New Florida Ambassador

Dennis Sarlo
USAPA Ambassador
The Villages, Fl

Dennis Sarlo, our neweset Ambassador from The Villages, Fl, is originally from New York. He relocated to The Villages part time in 2004 and then full time in 2006. As a former New York City school principal, Dennis fully understands the importance of physical activity and exercise for keeping a body healthy and a mind active.

As a member of the Geezers and Gals, pickleball league that plays regularly at the Bacall Rec Center, Dennis does not hesitate to take the lead, or to work with other leaders in the group in bringing the best of training and fun to the whole group.
Pickleball Clinics and Pizza are a regular staple for this group!

"I enjoy a variety of sports here in The Villages; the enormity of the offerings is one of the reasons for moving here,"Dennis says. "However, I would say that my first choice in sports is pickleball. I enjoy the physical activity of running and hitting, the strategy of anticipating a shot, and the friendship of the many pickleball players here in The Villages. Pickleball is probably one of the most popular sports giving each person of every level the opportunity to participate. I’m happy to serve as an Ambassador and encourage more and more people to try the game; I’m confident that they will enjoy it! "

Ambassadors Share Pickleball with Local Rotary Club

Greetings, Fellow Rotarians of Lady Lake Area!

As your bulletin editor, I am trying not to make excuses on this substitute version of your Weekly Rotarian.............................

BUT, regardless of the format, I do want to remind you of our ROTARY meeting tomorrow which will be a "ball" (no pun intended) since it will feature the fun and skill of PICKLEBALL! Pickleball is an incredibly popular sport in this part of the world --- especially in THE VILLAGES.

Our presenter will be non other that our own energetic new member, an acknowledged Pickleball "expert" -- Richard Greenfield (GREENIE) -- , an acknowledged Pickleball "expert" -- Richard Greenfield (GREENIE) -- who's official business card touts him as an officer of the United States of America Pickleball Association --- overseeing the Atlantic South Region. That includes all of FLORIDA, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA. Come One, Come All!


(above from the bulletin editor (Tony Heisberger) of the Weekly Rotarian - August 24th, 2009 Lady Lake, Fl.



Meetings are held regularly at the Outback Steakhouse in Lady Lake, and today after a delicious lunch of salad, shrimp, sweet potato fries and green beans.........

"Greenie, opened the pickleball presentation by sharing the history of the game (everyone loves to hear about Picklees!), the inception of USAPA and the tremendous growth of the sport accross the country. He spoke about the game itself, the courts and equipment, and passed the paddle and ball around the room for everyone to see.


Greenie invited guest speakers, Local Ambassadors, Rich and Donna Donald, asking Rich to talk about tournament play and some of their experiences in promoting the game especially their RV experiences. As editor of this website and the Atlantic South Monthly Newsletter, Donna spoke about the content, purpose, availability and exposure of both of them, including articles featuring The Villages and the Lady Lake area.

Flyers with information on the Atlantic South Website, copies of recent newsletters membership information,and tournament information were shared with everyone.

2009 PENSACOLA SENIOR GAMES

SEPTEMBER 11th - SEPTEMBER 25th

The pickleball event is scheduled for Friday, September 25th, at 10:00 am

Vickrey Community Center

Pensacola, Fl

Click the link below for more tournament and registration information

Pensacola Senior Games

REGISTER NOW!

Geezers and Gals - Pickleball Clinic and Pizza Social

The Geezers and Gals Pickleball Group play regularly at the Bacall Recreation Center in The Villages, Florida. This group of players is very seriouls about their pickleball. But while they may play hard on the courts, they also know how to have a good time.

Click on picture to enlarge and use back arrow to return to this posting.

Many of the players arrived early this morning; around 7:00 AM for thier first game of the day. Open play starts at this time every day at the Bacall Rec Center. At 10:00 all eight courts were still active, with several more waiting on the side. But at 10:00 the courts were cleard, Coach Mo had arrived and everyone was ready to participate in his pickleball clinic. USAPA Ambassador Dennis Sarlo took a few minutes to recognize fellow Ambassador Al Rosati for his continuous hard work and efforts in coordinating events like today for the Geezers and Gals, then turned the paddle over to Mo to being the training session. Mo covered all the basics including the grip, the serve and return of serve, proper court positioning, forehand, backhand , overhead and lobs. Everyone had the opportunity to listen and observe and then took to the courts to work with the Coach.

Click to enlarge the picture, use the back arrow to return to this post.

But the day did not end there. By 11:30 the tables inside the rec center were filled with pizza, salad, watermellon, chocolate, chips and cookies and drinks. That's Margie in the center picture above with Al and Dennis. Margie is the Gal to see to get your Geezer's and Gals T-shirt!! The food, the company, the conversation was great and enjoyed by all.

Before the event concluded, Al Rosati addressed the group with infomation about the upcoming round robin pickleball tournament to be hosted by the Geezers and Gals on August 26th and names were drawn for rotation and court assignment.

If the tournament is half as much fun as today it will be a huge successs!!

Pickle Ball Successs >> A New PickleballBook -

We have decided to combine our two existing books, “Drilling for Success in Pickleball” and “Teaching for Success in Pickleball”. Our new book, “Pickleball - A Guide for Teachers”, will consist of 110 pages - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 - and include........................Click the link above for more details on this great training tool

Learn more about the authors: Mary Littlewood and Sandra Stultz as well as more great training tools on their website Picklebll Success.

PICKLEBALL - NEWEST AMMENITY AT POPULAR NC RESORT

Rumbling Bald Resort - Lake Lure, NC
by: Carrie Sims - Wellness Center Lead
Rumbling Bald

Rumbling Bald Resort is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The Resort is situated below the base of the majestic 2,800-foot Bald Mountain on the north end of beautiful Lake Lure.
Rumbling Bald Resort offers a host of activities and services for their members and guests through their Wellness Center, outdoor swimming complex, adventure outings, boat rentals, narrated lake cruises and full service Spa & Salon. The two 18-hole championship courses at the resort continue to receive praise from Golf Digest readers as we have received another 4-star rating for 2009. The Bald Mountain course even offers guests the experience of playing on one of the famed filming sites of Dirty Dancing.

Pickleball was first initiated in August 2008 when a small group of residents showed interested in the sport by taping off lines for Pickleball on the resort’s tennis courts. The residents asked the Wellness Committee, chaired then by Darby Williams, to paint lines on the existing tennis courts. Mr. Williams requested a DVD from the USA Pickleball Association to educate committee members since not everyone had a clear understanding of the sport. As the interest grew, the committee voted to paint the regulation sized lines on one of the tennis courts and the court was ready for its first game in June of 2009.

Pickleball at the resort is mainly due to the enthusiasm and dedication of Don “Smoke” Hickman, a certified Pickleball instructor, who along with Carl Nelson proposed the idea to the Resort Wellness committee. As a USA Pickleball Certified instructor, Smoke has been playing for over five years. The popularity of the game at his seasonal home in Florida prompted him to suggest offering the sport at Rumbling Bald. He and his wife play avidly and he even says “she’s better than I am”.

Recent pickleball lesson group: Row 1: guest, Darby Williams, Nancy K, Diane Ward, guest. Row 2 : Smoke Hickman, guest, Carl Nelson, Dick Nelson, Bill Ward, guest.

A group of eight to twelve energetic players meet weekly for open play matches. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings Smoke gives instruction to first time players and resort guests. Members and guests who have participated in Pickleball say that the addition of the sport has been a great way to stay in shape and meet new people. They all agree that it is simple to learn and is enjoyable for all ages and fitness levels.

The resort promotes Pickleball weekly during the Monday Resort Orientation Session, as well as through its Wellness Center. Being so well received by the members and guests, a Pickleball Social is planned during the month of August to celebrate the sport’s success.

Contact information for the resort is provided below:
Rumbling Bald Resort
112 Mountains Boulevard
Lake Lure, NC 28746
(828) 694-3000
info@rumblingbald.com
http://www.rumblingbald.com/
To receive daily updates about events and activities, become a fan of Rumbling Bald Resort on Facebook:Click here for Face Book">Click here for Face Book

Atlantic South's Ned Middendorf, of The Villages, is 'the face of Pickleball" in Morton, Il

Hunger for pickleball is growing
Morton has new court for paddle sport with humorous name
By steve Stein of teh Journal Star, August 10, 2009
www.pjstar.com

Pickleball is popular in schools (including Morton's District 709) as a physical education activity and in retirement communities like The Villages in central Florida, where longtime Morton resident Ned Middendorf plays about five times a week when he's there during the winter months

.......Middendorf has agreed to become the face of pickleball in Morton. He's conducted two introductory lessons at the new court, using his own three paddles and three pickle balls and borrowed equipment.

"Somebody has to be the tip of the spear on this. I appreciate Ned doing that," Watson said.

Middendorf is happy to be Morton's go-to guy on pickleball.

Click Here for the full story: Hunger for Pickleball

A Conversation with Barney McCallum

As posted in the August USAPA Monthly E-Newsletter

The Origins Of The Pickleball Rules
by Fran Myer
Secretary, USAPA

I recently had a conversation with Barney McCallum, the one surviving originator of Pickleball. Now age 83, he just recently stopped making daily trips to the office at his envelope company to stay home and care for his wife, Carol.

(F) What was original intent of the game of pickleball?
(B) It was to provide a sport for the entire family. The great thing about pickleball is that there is good balance between offense and defense. Many of the rules were also designed to take size out of the game. We had a fellow named Dick Brown who was 6'4". He used to stand at the net and just smash the ball, so we created the non-volley zone. We called it the Dick Brown rule. The double bounce rule (requiring that the ball bounce once on each side of the court before players can volley the ball) was also intended to take away any advantage from the serving team.

(F) How did you determine the specifications of the paddle?
(B) We tried all types of materials. Wood, plastic, sandpaper on the surface, rubberized material like on ping pong paddles. The paddles used today are in keeping with the original game. I'm glad the game has't been bastardized.

(F) Do you mean a paddle that is rigid? How about one that is compressible, one that would allow the ball to come off the paddle like on a trampoline?
(B) Compressible? Oh no, no. That would be like those cannonball tennis racquets. The paddles should be rigid.

Barney shared with me a chapter of Dick Squires book "The Other Racquet Sport" where McCallum described the ball as a perforated, plastic ball, "maximum diameter of the ball is 3 inches and to be official, it should contain 26 7/16-inch-diameter holes." This is the description of the Cosom Fun Ball used today mainly for indoor play and Squire's book says they "usually last several games before cracking, depending on the hardness of the court surface and the aggressiveness of the players." According to McCallum, he really prefers the Cosom ball game because it relies more on finesse, strategy and placement, rather than power. Although this was the ball used when the game was first conceived, the Seamless DURA 56 ball was created for better play outdoors in windy conditions.

As the sport of pickleball has spread and developed around the US and abroad, Barney was pleased to know that the USAPA is sticking to the original intent of the game and maintaining the rules so that the dynamics of the game remain as originally conceived "not bastardized!"