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

REWRAPING YOUR PADDLE GRIP FOR BETTER FEEL OF THE BALL, BETTER BALL CONTROL & TO REDUCE THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF YOUR HANDLE by Pickleball Coach Joe Palmere Jr. 4/23/2020 © Grip circumference size can be increased or decreased with a variety of brand name replacement grips. Check the packaging it will give the grip thickness in mm. A 1.25mm is about as thin as they come. This will reduce a 4.5″ factory grip circumference to 4 1/8.”But there is a little know trick when rewrapping a paddle grip. After removing the original grip material wipe off the exposed surface of the handle with denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol to remove any residue from the old grip. A light sanding of the exposed wood with x-fine sandpaper also removes residue. Be careful not to round out the 6 sided hexagon shape of the handle. That is there for a purpose. Tennis racquets use 8 side octagon shape handles. Again for a purpose. Another tip I will share is to remove the butt cap and lea...

GEARBOX PADDLE COMMENTARY By Coach Joe Palmere Jr. Gearbox Paddles come in 11 models. Eight (8) models are branded as either GS6 Control and GS6 Power, and GS5 Control and GS5 Power. The 8 PRO Models are block shaped. There  are 2 tear drop shaped paddles and one elongated model. Most all list for around $!40, except the Tear Drops & Long Faced Paddles are cheaper. I have not yet played with or tested this brand of paddle. My commentary is based on the Brand Advertisement of the Features and Specifications. The first thing I noticed was there was no mention of where these paddles are made. However the listing states, “USAPA Approved.” The next thing was, most all of the feature and spec advertisement were  similarly worded. This makes it hard for the consumer to distinguish the differences between the features and specs for each paddle. I referenced this commentary on the GearBox Company Pickleball Paddle Website advert...

         PADDLE TALK PART TWO                     by Coach Joe Palmere Jr. PADDLE SELECTION ~ THE PRETTYEST PADDLE WINS I frequently conduct paddle selection clinics at retail racquet sport stores, such as HOLABIRD SPORTS on 9220 Pulaski Highway. The owner, David Hirschfeld and Son, Brian, have an indoor racquet sport demo court for customers to try out pickleball paddles, tennis and racquet ball racquets, while trying on a new pair of shoes, . The retail stores provides a variety of demo pickleball paddles for customers to try. I purposely add a few "colorful graphic, slick surface duds" in the mix, along with the paddles that I know to perform well for new or nearly new players. After an explanation on paddle nomenclature, construction, comfort and tit, and performance, the customers can hit some practice shots with a var...

TOLERANCE IS A ONE WAY STREET The hateful politics of personal destruction has become the mantra of those who condem our first responders like the police, first with vulgar rhymes and slogans, wishing suffering and even death to these public servants.  Who and what I support are my business and mine along.  But I do not take to the streets or social media to espouse a worthless opinion lacking any rationalized solutions to the problems we all face. being labeled a racist. Those who shout the loudest cries of racism, are the real racist who infect our society with hatred.   Pile-on supports on social media are cowards for their own causes  They attack the good and condone the bad.  Their misguided hatred exposes them to the light of day where they are seen by others as the most intolerant of all. But they serve to fuel the fires of conflicting view points.  These same conditions existed during the time just before the Civil...

BRIEF TUTORIAL ON OVERHEADS SMART PLAYERS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OVERHEADS & LOBS. OVERHEAEDS CAN BE OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE. NO NEED FOR A DEFENSIVE OVERHEAD AT NVZ.  ALL OVERHEADS AT NVZ ARE OFFENSIVE. LOBS CAN ALSO BE OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE Offensive Overhead Shots are common at NVZ when ball is dropping down in front of you. Paddle position is at 12 o'clock.  Or  90° straight above head. Ball is hit with a wrist snap from 90° down to 45°. Swing follow-thru ends with paddle face parallel to ground.  Tracking ball path prior to contact is done by watching flight trajectory and pointing at ball with weak hand index finger.  Seldom are Overhead Defensive Shots hit from NVZ. Most Overhead Shots from transition zone are Defensive.  Defensive Overhead Shot are when ball is dropping down behind you.  Defensive Overheads are hit with a 45° back ward right angle paddle using an up & over the ball swing motion.  Apply moderate...

REQUIRED 4.0 PERFORMANCE OF TRANSITION ZONE & BASELINE DROP SHOTS INTO THE OPPOSING NVZ, IS ONE OF THE MOST DREADED SKILL SETS OF INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS, THAT KEEPS THEM FROM REACHING THE ADVANCED LEVEL OF PLAY. WHY? First & foremost, a player should consider the science and math involved in performing the drop shot from the baseline or transition zone. . Phil Dunmeyer's Book, "PICKLEBALL 5.0," states that "a free falling pickleball dropped from 78 inches bounces 32 inches to 34 inches." If you hit the ball so its apex is 5 feet (60 inches) above court and 7 feet on your side of the net, which is directly above your NVZ Line, the ball drops into the opposing NVZ and bounces less than 34 inches in height, which is also the height of the net at the center. This in turn forces your opponent to return the ball with an underhand stroke, stepping forward into the NVZ,  in an awkward underhand motion, to reach and return the ball up and over the net...