Mimi Blythe
Club Ratings: The approach to club ratings involves two major components: skills and competitiveness. Basic skills and criteria for each level are found on the club website. Rating sessions for each level occur once every two months during prime season and every three months during non-prime season. Players are able to request rating advancement on Court Reserve.
Round Robins: The club currently offers the largest variety of round robins (RRs) ever! There is a gender and mixed RR for each skill level. Registration on Court Reserve opens at 7 p.m. seven days prior to the RR, and it fills up very fast. If you do not successfully get registered, you can be placed on the waitlist. You may also “share a paddle” if both players are rated for the specific RR.
The Buzz About League Play: The Arizona Pickleball Players League (APPL) is a statewide team-based pickleball league for all skill levels in the following regions: Southern Region (Tucson and surrounding southern Arizona area), Casa Grande Region (communities in the Casa Grande and surrounding area), East Valley Region (cities in the eastern Phoenix Metro and surrounding area), and West Valley Region (cities in the western Phoenix Metro and surrounding area). There are currently more than 300 teams and more than 3,000 players participating this year! With a captain and a maximum of 16 players, each week the captain brings six players to play on three doubles teams against the opposing team’s six players. Each doubles team plays three matches consisting of two games to 11 (win by 2). Points awarded each week determine team standings. At the conclusion of the season, eligible teams advance to the State Championships in April.
PebbleCreek Pickleball Art Fundraiser: Member Jim Chamberlain has created five one-of-a-kind photographic pieces of art from actual images of our recent tournament (several of actual members in action!), and five limited edition, signed, and numbered photographic prints are offered for sale by either email order or purchasing one on display at the Expressions Gallery. All profits go to the club. Hurry before they’re sold out!
Player Development: There are several opportunities for our members to improve their skills:
* Intro to Pickleball (you do not need to be a club member to attend this training)
Membership benefits:
* Ball Machine Training
* Instruction Skills 1.0
* 2.0 Skills with Coaching—Dinking, serving, return of serve, groundstrokes, volleying, overheads, court positioning, and intro to the 3rd-shot drop
* 2.0 Play with Coaching—Pointers dealing with skills, footwork, and court positioning
* Skills and Strategies—A “deep dive” into various aspects of the game
* Coaching for Courts—A fundraising effort to meet the $500,000 club commitment for the new courts, one of the club’s most popular coaching programs with our higher-level coaches generously donating their time to help groups of two to four people who want to work on their game
Fundraiser for New Courts: Due to popular demand, Marty Aalto is again taking orders for additional shirts. Email Marty at [email protected] for more details.