Cynthia Schwartz Nancy Popenhagen is the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club (PCPB) Player/Volunteer of the month. She is the chairperson of the PCPB Court Allocation Committee (CAC), organizes skills and drills and is a coach for the novice, 2.0, and 2.5 classes. When asked why she volunteers, Nancy said, “I like giving back. People continue to help…
David Zapatka This 12 common mistakes column began after playing with some very excited and highly motivated new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple of games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” Last month we reviewed the first two mistakes. This month we take…
David Zapatka While playing at the IronOaks courts in Sun Lakes for my first time last month, I ran into a group of very excited and highly motivated new pickleball players. We played a couple games together, and when we departed, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5…
Cynthia Schwartz On Dec. 4, the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club hosted the annual Toys for Goodyear Kids (TGK) event. This event supports the city of Goodyear’s holiday season program that provides gifts for families in need. Judy Parker, the club’s officer-at-large, organized TGK with the help of Carla Woodward and Shirley Seymour. Judy commented, “It is…
David Zapatka Often called the most important shot in all of pickleball, the dink is the critical shot aspiring players must learn to improve their game. The dink is a shot hit slowly and softly into the opponents’ non-volley zone, as close to the net as possible. If the opponent hits this ball hard, it goes…
Cynthia Schwartz Mark Clark was a traveling Air Force brat living in Oklahoma, Germany, California, and Japan. Growing up, Mark’s passion was sports, and he dreamed of flying fighter jets. He earned a B.A. degree in Physical Education from Florida State University, enlisted in the Air Force, and went on to do what he really…
Cynthia Schwartz PebbleCreek Pickleball Club players are back on the tournament circuit. In October, 451 players participated in the Arizona Open at the Mesa Tennis Center in Gene Autry Park. This event was a Pro-Am tournament, drawing some of the top professional players in the sport and amateur players from Alaska to Florida. Thirteen members…
Cynthia Schwartz The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an organization dedicated to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs in the United States. The AAU philosophy is “Sports For All, Forever,” and includes pickleball in the list of 44 sports that it supports. The AAU recently sponsored a pickleball tournament, the…
Cynthia Schwartz On Oct. 31, PebbleCreek pickleball players celebrated Halloween at the courts. Players dressed up in costume and decorated the common areas with blow-up ghosts and pumpkins. Everyone had fun as they tried to guess who was behind the mask. Comments heard on the court: * “We are fun people and love to dress…
Cynthia Schwartz Steven was born and raised in Seattle, Wash. Growing up, Steven spent summers at his grandfather’s cabin in the San Juan Islands. He enjoyed scuba diving, hiking, playing ping-pong, waterskiing in 45-degree water, flying homemade kites, and fishing for salmon. Steven was a pole vaulter, played soccer, and embarked on his journey to…