Graysville Serves Up Pickleball

Reported by: Mike McClanahan


Dozens of Graysville residents are picking up pickleball. The game is part tennis, part badminton, and possibly part ping-pong. It uses paddles and a modified whiffle ball.

USA Pickleball Association Ambassadors Tim and Laura Statum saw it out of state and suggested that it might be a good fit for Graysville.

Graysville Mayor Doug Brewer agreed and the group got the pickleball rolling, so to speak.
Saturday, an exhibition game at the Maurice West Community Center attracted dozens of potential pickleball players.

Click the link below , read the complete story and watch the video as reported at http://www.cbs42.com/, the lcoal station in Graysville, Al.

Graysville Serves Up Pickleball

Atlantic South Ambassador takes Pickleball to New York

Our own Jack Beck, USAPA Ambassador for Venice/Sarasota in Florida is home in New York State for the summer...............and sharing his love of the game.

The following appeared on the Bulletin Board of The Saratogian on May 28th. The Saratogian serves the Sarastota Springs region in New York State.


Pickle Ball clinic at Eastside Rec

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Pickle Ball is a combination of ping-pong, tennis and badminton; the rules are based on modified tennis.

Learn to play from Jack Beck, the USA Pickle Ball Association ambassador, at the Eastside Recreation tennis courts off Lake and Granger avenues.

Registration continues through June 5 for the June 8 and/or June 9 clinics, sponsored by the city of Saratoga Springs. The rain date is Wednesday, June 10.

The clinics are from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for adults, and from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for children ages 10 to 14. Senior citizens are welcome.

The cost for the two-day clinic is $10 per person, and $5 for senior citizens.

A maximum of 30 people can participate in each time slot

Sign up in the field house at the East Side Rec, 226 Lake Ave.

For more information, go to http://www.saratoga-springs.org/ and follow links to the Mayor’s Office and Recreation.

Good luck Jack...........We miss you down here in the Atlantic South!!

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR 2009 CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

START MAKING YOU TRAVEL PLANS NOW!!!

LET'S HAVE THE LARGEST PICKLEBALL PLAYER REPRESENTATION FROM OUR OWN ATLANTIC SOUTH REGION

The National Senior Games Association will hold its National Senior Games Pickleball Championship in Ft. Lauderdale this year from October 1st thorough October 4th. The Hyatt Bonaventure will be the host hotel and where registration will take place.

For more information about these games and to register, click on the logo below.

Atlantic South's Very Own Pickleball Coach!

www.PickleballCoach.com

AKA- "Coach MO”


Someone introduces you to the game of pickleball. You learn how to keep score, learn the rules of the game, and start playing on a regular basis with your friends, club or league. Now you’re having a great time. You’re out on the court several days a week, you’re making some great friends and you’re getting a lot of exercise. Life is Good!!! Whether you are just a recreational player looking to improve your game or someone looking to take your play to a higher more competitive level, you need to go to the right place and the right people early, before you start perfecting those bad habits. Most of us aren’t lucky enough to have a professional pickleball player or coach in our community, but ALL of us in the Atlantic South Region have the next best thing.

Richard Movsessian, aka “Mo” to his pickleball family, is right next door if you live in The Villages, Florida , and just a mouse click away for the rest of us.

For 29 years, Mo taught high school physical education, for 10 years coached boys varsity tennis and was voted coach of the year in 1979. He played on the 1996 USTA Florida State Championship 4.5 Doubles Team and as a teaching professional gave private tennis lessons. After learning the game of pickleball, Mo adapted his professional tennis techniques to our game and is today one of the best pickleball coaches on the east coast. He is probably best known, for his Pickleball Strategy Guide, a must read for every pickleball player. Now it’s even more “new and improved”.


My husband works constantly to improve his game, so he’s read the Strategy Guide a dozen times. As luck would have it, he had the opportunity to meet Mo, during an extended stay at The Villages one year. Rich played pickleball every day, but one particular morning, this gentleman approached him as he came off the court, introduced himself, told Rich he was hitting the ball like a ping pong player (that made sense, since ping pong was the only racket sport he ever played) and asked if he would mind a little “pickleball critique”. Mo thrives on teaching; always looking for a student of the game, and Rich strives on learning, so the two of them spent many an evening on the pickleball court doing repetitive drills to help fine tune techniques. They have continued to keep in touch. And Rich continues to study Mo's pickleball strategies, frequently visits his website and today uses Mo's techniques in his own clinics.

Rich was fortunate to have the opportunity to work one on one with Mo, but you can find the same professional help by visiting Mo’s new website - http://www.pickleballcoach.com/

You can find and download the Strategy Guide; he has some quick links to the top five strategies. You can ‘visit the pickleball court’ for training videos and /or pictures on perfecting your overhead, the volley or the backhand and forehand ground strokes. Check out the tip of the month. Stay up-to-date with the pickleball world and download your free Pickleball Community Toolbar. If you want to kick back and have a little fun, check out “Fun With Pickleball”, or play Quiz Ball!! Join in on one of the on-line forums. Don’t just be a visitor, sign up today and enjoy all the special benefits including his first rate monthly newsletter.

Rumor has it a new training DVD is on the horizon? Now I know I’ve got your attention!!

Here’s that link again……… http://www.pickleballcoach.com/

Meadow Point Group Enjoys Pickleball and Spring Pick-nic

Rich and Donna Donald, Ambassadors for New Tampa, Florida, hosted the First Annual Spring Pick-Nic and Pickleball Round Robin for their group of players at home in their Meadow Pointe Community in Wesley Chapel, Florida. The group has really grown over that last several months, so it was time to set up a little competition and a day of fun for the group.

Players and their families started arriving at the courts just after 3:00 pm to sign in, pick up their tournament goodie bags, draw for their rotation number and get in little practice before the games began. Rich wasn't playing today; he agreed to manage the table, set up the draw, keep the games moving and track the results. He found a nice shady spot, but came prepared to perch himself on the chair under his Florida beach umbrella if necessary as the temperatures were headed for the mid to high 90's.

Today would include both a men's and woman's round robin event. USAPA Rules would apply. Each player drew their position number and would play a minimum of four games. Then the top four players would play the 'gold medal' match. (In our case -the "blue ribbon" match) . Everyone lathered on the sun screen and the games began.

It was great to see the young and old enjoying the courts together today and families out enjoying the game and a great day of fun.

Click Here to read about The First Annual Spring Pick-nic and Pickleball Round Robin

Senior Games Underway at The Villages

Athletes pick up their pickleball paddles as Senior Games gets under way By DAISY MOON
DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — The sun shone brightly Friday morning on the pickleball courts at Saddlebrook Recreation Center, providing a welcoming warm-up for eager athletes.

Paddles in hand, pickleball participants in the 2009 Villages Senior Games hit the courts at 7:30 a.m. at Saddlebrook and at other recreation centers across The Villages.

Click Here to Read the Complete Article

This article is excellent and recently appeared in our USAPA e-newsletter. And it was written by our very own Atlantic South Ambassador.

How to Hit Better Pickleball Shots by Using a Ball Machine
by Bob Husky, Ambassador USAPA, Lee County, Opelika AL



I believe the goal of all pickleball players is to play the best that they can play and have as much fun as possible along the way. The best way that I have found to perfect my shots is to use a ball machine. Of course, if you play five times a week, that is also a way to perfect your shots.

The ball machine that I chose to use is the Heater Baseball Pitching machine, and it is manufactured by Trend Sports of St. George, Utah. There are a number of models put out by Trend Sports, but this Heater machine is able to shoot baseball whiffle balls to you. Of course, I just use pickleballs in it. I mainly play with the yellow Dura balls, but it will shoot the Cosom balls also.

It costs somewhere in the area of $400. The machine is run by electricity, and it is very portable; just take the legs off, and you can move the legs and the body with no trouble. The head of the machine can be adjusted to allow you to angle the shot up or down.

The speed that the ball comes to you is highly adjustable. The speed dial goes from 0 to 10, but I generally keep the speed down in the 4 or 5 range. You can practice volleys at the net, drop shots from the base line, or any kind of ground stroke that you might want to hit. I have not yet found a way to practice dinks at the net.

To practice returning high lobs, you take the front leg off and tie the machine to a fence, tilt it up, and practice hitting overhead shots. You can also place a block of cement under the front leg and get a similar effect. The machine holds ten pickleballs at a time. If someone was ingenious, they could construct a cage that attaches to the ball chute so you would have 40 balls shot at you in your practice session. This machine would be ideal for a pickleball community to purchase and have for the members to practice with.

USAPA - TRANSITION AND OPEN BOARD POSITIONS

USAPA E-Newsletter May 2009

Transitions—Thank You Earl—Welcome Dick

Earl Hill has decided to step-down from his USAPA Board role as Director of International/National Relations & Head of the Ambassadors Program. Earl will continue to support the USAPA in several ways including serving on the National Tournament Committee and continuing to recruit new Ambassadors. Earl created the Ambassador Program as you might expect from one of the true pioneers of the USAPA. We all owe Earl a debt of gratitude for his many contributions to Pickleball as a leader, a mentor, and as a player.

One of Earl’s recruits, Dick Manasseri, Great Lakes Regional Ambassador, has been appointed to head the Ambassadors Program and to serve on the USAPA Board as the Director of International/National Relations. Dick will work with the Regional Ambassadors to facilitate the rapid growth of Pickleball in North America; he will also coordinate collaborative efforts among the emerging Pickleball programs on other continents.


USAPA Board Open Positions

The USAPA Board has the following open positions.

RATINGS CHAIR

RANKINGS

NEWSLETTER CHAIR

HELP PROMOTE THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PICKLEBALL BY SERVING AS A USAPA BOARD MEMBER

Read more: USAPA Open Positions

GEEZERS AND GALS - THE VILLAGES, FL

Geezers and Gals pickleball group made up of friends as well as players

By MICHAEL FORTUNA, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — They may be called Geezers and Gals, but these guys are no slouches on the pickleball court. They also are friends in addition to being players.

“These people are friendly,” Mari Staun said. “We all have a good time. It’s why we keep coming back.”

The group held its second-ever pickleball and pizza social Wednesday morning at the Bacall Recreation Center pickleball courts. After playing a few games, the players enjoyed some pizza. The Geezers and Gals is comprised of about 45 residents who are regulars on the pickleball courts at Bacall.

READ THIS FUN STORY...............