Diane Halpern The Sun Lakes Pickleball Club IronOaks hosted its Halloween “Stir the Cauldron” Social on Saturday, Nov. 30. Nearly 60 players participated in creative games designed to improve ball control and generate lots of fun and laughter! The Holiday Social, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 4, will also feature unique games, prizes, and holiday-themed fun.…
David Zapatka The Arizona Pickleball Players league (APPL) has now expanded its popular team-based pickleball league into its fifth region. After founding the first team-based pickleball league, East Valley Interclub League in 2012 (which has grown ever since), the Arizona Pickleball Players League was formally organized as a nonprofit in 2019 by a group of…
David Zapatka Forehand Groundstroke Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence, by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a forehand groundstroke, “from the moment the ball leaves the opponent’s paddle, you should be tracking its flight with your eyes to aid you in judging the speed and direction of the ball. Move to the…
After a nearly two-year absence, the Sun Lakes Pickleball Club IronOaks is back! The club’s purpose is to enhance the experience of its members by promoting programs that encourage participation in pickleball at all skill levels and providing active pickleball programs that include organized play, social play, league play, tournaments, intra-club events, and inter-club events.…
David Zapatka Are you looking for an enriching retirement activity? Are you interested in quality exercise while having a good time? Are you interested in a social environment where you can meet friendly, fun people? Are you interested in making new friends in your community? Consider giving the fastest-growing sport in the world, pickleball, a…
Michael Mann Oakwood’s own Dawn Mann played in Prescott Lakes Senior Pickleball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 20, and won bronze in the Women’s 3.5 50+. Congratulations, Dawn!
David Zapatka The Pickleball Players Association (PPA) and Genius Sports, a publicly-traded sports data and tech company, recently announced a “long-term” deal that sets the stage for sports betting in pickleball. Can you imagine walking into one of our local casinos, hearing raucous cheers, and seeing a pickleball match on the big screens in the…
David Zapatka Reader Liz Houser writes, “I just moved to SaddleBrooke in April and learned to play pickleball in early May, thanks to my enthusiastic neighbor Shawne. I just read your article about Common Mistakes 11 and 12. I found them to be very helpful. Would you be so kind as to send me the…
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…
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…