hamilton Kids at Hamilton High School in Chandler. These are kids of needy families or families who…
Sports, January 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 1 and 2)
David Zapatka While playing at the IronOaks courts in Sun Lakes for my first time last month, I ran into a group of very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players. We played a couple games together, and when we departed, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5…
Sports, December 2020
Relishing Pickleball: Dink Responsibly
David Zapatka Often called the most important shot in all of pickleball, the dink is the critical shot aspiring players must learn to improve their game. The dink is a shot hit slowly and softly into the opponents’ non-volley zone as close to the net as possible. If the opponent hits this ball hard, it…
Sports, October 2020
Relishing Pickleball: The Overhead Smash
David Zapatka When your opponent hits the ball high in the air, above your shoulders, think overhead smash! The smash is one of the most fun shots in all of pickleball. It ends rallies with an exclamation point. Execute this fun, rally-ending shot using these seven steps: 1. Use many small steps to position your…