Tod Pickett
After all the drilling, the practice, the round robins, and the ladders … how do you improve your pickleball game? More than 300 eager PebbleCreek Pickleball Club (PCPC) members packed the Tuscany Ballroom and the Central Courts for two days of learning from Dayne Gingrich and Jill Martin, the co-authors of the top-selling book Pickleball Mindset. The clinic focused on sharing skills, insights, and mental performance ideas to help players take their game “from here … to there.”
Dayne Gingrich is a mental performance coach and multiple national seniors pickleball champion, while Jill Martin moved from a career as a practicing attorney to a life as a physical trainer and yoga instructor, then discovering the sport of pickleball. The two met and began training each other, and along the way, decided to write a book about the mental side of pickleball from the perspective of instructor and student.
Dayne and Jill were joined on the first day of the clinic by 14-year major league baseball veteran and pickleball enthusiast Jeff Cirillo. The two-time All-Star shared his thoughts about mental performance and visualization and how he’s taken those skills from the baseball diamond to the pickleball court.
After a great panel discussion with a question–and–answer session on day one, the clinic’s second day brought everyone together at Court One to put theories into action. With the help of some guest players from the Phoenix area, Dayne and Jill went through the inner workings of the game, explaining how to think, react, and strategize through points as a match progresses. Analyzing your opponents and recognizing patterns of play are key elements of improving play in game situations, and the clinic offered a wealth of new insights into how to successfully play the game, no matter what your current playing level is.
While Dayne and Jill made a lot of new converts, they were equally won over by PebbleCreek and its residents—in fact, both are all set to join the community! As Dayne put it, “I called my wife after the first day, and said, ‘Hey honey, we’re moving here!’”
Special thanks to PCPC President Dennis Poppe for arranging for the great instruction; to Charla McGue and her group of volunteers for handling registration, stage design, and many other details; to Mike Meline and his crew for all their work in turning Court One into a championship show court; and to Tod Pickett for emceeing this event. Thanks also to all who attended what will hopefully be the first of many outstanding programs and instruction opportunities for our PebbleCreek Pickleball Club members!
If you want to find out more about the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club, contact Pam Cagle at secretary@pcpickleball.org.