SO WHERE DO PICKLEBALLERS GO FROM HERE, 2021 NEW YEAR

 SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE 2021 A NEW YEAR?

After months of playing on hard composition concrete courts, having our balls blown off the court, and enduring the bone chilling weather of winter, all because of a microscopic virus bug that just may be headed for annulation by one of several new found vaccines.

The elected political leaders can dictate the time, place and protocols for playing pickleball, when they decide its safe to do so.

"Wear the damn mask," is the soundbite for the day utter by our esteem leaders. I say "where's the " damn vaccine?" As I stood in a snaking line marked on the concrete floor of the Fiair Grounds Cow Palace, anticipating the sting of a needle in my arm, I thought of all my fellow pickleball players who are not yet eligible to get the shot.

A sense of guilt pervaded my mind but as I looked around there were a lots of people in the same line. They didn't look like they were feeling remorseful for being there.

Overall I could not say any words that would degrade the efforts of the health providers and law enforcement officers who were there to help us get the vaccine. Hats off to our local heroes who risk their health every day to protect us from this virus, and criminals on the street.

I myself am planning for the reopening of the rec pickleball venues. Not waiting for a memo from the gods of government. I will be ready to go before they say "GO." I have no idea when the Senior Centers will restart their pickleball programs.

But for the sake of my many senior friends I hope the head honchos are at least making preparations to do so now, instead of waiting until the "GO" light starts blinking, and then scrambling to come up with some type of free pickleball program, at the time, place, and under their explicit guidelines, even though most have never held a paddle in their hand. Happy to say I do not have to contend with that tomfoolery anymore. Let someone else do the heavy lifting and put in the hours it takes to teach the game.

Don't misunderstand, I will be conducting Pickleball Coaching Clinics and Progressive Beginners classes but they will be under my direction and control.

Jumping way ahead of myself again.

First I have to get my butt back in the game. I still have not played a full game since November 2020 due to an Achilles Tendon Tear in my right leg that involve a 4 hour invasive surgery of grafting healthy tendon from my big toe to fix the tear. Now that the tear is fixed I cannot wiggle my big toe or pickup popcorn off the floor that I dropped.

Worst yet, I really need to get my game back, sharpen skill sets, retrain my footwork and adjust my playing strategy to compensate for the lack of mobility. I have never said I was a 5.0 player. Nor will I ever be a 5.0 player. But I have the knowledge of how to play the game at a 5.0 level. And I can teach their skill sets and strategies

This may sound like bilge water to some, but if anyone wants to quiz my knowledge, you know where to find me. Needless to say I had a lot of time on my hands to solo practice the slow motion mechanics of each shot, and commit them to my mental memory bytes, which I can visualize at will.

I have been working on my second book, P"ICKLEBALL 4.0." This is a self-help, how-to book for lower skilled players to improve their skill sets, biomechanics and mind set to cross the threshold to advance play. In other words it's a blueprint to improve and advance from a one-trick back court banger to a net control finesse player.

If you have not purrused the Revised 2021 USAPA Rules, I suggest you do so. They have two rule books, and ALTERNATIVE RULE BOOK, and the OFFICAL TOURNAMENT RULES BOOK. The Alternative book is for unrefereed games. The ORB is for refereed games.

I like the DROP BALL SERVE RULE. It allows a spinster to really increase the magnus effect on the ball.

Time to say, "Good Night Gracey!" Stay tuned the best is yet to come. Check out my Blog and Website. Just google Joe Palmere Pickleball Is All, and click on the URL.