David Zapatka The Volley Continuing our study of Pickleball Fundamentals Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, “A volley is a shot hit in the air before the ball bounces. It is used as a return of a ball that travels close to the top of the net and that is usually hit…
Tag: Relishing Pickleball
Sports, March 2022
Relishing Pickleball: The Return of Serve
David Zapatka Continuing our study of Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, “the player returning the serve stands deep in or behind the service court, ready to return the ball. The returner should be alert and ready for the next play. As the serve travels over the net, the returner…
Sports, December 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Backhand Groundstroke Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a backhand groundstroke, “The same principles apply when you’re hitting a backhand groundstroke (as a forehand groundstroke) except that you move to the left rather than to the right (right-handed players). While some players change the…
Sports, November 2021
Relishing Pickleball: Forehand and Groundstroke
David Zapatka Want some tips to help you with your forehand groundstroke? Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a forehand groundstroke, “From the moment the ball leaves the opponent’s paddle, you should be tracking its flight with your eyes to aid you in judging the speed and direction of the ball. Move to the…
Sports, October 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Are you looking for an enriching retirement activity? Are you interested in quality exercise while having a good time? Are you interested in a social environment where you can meet friendly, fun people? Are you interested in making new friends in your community? Consider giving the fastest-growing sport in the world, pickleball, a…
Sports, August 2021
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka Reader Liz Houser writes, “I just moved to SaddleBrooke in April and learned to play pickleball in early May thanks to my enthusiastic neighbor Shawne. I just read your article about Common mistakes numbers 11 and 12, I found them to be very helpful. Would you be so kind as to send me…
Sports, June 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 11 and 12)
David Zapatka This 12 common mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first 10 mistakes over the past five…
Sports, May 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 9 and 10)
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 games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first eight mistakes over the past four months. This…
Sports, March 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How To Fix Them(Mistakes 5 and 6)
David Zapatka This 12 common mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first four mistakes the past two months. This month…
Sports, February 2021
Relishing Pickleball: Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 3 and 4)
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…