Pickleball Is All Blog Joe Palmere, Pickleball Coach, Rating Specialist & Ambassador

                          "JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OUT THEY PULLED ME BACK IN !" (Famous line by Al Pacino in God Father 2) "Coach Joe" 6/1/21 I received a phone call from a representative of the DIADEM ICON PADDLE COMPANY wanting me to try their new ICON Japanese Carbon Fiber Paddle. Their paddle is along the lines of the Gearbox Carbon Paddle which is getting a lot of attention, not from the pros, but from middle America "John Q Pickleball" who plays well enough to compete but because of family commitments, finances and time, he just can't travel the tournament Circuit. Well forgive me, once again I digress. Now I have to weasel my way back into the subject at hand. In all this gibberish, the point I am trying to make is that the "Pickleball Biggies" who are control most all things pickleball, have completely f

  MOTIVATION, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE IMPACT ON YOUR GAME Based on my personal observations, a Pickleball player’s motivation to improve involves five (5) incentives: (1) to beat their friends at Open Play; (2) to play with and against the “big fish” in their local pickleball pond; (3) to attend local sanctioned tournaments in hopes of winning a medal; (4) to play for fun and exercise, happy to bang the ball back and forth across the net until someone misses. Then there is number five (5), the autodidactic player, who plays and competes against themselves. These “self-improvers” work constantly and diligently to improve their game and minimize unforced errors. Their reward is their gratification of their ability to succeed, besting themselves. They care not about the “win or loss” factor. If they play their best game, and loose they celebrate themselves. When they play a poor game, win or loose, they are disappointed but not deterred. They view their poor performance as a learn

  AT LAST! A NEARBY PRIVATE VENUE THAT OFFERS YEAR ROUND PICKLEBALL, 7 DAYS A WEEK, DUSK TO DAWN. "MEMBERS" CAN SCHEDULE A FOURSOME, OR WALK-ON PLAY WITH OTHER MEMBERS. NO NETS OR BALLS TO BUY, HAUL & SETUP. PLAY ON PERMANENT LINED PICKLEBALL COMPOSITION COURTS WHEN YOU WANT OR CAN PLAY. OVERHEAD LIGHTING MAKES NIGHT INTO DAY. SOCIALIZE. & MAKE NEW PICKLEBALL FRIENDS. CLUB SITS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITH PLENTY OF FREE, EASY ACCESS ONSITE PARKING. EXTREMELY AFFORDABLE YEARLY MEMBERSHIP RATES & A SHORT DRIVE MAKES THIS A CONVENIENT PLACE TO PLAY. NO MORE WORRIES ABOUT THE CURRENT BUREAUCRATIC HASSELS OF IF YOU CAN PLAY & WHEN YOU CAN PLAY. PINE VALLEY SWIM & TENNIS CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT Pine Valley Swim & Tennis Club management welcomes Joe Palmere, Jr aka Coach Joe, as our local onsite Pickleball Instructor. Coach Joe is an IPTPA Certified Pickleball Teaching Professional Level II Coach, IPTPA Certified Rating Specialist, CRS-4, Pickleball "Ambassado

  PINE VALLEY SWIM, TENNIS & PICKLEBALL PARADISE. A HIDDEN PRIVATE PICKLEBALL SANCTUARY IN THE HEART OF EASTERN BALTIMORE COUNTY. A PLACE TO PLAY PICKLEBALL MOST EVERY DAY, ALL DAY, ANY DAY OR NIGHT. 4638 WHITE MARSH RD, BALTIMORE, MD 21237 · (410) 668-9888 PRIVATE DEDICATED, REGULATION LINED, HIGH FENCED, PERMANENT NETTED, PICKLEBALL COURTS, WELL LIGHTED FOR LATE NIGHT PLAY. THIS FACILITY SITS ON A MULTI-ACRE PROPERTY WITH MANY OTHER PRIVATE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITES FOR FAMILES AND RETIREEES. SAFE, PROTECTED ENVIORNMENT WITH PLENTY OF FREE ON-SITE PARKING NEAR THE COURTS. EVEN DURING THE RECENT COLDEST OF WINTER DAYS, AND NIGHTS, , PV MEMBERS ARE PLAYING AND HAVING FUN IN THE PROCESS. THIS UNIQUE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LANDSCAPE AFFORDS NATURAL AND STRUCTURAL PROTECTION FROM THE WIND. LOWER "WIND CHILL TEMPS & BALLS BLOW OFFCOURSE" ARE NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM WHEN PLAYING AT PINE VALLEY. A NEARBY FIREPIT STOKES THE FLAMES OF

  TWO THINGS THAT SEPARATE PICKLEBALL PROS FROM THE RES T by Alice Tym with Katie Dyer, PICKLEBALL MAGAZINE Nov/Dec 2021 Issue. Tym & Dryer need no intro. If you don't know who they are, GOOGLE them. THE ARTICLE STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TRANSITION BLOCK, REDIRECTION & MISDIRECTION OF THE BALL. TYM AND DYER ADDRESSED THIS TOPIC IN 1,500 WORDS. I WILL PARAPHRASE WHAT THEY SAID WITHOUT QUOTATION OR FOOTNOTE. AT THIS POINT YOUR OPPONENTS ARE POSITIONED TO ATTACK, AND THE BEST YOU CAN DO IS KEEP THE BALL IN PLAY. YOU NEED TO LEARN AND DEVELOP A GOOD "BLOCK PADDLE RETURN," THAT CHANGES YOUR OPPONENT'S HARD PACE SHOT INTO A SOFTER CONTROLLED DROP SHOT INTO THEIR NVZ. THERE ARE TWO VARIATIONS OF THE "BLOCK PADDLE RETURN, (1) FROM THE TRANSITION ZONE, AND (2) FROM THE NVZ. THE MECHANICS OF THESE VARIATIONS WILL BE EXPLAINED IN A SEPARATE POST. THIS TECHNIQUE IS OFTEN USED TO BUY TIME TO GET TO THE NET FROM THE TRANSITION ZONE, AND RESET THE POINT, BY C

 I wrote this article back when the temps were in the low 80°s.  It demonstrates another way to practice pickleball away from the crowds while the C-19 Virus is still lingering in the air.    PRACTICED TODAY OUTDOOR USING MY NETTED PICKLEBALL HITTING CAGE & MY SIMON 2 PICKLEBALL THROWING MACHINE. WOW! Purchased a 12 x 12 x 10' youth size netted batters cage and erected it in my driveway so the ball machine opening in the net was lined up with my Simon 2 sitting upright inside my storage shed. This Machine never disappoints. I was standing inside the cage, paddle in hand, safety glasses on, approximately 11" from the ball machine. Even on the low setting, at that close distance, those balls were coming fast and hard just like a power pace volley at the NVZ. This is a great practice learning experience. You can experiment with open and close faced paddle returns and back spin returns. I found that backspin returns are best made with a close faced paddle, keep the bal