Dinkville DUPR Spring League Starts March 27th. Sign Up Today!
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Dinkville DUPR Spring League Sign Ups Out Now
Tired of not knowing when and who to play every day/week?
Dinkville Spring DUPR Leagues provide a 8 week schedule from March 27th-May 21st. Singles, Team Men's/Women's/Mixed Doubles, and Round Robin Doubles all available for all Dinkville members. This is a DUPR league so all scores will be recorded so members will have an updated player rater (Don't have a DUPR? No problem, we will get you setup before League starts). $20 registration per team and winning team will win 50% of Entry Fees (8 teams, $80 winnings). Registration ends Friday March 17th so sign up today to secure your spot! Sign up for Dinkville Spring 2023 DUPR Leagues here
Get To Know Dinkville Member Leah St. Germain
Who are you? I was born and raised in northern Minnesota, but moved to Mt. Juliet in the spring of 2006.
When did you start playing Pickleball? September 1st, 2020. My good friend and mentor, Beth Walker, had been taking about this weirdly named game for some time and so I finally asked her to teach me. So on that warm September morning, I started and never stopped.
How did you get started with Dinkville?I heard about it through the Pickleball grapevine!
Why do I love Pickleball?I love this sport for so many reasons. I have met some amazing and wonderful people that have become some of my closest friends. But most importantly, it not only has changed my life, I believe it has saved it. I have depression and severe anxiety. Pickleball has given me the courage to get up every day, and step out of my comfort zone. It has given me confidence and a purpose. I love teaching new people this amazing sport, so they can gain the gifts I have received through Pickleball.
What is your favorite shot in Pickleball? I don’t have a particular shot, but when the game comes to the net and it becomes a dinking battle, that is my favorite! I love to out dink or have the patience to wait for that perfect put away.
What are your goals this year in Pickleball? Just to continue to work on my game and making the ball bounce, and to continue to help the community grow.
What is your advice to new players? Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get out and play as much as you can. Mostly, have fun!
Want to be recognized? Click here to fill out the Get To Know You template!
Up Your Game Brought To You By The Dink:
One More Step
Can I be honest? Are we in the trust circle here? Ok, I whiffed on an overhead...again.
I finally made it to the court this week for the first time in...*checks calendar*...way too long. Let me tell ya, pickleball rust is a real thing. Reaction time decays and the feel for drops and resets suffers.
But what really felt foreign - overheads. On my first one of the day, I looked like a total noob and whiffed it. Yikes, can we get this guy a little unsolicited advice?
Here it is: When you're moving back to field an overhead, take one extra step.
That's it. That's the whole piece of advice. It's that simple.
Don't just retreat to the point where you can barely reach the ball. Take one more step to position your body behind the ball. This way, when you swing, you're able to step through the overhead.
This helps in three ways:
- Moving through the overhead leaves you better positioned for the next ball
- The ability to better leverage your leg strength + forward momentum = more power
- A contact point in front of the body allows for more control and increased accuracy, vs making contact while falling away
My mistake is that I was lazy and refused to take the extra step. I tried to jump backwards to reach the descending lob.
It might have been the wind, the sun, or a dwindling sense of athleticism that ultimately was my downfall (man I was a great high school athlete). But the whole embarrassment could've been avoided by taking an extra step, getting behind the ball and launching forward through the overhead.
Learn from my mistake, use good form, and go crush some overheads.
Today In Pickleball Brought To You By The Dink:
Capitalizing Where Tennis has Failed
Tennis is losing ground to pickleball. How many of us pick up a paddle, never to touch a tennis racquet again? How many age out of the tennis hustle and bustle to settle into the world of dinks and underhand serves?
A captivating video from Cult Tennis summarizes the tennis vs pickleball struggle in a unique way. According to the video, which needs some updated statistics for 2023, tennis is not losing ground to pickleball in the way you might think.
The number of tennis players increased by a margin that actually exceeds the 2022 SFIA pickleball player count. Despite the increase in participation, pickleball is capitalizing on some areas where tennis has failed.
Tennis has kept distribution rights under lock and key making viewership a chore for fans. It has failed to remain in the cultural mainstream and has been overshadowed by other sports.
Meanwhile, pickleball has popped, stealing headlines in prominent publications, garnering support from celebrity endorsers and going viral online. Basically, pickleball has become 'cool'.
Is pickleball overtaking tennis anytime soon? There is still a long way to go for 'the little game that could' but the exponential growth of recent years certainly makes it a possibility.
The Price is Right
Take your guess: how much is this pickleball set worth? It includes a net, two pro-designed paddles, four balls, and a backpack.
Four contestants on a recent episode of The Price is Right (yes, that’s still running) placed their bets on this set of pickleball accouterments for their chance to move on in the show.
If you’ve somehow never seen an episode before (found you, Gen Z readers), the person who guesses closest to the item’s actual price gets to progress while the others stay behind.
The guesses were:
- $500
- $476
- $725
- $1000
Re-thinking your guess? Too late, it’s locked in. Actual price: $553.
PPA Indoor National Championship Results
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Thanks,
Landon Hallam, Dinkville Commissioner, Landon@dinkville.com