Author speaks to Pickleball Club on “The Art of Pickleball”

Gale Leach autographs her book on pickleball.

Gale Leach autographs her book on pickleball.

The Art of Pickleball is now in its fourth edition.

The Art of Pickleball is now in its fourth edition.

Pancho Epstein

Gale Leach went from being a technical writer on how medical equipment should be used to writing how paddles should be used in the award winning popular book, The Art of Pickleball: Techniques and Strategies for Everyone, soon to be in its fifth edition.

In between she was an English teacher, retail buyer, craft wholesaler and American Sign Language interpreter.

She came to Arizona to retire, discovered pickleball, fell in love with the sport, couldn’t find a book to help her become a better player and decided to write it. The book won the Arizona Book Award in 2007.

She interviewed top players and with her writing experience created The Art of Pickleball. “I’m a good collector of information,” Gale said. This easy to read and understand book comes with tons of illustrations which make it a pleasant read.

During a lecture to 100 PebbleCreek Pickleball Club members on April 4, she said that quite often top players had different views on certain shots and her book shows those differences of opinion.

The book covers everything you’d want to know about pickleball. Chapter headings are Rules and Equipment; Grips and Paddle Angles; Body Positions and Strokes; Court Positions and Footwork; Warm-Ups and Fitness; Strategies and Tactics; Playing Singles and Doubles; Practice and Drills; The Mental Game; Safety, Etiquette and Ethics; and Notes about Tournament Play. There is also an appendix which covers the rules.

At the end of the lecture, eight lucky club members received books in a free drawing and one member, Cidnee Lusk, won the opportunity to go out to lunch and chat about pickleball with Gale. Gale also sold and autographed copies of The Art of Pickleball and her children’s books to a long line of happy buyers.

Gale has also written four award winning children’s books and is currently working on The Rift, a magical adventure saga that takes readers of all ages to another world.

Get additional information about Gale by visiting her website, www.galeleach.com, where you will discover more about her writing and tips on playing pickleball.

Gale lives in Sun City West with two dogs, three cats and her husband.