On this Memorial Day 🇺🇸, we hope you take a moment to honor and remember our heroes and their families. We have freedom (and the ability to play our great sport of pickleball) thanks to their courage and sacrifice. Thank you. 🙏

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#1. WHAT IS A BAIT BALL & WHEN TO USE ONE ON THE PICKLEBALL COURT

Pickleball is a game of strategy. And, with the game of pickleball becoming faster—in other words, more drives, more speed ups, and more counterattacks—one strategy that is gaining more steam is the bait ball. 🎣

​Click here to learn what a bait ball is and when should you use one on the pickleball court.

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#2. MURMURS FROM THE LOSERS' BRACKET: ALL YOU NEED IS GLOVE

Do you wear a glove to play pickleball? If not, there may be a few reasons to start wearing one...

​Click here to have a laugh with Pickler writer, Frank Cerabino, as he shares why he wears a glove in the latest Murmurs from the Losers’ Bracket column (*for those new to Murmurs, this is a humorous tongue-in-cheek opinion piece - don't take us too seriously... we are trying to have fun, just like we do on the pickleball court). 🤪

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#3. WHAT IS RALLY SCORING & HOW DOES IT WORK?

The sport of pickleball currently uses “side out scoring.” In other words, you can only score a point when you are serving. With that said, there has been some discussion in the pickleball world of changing the scoring structure to “rally scoring" (including using rally scoring in certain Major League Pickleball events).

​Click here to learn what rally scoring is, the arguments for and against it, and how it works. 🤔

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​A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR: VISTA TRAVEL & ROYAL CARIBBEAN​

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Pickleball + Sailing = PERFECT SUMMER 🛳

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#4. PICKLER THE PODCAST - MLP OWNER, TRAVIS RETTENMAIER, IN THE HOUSE

Major League Pickleball team owner of the Florida Smash, Travis Rettenmaier, joins Pickler The Podcast co-hosts, Stacie Townsend and John "The People's Champ" Davison, to discuss the second season of the MLP and the business of pickleball for players. How did Rettenmaier become a team owner, what does he expect for season 2 of the MLP, what does he expect of his new team, the Florida Smash, and more! Tune in and get to know Travis Rettenmaier! 🎧

Do you have any ideas for a guest? 💡 Let us know by emailing stacie@thepickler.com!

And, don't forget to subscribe to Pickler's YouTube page, so you never miss another Pickler video - whether it be a podcast, pickleball tip video, or other can't-miss video.

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#5. SOUR NOTES OFF THE COURT FOR PICKLEBALL

To cover pickleball news 📰 these days, it helps to pay attention to what’s going on in local government chambers, community meeting rooms, and courtrooms – and not the pickleball court. The fast growth and popularity of pickleball has spurred ongoing actions across the country involving lawyers, community activists, and other merchants of strife.

​Click here to learn what is happening now. 😮

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#6. THE #1 THREAT TO THE GROWTH OF PICKLEBALL

Did you know that the pickleball player to court ratio is as high as 126 pickleball players to 1 court in the United States? With the sport continuing to explode, the biggest threat to the growth of pickleball is the lack of pickleball courts to meet the demand to play. 🚩

​Click here to learn more about the need for pickleball courts and why it is important for continued growth for the sport.

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#7. QUICK TIP - AVOID CHANGING YOUR MIND

Where pickleball players often make mistakes is by second guessing themselves or changing their mind on their shot selection. For instance, in the video below, pickleball pro, AJ Koller, seems to change his mind from hitting a lob to hitting a dink. The resulting shot from this change of mind is something in between, which means an easy overhead for his opponent, Anna Leigh Waters.

When you are on the pickleball court, the time to make your shot selection and execute that shot is only fractions of a second. As a result, if you change your mind, you will likely make a mistake because you will not give yourself enough time to execute the change. So, make a decision on your shot selection and commit to it! 💪

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​REVIEW OF MY PRO PICKLEBALL COACH SERIES: IMPROVE YOUR GAME​

Are you looking for comprehensive, organized, step-by-step lessons to improve your pickleball game? Then, Pickler's My Pro Pickleball Coach pickleball video collection may be for you! This video collection features Coach Steve Kennedy in over 140 organized video lessons (or over 7 hours of lessons!), as well as a corresponding e-book, that break down every aspect of the sport of pickleball, including pickleball mechanics, fundamentals, strategy, advanced concepts, and drills. After watching these videos, one player puts it very simply: "I really improved"!

​Click here to learn more about the best value in online video lessons and improve your pickleball game now! 🔝

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#8. HEADLINES FROM THE COURT

Serving up your latest pickleball headlines... 🗞

• For the first time in 25 years, Sports Illustrated features pickleball. Unfortunately, the article has some negative undertones (or overtones) and chose to focus on some conflict in and around the game (including some that is rather insignificant to the sport as a whole). Nevertheless, by the conclusion, Sports Illustrated finally reached the real story of pickleball.

• Pickleball is the fastest growing sport and beginning to be the most popular class, starting at Pellissippi State Community College and (hopefully) soon to be every college and university.
• ​Another couple gets married on the pickleball court to honor where they met (at a pickleball league). 🤵👰 Learn more about pickleball weddings, and how many folks are going from 0-0-2 to "I Do"! Even the younger demographic is joining in on the pickleball love stories...
• While pickleball is getting a younger demographic, pickleball is still going strong with the 50+ demographic. About 1,500 50+ pickleball players descended upon Fort Lauderdale, Florida to compete in a national senior championship pickleball tournament.
• A friendly reminder that pickleball players typically do not like coaching unless solicited...
• As discussed in the "Sour Notes" article above, there is no shortage of drama around pickleball in courtrooms and community politics, including Seal Beach, Mission Woods, and Chestnut Hill.
• Even with this drama, there is no debating the "good" that pickleball brings to many lives across the country, including Bob McHarness, an 82-year-old pickleball player who lost his leg in a car accident a few years ago.
• Pickleball gets debated on The Rich Eisen Show. At least someone stands up for pickleball in this debate!
• We typically summarize the latest pro pickleball events right here in the headlines. However, so much has happened in the past two weeks, with a thrilling PPA grand slam event and pickleball taking over New York City - from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, to the New York Stock Exchange, to Times Square. As a result, we had too much to say. 🗣 Click below to get the complete rundown on each event:
  • ​The PPA Atlanta Open Brings Excitement 🍑
  • ​APP & MLP Make a Splash in NYC for Pickleball 🍎

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• Mark your calendars 🗓 for pro pickleball in the month of June! Plus, Major League Pickleball (MLP) will hold its first event on June 3rd through 5th! You won't want to miss it!

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#9. RULES REFRESH - INDENT TO REPLAY

In the video below, pickleball pro, Ben Johns, hits such a strong overhead that he indents the pickleball so that it is un-returnable by his opponent, AJ Koller. What happens when the pickleball becomes indented, cracked, or broken during a rally? 🤔

If this happens to you, the rules of pickleball state that you should continue play until the end of the rally. After the rally has ended, and before the next serve, then you may appeal the rally to the referee (or the opposing player(s)) to determine if the pickleball is in fact indented, cracked, or broken. Upon appeal:

• If the pickleball is indented, cracked, or broken and there is a referee, then the referee will determine whether the indent/crack/break affected the outcome of the rally. If so, then the rally will be replayed with a new pickleball (which is what happened in the video above, the referee determined that the indented pickleball affected the outcome and the pros replayed the point). If not, then the rally will stand, and the referee will give the players a new pickleball.
• If the pickleball is indented, cracked, or broken and there is no referee, then the players on both sides of the pickleball net must agree to replay the rally; if there is a disagreement, then the rally will stand.
• If the pickleball is not indented, cracked, or broken, then the rally will stand and the players will continue play.

One key takeaway is that, if you suspect an indented, cracked, or broken pickleball, focus on your play and finish the rally to the best of your ability. Then, consider whether to appeal.

For a deeper breakdown on all of the rules of pickleball, check out Pickler's Ultimate Guide to the Rules of Pickleball.

Have you had an interesting rules issue on the pickleball court? Send it to us at stacie@thepickler.com, so we can share with the rest of the pickleball community in a future newsletter.

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#10. ASK PICKLER - HOW TO STOP MOMENTUM

Question: My partner and I were up 10-2 and then, all of the sudden, nothing went our way. We went down 10 straight point to lose 12-10. How can we prevent this from happening? Do you have any tips?

Answer: What you are describing is a powerful thing in pickleball... momentum. Momentum can change the outcome of games. To help stop momentum when it is going against you, try the following:

• If you are in a tournament or another competitive format, call a time-out. Time-outs are use them or lose them. So, try using a time-out if you lose 3 points in a row.
• Change your strategy. Pickleball is a game of strategy and making constant adjustments (including after your opponents change their strategy). If your strategy is not working, change it. Do not lose a game by doing the same thing the entire time. Give your opponents a different look.
• Aggressively play your game. This could mean being the first to speed it up or wholeheartedly slowing the game down because your opponents are better in the fast game. Whatever your game is, be on your toes and play your game aggressively. 💥

Do you have a pickleball question? Ask Pickler. Reach out to stacie@thepickler.com. Plus, your question may be featured in the next newsletter.

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#11. WHY YOU SHOULD MOVE INTO THE KITCHEN LINE

All too often, we see pickleball players staying at the baseline or getting caught in the transition area. So, we thought it would be a good idea to (1) remind everyone to move into the Non-Volley Zone line as soon as possible; and (2) break down why it is important to move into the Kitchen line quickly, so players understand the reasoning behind this strategy (which will hopefully help this concept stick a little more). Click here to learn why now. 🔥

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