Dinkville Making "Sounds" In Nashville!
Want to get connected with your local Pickleball Community? Click here to become a Dinkville member for free and start dinkin' today!
Bellevue Picklegirls and Gallatin Gals Take Advantage Of The Weather
Bellevue Picklegirls and Gallatin Gals used their local community to take advantage of the amazing weather on Saturday. Bellevue group connected for some fun games in West Nashville while the Gallatin crew joined up for some fun DUPR matches in Gallatin. Love the community and relationships our members are growing in Dinkville!
Dinkville Preferred Instructor Drives 50+ Miles To Give Lesson and Clinic For Growing Pickleball Community in Tennessee
Dinkville is all about the people and the growing Pickleball communities across the nation. Seth and Kristina Stricker are prime examples of what the culture of Dinkville is all about. Dinkville Captain Chet Hale invited the Stricker's down to Columbia, TN for a private lesson and group clinic with some of the Columbia locals. Seth and Kristina agreed and drove the 50+ miles and Hour+ drive and said it was absolutely worth it! So special to see members helping eachother out and growing the great game we love! If you're looking for instructors/lessons, check out our Community Discord and find our Dinkville Instructors/Lessons Page! Click here to sign up
Nashville Sounds Sets Up Booth At Dinkville Ladder Event
Beautiful Monday Night at Municipal Park in Gallatin, TN for a 24+ member ladder event was made even cooler when Carlie Jamison of the Nashville Sounds showed up with her booth! Jamison had cool Nashville Sounds gifts and schedules for the upcoming Spring Season and said they're having a Pickleball Paddle giveaway at the Sounds games on April 26th and September 9th. Go on out and catch a game, try to win a paddle, and come say hi to Dinkville members at our booth that will be posted up at the ballgame! Click here for upcoming Nashville Sounds Schedule See below pictures from our 6 court Ladder Event
Get To Know Your Dinkville Member Logan Hollis
Who Are you? My name is Logan Hollis. I am 29 years old
When did you start playing Pickleball? I started playing pickleball through a church group in Hendersonville about 6 months ago
How did you hear about Dinkville? Dinkville was introduced to me by the pickleball group organizer at Northfield church in Hendersonville
Why do you love Pickleball? I enjoy the community aspect of pickleball the most, well that and the competition
What is your favorite shot in Pickleball? I love hitting cross-court dinks and backhand cut shots
What is your goals this year in Pickleball? I am looking to get an official DUPR rating and improve my short game control and lobs
Advice for new players? I would say that the best thing you can do is just play consistently. Not everyone can play every single day, but having a consistent schedule and group you can play with will help you to get better. Oh, and don't worry too much about the scoring, it simply takes time. I look forward to playing with everyone!!
Want to be recognized in the next newsletter? Fill out the Template here
Up Your Game Brought To You By The Dink:
Simone on Slice
A common piece of advice in pickleball is to slice your return, pushing the ball deep into the court and keeping the bounce low.
What you don't hear is what to do if you're the team receiving that ball. For that, let's consult the Queen of Pickleball, Simone Jardim. Her new video advises players on how to return a sliced ball.
When a ball with slice hits the ground, it is going to skip, kinda like a stone on a lake. The ball will stay lower to the ground than a regular ball will. It will also move laterally.
The direction of the ball's bounce will change depending on whether it was hit with a forehand or backhand.
Jardim recommends that you:
Start by identifying their shot. Pay attention to the spin they add, noting if it's from the forehand or backhand
Stay light on your feet. You will need to adjust to the ball after it bounces. Beginners will move with the ball in the air, but won't be prepared to react as the ball bounces.
Create the proper amount of space. Depending on the scenario, the ball could skip toward your body or jump further away from you. You may need to respond by backing up so you don't get jammed, or by moving closer to the ball so it doesn't escape your reach.
Let's look at an example. A forehand slice is coming your way. It is set to bounce on your right side, perfectly lined up for your forehand in this case.
That ball is going skip from right to left. It is going to jam you and make your shot more difficult....that is, if you don't react.
To combat this, leave extra room for the ball to bounce. Then adjust after the bounce to account for how effective their slice was.
Being more proactive on the court will help you level up. If you are still getting sliced to pieces out there, give this technique from Simone a try.
Today In Pickleball Brought To You By The Dink:
MLP Shuffle Draft Results
The MLP's first Shuffle Draft of the year has begun. If you missed last Friday's newsletter and are unfamiliar, the Shuffle Draft allows teams in the Challenger Level to adjust their roster by dropping one player and entering a draft for a new one.
The trade window for the current draft fully closes on March 10th. But here's what's happened so far:
- Columbus Pickleball Club placed Becky Ryan on the waiver wire, picked Jill Braverman, and traded Jill for Megan Fudge, formerly of Dallas Pickleball Club.
- Miami Pickleball Club placed Matt Manasse on the waiver wire, then selected Brendon Long.
- Dallas Pickleball Club placed Chuck Taylor on the waiver wire, then chose Daniel De La Rosa.
- AZ Drive placed Sarah Burr on the waiver wire, then picked up Heather Nobler.
- D.C. Pickleball Team placed Monica Paolicelli on the waiver wire, then took Amanda Hendry.
- Texas Ranchers placed Steve Deakin on the waiver wire, then selected Scott Doerner.
- Brooklyn Aces placed Cierra Gaytan-Leach on the waiver wire, then chose Hurricane Tyra Black.
There will be no change in Premier Level teams for the first three events in 2023.
PPA Florida Open Preview
It's Spring Break and the pros of PPA Tour are headed to Daytona Beach for the Florida Open this weekend.
A major headline of course is the breakup mentioned above. Anna Bright will be partnering up with James Ignatowich for the event and Riley Newman is matched for the first time with Parris Todd.
Newman is also experimenting with a new men's doubles 'partner,' MLP Hard Eights owner Tim Parks. With a fearsome DUPR of only 3.92, Parks isn't exactly a shoe-in.
This might be the most entertaining storyline headed into the weekend. If Newman is unexpectedly listed on IR next week, it'll probably be for a back injury. You can't carry the weight of a full grown man for an entire event and expect to emerge unscathed.
Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters are back in play this weekend. The duo will be on the warpath after an uncharacteristic loss at the AZ Grand Slam. If they are going to run into JW and Jorja Johnson again, it will have to be on Championship Sunday.
Waters is the runaway favorite in women's singles but could face a wildcard in her first match tomorrow. Tennis pro Hurricane Tyra Black was drafted by the Brooklyn Aces on Sunday and could potentially face ALW in the second round tomorrow.
By the way, Hurricane Black has a sister. Her name? Tornado Black. The stormy sisters and accomplished professional tennis players have recently set their sights on pickle. We break it down on this week's PicklePod.
Keep an eye out for the potential Johns vs Johnson singles matchup tomorrow in singles. JW Johnson is still low in the PPA Tour standings. As a result, arguably the two best players in the draw will likely face off in the quarterfinals.
Tune in early so you don't miss it. The stream starts at 11:00 am ET on PPA TV. Read more here.
Like this content? Sign Up for the The Dink Newsletter Here
Forward this email or share this link Dinkville with anyone who wants to join the #1 Pickleball Community in the Nation!
As always, say hi anytime! Just reply to this email or sign up for the newsletter!
Thanks,
Landon Hallam, Dinkville Commissioner, Landon@dinkville.com