Pickleball courts vanish as drama continues

The Art of Positioning:

We've all witnessed players who seem to be engaged in a wild dance routine near the non-volley zone (NVZ), on the verge of toppling over due to their off-balance footwork.

Well, this week’s key to the game focuses on maintaining proper positioning and minimizing excessive movement on the court.

Here's the deal: Every time you find yourself out of position, it compounds the problem with each subsequent shot, causing you to move even more until you can no longer reach for the next ball. Sounds frustrating, right? But fear not, we have a solution!

To tackle this head-on, we can aim to take more dinks out of the air whenever possible, rather than letting the ball bounce.

We not only avoid unnecessary movement but also address the root cause of getting out of position. On top of that, it puts pressure on our opponents by reducing the time they have to react before returning the ball.

Now, here's the kicker: To truly grasp the art of dinking out of the air, we need to drill this repeatedly. It may feel quite different compared to taking the ball off the bounce, so practice is key here.

Here’s a great video explaining the concept along with some drills and strategies to help you practice:

From Retail to Rallies:

Get this: CNN recently released an article titled, “Pickleball is replacing Bed Bath & Beyond and Old Navy at malls.”

So, what's the story behind this pairing? It turns out that malls are looking for creative ways to fill their empty spaces, realizing that there's more to life than just traditional retailers. And pickleball, with its energetic gameplay and, let's be honest, some lively noise, is set to claim those vacant spots.

Imagine pickleball courts taking over spaces once occupied by Old Navy and Saks Off 5th— quite the transformation, right?

But this isn't just about filling the space; it's a hint of something greater. Going to the mall may not have the same allure as it did back in the day, but picture this: meeting up with friends for a thrilling pickleball match, enjoying delicious food, and catching a movie.

Bam, suddenly, the mall becomes enticing again.

It's still early to tell if this trend will take off but nonetheless keep an eye out for pickleball invading a mall near you. It's a win-win situation that combines fitness, entertainment, and the chance to give these malls a much-needed makeover.

Time for a recap of some pickleball news to keep you in the know:

1- Major League Pickleball (MLP by Margaritaville) adds star power to its team ownership groups, including social media influencers Dude Perfect, pro athletes Jayson Tatum, Haley Jones, Josh Allen, Jewell Loyd, Zach LaVine, and World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. Now that's what we call a mixed bag of captivating personalities!

2- Corinne, the daughter of actor Jamie Foxx, has some uplifting news to share about her father's health. Taking to her Instagram story, she revealed that Foxx has been out of the hospital for weeks and is currently in the process of recuperating. In an interesting twist, she mentioned that he has been enjoying his time playing pickleball!

3- Pickleball drama continues as we hear news that the Park District in Chicago has made a rather disheartening move by removing two out of three pickleball courts. Apparently, it all started when some neighbors accused pickleball players of being unfriendly towards children and their families. And unfortunately, it’s not just in Chicago. Pickleballers in Denver also received sour news about several courts being removed from Congress Park due to noise complaints. What a bummer. We need to make an appeal to propose building courts made for pickleballers to enjoy without having to deal with complaints.

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