PICKLEBALL

Great game! I've played about 8 times in the last two months. Since it is sometimes advertised as a game for people who don't move around so well anymore, I was a bit of a skeptic. Not anymore - very competitive and good exercise. Although like tennis and ping pong, you need to have an opponent that is close to your skill level for the best experience. If you have played either, you know what I mean.

The game to me is a combo of the aforementioned tennis and ping pong. I've played a lot of ping pong, and I have been approaching shots with that mentality. In fact, I've already replaced the first paddle I bought with one that had a bit of a tacky surface so I could duplicate all of my spin shots. It helped, but those beautiful spins in ping pong really can't be replicated on the Pickleball court. Can you spin the ball - yes. But your dealing with a hard plastic ball and a surface much harder than the soft cushion on a good ping pong paddle. Thus - not as much spin.

I'm slowly learning that I have to rely more on ball placement. But it is very tough for me to give up the pleasure of seeing my opponent flail away at a spinning ball that's just out of reach . Those shots come with a lot of trash talk potential. However, they don't fool better players, and I create quite a few unforced errors trying to put extra English on the ball.

So the new mantra - hit it deep, hit it deep, or at their feet. Easy to memorize, probably much harder to execute. I play on Tuesdays so I'll see how it goes.

Let's talk some Pickleball!