Free Beginners Clinic Tuesday April 9th! Sign Up Today
Dinkville is proud to be sponsored by Selkirk, and we highly recommend their exceptional products and strong commitment to the future of pickleball. Please check out their site HERE and use code ADV-LHALLAM at Checkout to receive a FREE GIFT from Selkirk!
Dinkville Madness Tournament This Saturday!
Dinkville is teaming up with Christmas 4 Kids with a Charity Pickleball Tournament on Saturday April 6th at Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club. This will be a fun environment with free Selkirk prize giveaways, free towel, stickers, and a tournament shirt!
Location- Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club, 550 Johnny Cash Pkwy, Hendersonville, TN 37075
Men's Brackets Start at 9am
Mixed Brackets Start at 12pm
Women's Brackets Start at 3:30pm
Free Beginners Clinic Tuesday April 9th!
Want to learn the basics to Pickleball for FREE? Or have a friend or family member that wants to play? Come on out for a fun and informative beginners pickleball clinic at Municipal Park in Gallatin, TN on Tuesday April 9th from 6:30pm-8pm! Don't worry about paddles or balls, we have you covered so just show up! Sign up today HERE!
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Photo by Alexander Shatov / Unsplash
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Upcoming Tournament In Nashville
Nashville Young Life Tournament- Register here for the inaugural Nashville Young Life Pickleball Tournament at Lipscomb Racquet Club on Saturday, May 11th! Young Life is an outreach ministry for high schoolers, middle schoolers, parenting teens, and friends with disabilities in Nashville. All proceeds directly benefit ministry in Central and Southeast Nashville, so that Young Life leaders can continue showing up in the lives of our high school friends.
- Men's, Women's, and Mixed Doubles are available for all skill levels.
- $60/player - pool play followed by single elimination (minimum of 4 games)
- Registration closes on May 8th - get your spot today!
- Sign Up HERE
Today In Pickleball Brought To You By The Dink
Make Your Drill Sessions More Interesting
Everyone knows that drilling is good for your game. So why don’t more people do it? One reason is that it is boring. Especially when compared to actually playing pickleball.
Make it more engaging by challenging yourself. The ‘escape room’ drill starts with aggressive feed and immediately puts you on the defensive.
One player starts at the kitchen line and the other in the transition zone. The player at the kitchen aggressively feeds the ball to the player in transition.
The goal for the player in transition is to drop or reset the ball into the kitchen and advance forward. It is meant to simulate a real game scenario with the same intensity.
The drill immediately targets one of the most challenging parts of pickleball, advancing through the transition zone. It allows you to get reps facing the type of shots you’d see in a real match.
So if your drill sessions are a snoozefest, turn them up a notch with the escape room drill.
Squeezing deals in before the buzzer
Monday was fraught with April Fool’s pranks all over the internet. That made breaking real news later in the day a little more difficult. As Major League Pickleball prepared for the draft there was plenty of movement behind the scenes.
- The ‘Johnson 5’ reached a deal with the United Pickleball Association and became eligible for the MLP draft.
- Two Challenger Level teams - the ATX Pickleballers and Milwaukee Mashers - were sold back to the United Pickleball Association.
According to sources, the UPA will attempt to resell the teams for the 2025 season, meaning that 2024 will only have 10 Challenger Level teams. MLP will hopefully be back to 12 Challenger Level teams (for a combined 24 MLP teams) in 2025. It's estimated these teams will sell for $15-$20 million.
- The Dink has also heard that a "California team" has reportedly sold 90 percent of its stake for approximately that amount as well, however, that transaction is not official.
- Finally, yesterday Riley Newman announced that he reached a new contract agreement and will begin competing on the PPA Tour as well as MLP starting in May.
Is your head spinning? Alright, take a breath. This was all done before a landmark day of the year, yesterday’s MLP Draft. We’ve got those results for you next.
Johns Bros connect for an MLP run
Ben and Collin Johns have found their way onto the same team for the first time in MLP’s history. Tom Dundon’s Seattle Pioneers were set on taking Ben first overall and not only added Collin with pick No. 47, but also snagged veterans Andrea Koop and Jessie Irvine at picks 43 and 44.
Although the Pioneers are full of vets, a large number of newcomers will compete at the Premier Level for the first time, including Jack Sock.
- Premier Level Rookie Women: Mari Humberg, Kaitlyn Christian, Kate Fahey, Brooke Buckner, and Alix Truong
- Premier Level Rookie Men: Jack Sock, Will Howells, Augustus Ge, and CJ Klinger
With last year’s successful hit on Rachel Rohrabacher, it appears teams are willing to take their chance on a high-upside player. Teams can keep their players for three years, so newcomers to the game with a lot of growth potential were coveted.
You can see where your favorite player landed and how much was bid on every pick here.
One of the busiest weeks in pickleball
If the MLP draft wasn’t enough to fill your cup, there are also two pro pickleball events being played this week. The PPA North Carolina Open started on Monday and the APP Vlasic Classic in Delray Beach begins today.
We previewed the North Carolina Open on Monday, but failed to mention that former UNC and NBA hooper Tyler Hansbrough is actually competing in pro men’s doubles. Good luck landing a drop in that kitchen.
Let’s take a quick look at the APP Vlasic Classic. The Johnson 5 is registered for the event. Look for them to clean up on the medal stand.
Standing in their way will be the new combo of Andrei Daescu and Jill Braverman in mixed. Can the MLP No. 5 overall pick continue his hot streak this weekend in Del Ray?
Read more about the event and see predictions here.
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Landon Hallam
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