David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first eight mistakes the past four months. This month we…
Tag: Relishing Pickleball
Card Games & Sports, March 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 5 and 6)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me: “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” We reviewed the first four mistakes the past two months. This month, we…
Card Games & Sports, February 2021
Relishing Pickleball: Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Part 2)
David Zapatka This 12-common-mistakes column began after playing with some very excited, highly-motivated, new pickleball players at our community courts recently. After playing a couple games, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5 players?” Last month, we reviewed the first two mistakes. This month, we take a…
Card Games & Sports, January 2021
Relishing Pickleball: 12 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Mistakes 1 and 2)
David Zapatka While playing at the IronOaks courts in Sun Lakes for my first time last month, I ran into a group of very excited, highly motivated, new pickleball players. We played a couple games together, and when we departed, this question was posed to me, “What should we do to improve and become 3.5…
Clubs & Classes, December 2020
Relishing Pickleball: Dink Responsibly
David Zapatka Often called the most important shot in all of pickleball, the dink is the critical shot aspiring players must learn to improve their game. The dink is a shot hit slowly and softly into the opponents’ non-volley zone as close to the net as possible. If the opponent hits this ball hard, it…
Card Games & Sports, September 2020
Relishing Pickleball: Pickleball Bangers
David Zapatka Are you getting tired of playing the bangers? They have one strategy; hit the ball as hard as they can. They rarely hit third shot drop shots. What can you do? There are two options. The first is the punch volley, a volley hit hard and deep. The second is the soft volley,…
Card Games & Sports, August 2020
Relishing Pickleball
The Third Shot Drop. Why Is It So Important? David Zapatka The third shot drop is a shot performed near the baseline that lands softly in the opponents’ kitchen. The shot is designed with one thing in mind—get your team to the net. The mechanics of the third shot drop are simple. The ball sails…
Card Games & Sports, January 2020
Relishing Pickleball
David Zapatka PBX Club is a free online website where you can get more pickleball playing tips, news, and money-saving discounts on equipment and travel. Best of all, PBX Club broadcasts the Pickleball Show with top pickleball players and suppliers. The following advice was recently posted on their site. Never go in the kitchen with two…