ATP

Pickleball News – 20230214– Archived Version

Jeff


This section of Jbrish.com is no longer active. News will be distributed via email ONLY. Sorry for any inconvenience!!


 

 

Latest N. Phoenix Pickleball News – February 14, 2023


Archived Version of a Previous Newsletter
OLD NEWS


 

This is an archived version of a previously issued pickleball newsletter. The most current N. Phoenix Newsletter is available by clicking HERE!

 

Latest N. Phoenix Pickleball News – February 14, 2023

Hello N. Phoenix Pickleball Players:

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the moderating weather in the Valley! This will be a busy area for pickleball over the next few months and several important tournaments have already been held



Misleading Information About the
***** Non-Volley Zone Lines *****

It has been brought to my attention that some misleading information about the non-volley zone line is being disseminated. As former Ambassador and now pickleball enthusiast, I enjoy playing according to the OFFICIAL USA Pickleball Rulebook and I believe most players feel the same way.

Here is the rule about which balls are considered “in play” and “good” as related to the court lines.

6.B. Except the serve, any ball in play that lands in the court or touches any court line is in. (p. 30 – 2023 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook)

When it comes to the serve, this is the rule about the non-volley zone line:

4.A.2. Placement. The server must serve to the correct service court (the court diagonally opposite the server). The serve may clear or touch the net and must clear the NVZ and the NVZ lines. The serve may land on any other service court line. (p. 17 – 2023 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook)

NOTE – In RECREATION play, modification of the rules can be made as long as everyone understands and agrees before play begins. Once again, it has been my experience that most players stick closely to the USA Pickleball Rulebook.


***** USAP Pickleball Association Rulebook & Official Rules *****
Download your FREE PDF copy HERE



Humorous Pickleball
***** Public Service Announcement Video *****


SOME OF THE TERMS EXPLAINED

Stacking – Explanation

Erne – Read a description HERE Video example HERE

ATP – Around the Post Shot – A player can return the ball by “hitting the ball around the net post” and not over the net. Video example HERE



***** Finishing the Pickleball Point *****

Pickleball player, coach, blogger and podcaster Mark Renneson has written a very informative article:

5 Skills to Finish More Pickleball Points

Here is just one of the suggestions he makes:

The person who is cross court from you is farther away than your down-the-line opponent. And all things being equal, the person closer to you will have less time to get ready for your ball than the one who is on the diagonal. So unless you have a great reason to hit crosscourt, you should drive this ball down-the-line…

All things being equal, when you are trying to finish a point with speed aim toward the person that is closer to you — they’ll have less time to prepare for the ball.

If you want to read the entire article, you can find it HERE!



***** Desert Ridge Open Pickleball Tournament *****

When I am not playing pickleball, I enjoy watching the best of the best play pickleball. Some of the finest pickleball talents were on display at the recent Phoenix, Desert Ridge Open Pickleball Tournament.

It is understandable that these athletes have excellent offenses, but what struck me most, was the defensive shots. When a pickleball team or player is in “trouble” because they are being “attacked” by fast, hard-hitting shots, they try to RESET THE POINT. What this means is that they return the ball in such a way that it can no longer be hit hard toward them in a completely offensive position (often into the non-volley zone).

If you want to see this on clear display watch the women’s or men’s doubles finals. These players are so good at resetting the point and getting out of trouble.



******* DESERT RIDGE PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT VIDEOS *******

Desert Ridge Open – Gold Medal Match – Women’s Doubles – Waters/Parenteau vs. Jansen/Jones

Desert Ridge Open – Gold Medal Match – Men’s Doubles – Johns/Johns vs. Wright/Newman



Desert Ridge Open – Gold Medal Match – Mixed Doubles – Johns/Waters vs. Wright/Kovalova


Desert Ridge Open – Gold Medal Match – Women’s Singles – Anna Leigh Waters vs. Catherine Parenteau


Inclusive Trounament Video
******* More than Five Hours Long *******



HERE ARE THE TIME STAMPS FOR THE VIDEO ABOVE as posted on YouTube – NOTE – Some of these are not accurate – YMMV

0:00 – #11 Zane Navratil/James Ignatowich #21 Derek Shearer/Grant Bond
21:45 – #1 Ben Johns/Collin Johns vs. #32 Nico Montoya/Adrian Legarreta
38:13 – #4 JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier vs. #13 Connor Garnett/Wesley Burrows
1:06:11 – #2 Riley Newman/Matt Wright vs. #15 Pesa Teoni/Kris Heddings
1:32:45 – #1 Ben Johns/Collin Johns vs. #8 Jay Devilliers/DJ Young
1:59:10 – #4 JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier vs. #5 Erik Lange/AJ Koller
2:29:22 – #3 Tyler Loong/Callan Dawson vs. #6 Thomas Wilson/Julian Arnold
3:08:22 – #2 Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters vs. #7 Irina Tereschenko/Meghan Sheehan-Dizon
3:35:02 – #1 Ben Johns/Collin Johns vs. #4 JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier
4:08:23 – #2 Riley Newman/Matt Wright vs. #3 Tyler Loong/Callan Dawson
4:48:01 – #17 Bobbi Oshiro/Sarah Ansboury vs. #4 Lea Jansen/Allyce Jones
5:25:41 – #2 Catherine Parenteau/Anna Leigh Waters vs. #3 Anna Bright/Vivienne David

 


********** That’s All for Now **********

 

Stay Well and Play Safely!

Regards,

Jeff Ross
N. Phoenix Pickleball Enthusiast

Pickleball News – 20220801– Archived Version

Jeff

Latest N. Phoenix Pickleball News – November 2, 20222


Archived Version of a Previous Newsletter
OLD NEWS


 

This is an archived version of a previously issued pickleball newsletter. The most current N. Phoenix Newsletter is available by clicking HERE!

 

Latest N. Phoenix Pickleball News – November 2, 20222

Hello N. Phoenix Pickleball Players and Friends:


*****Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships *****



One of the major national pickleball tournaments is coming to a court or screen near you!

The Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships will feature Live @ Nationals with expansive coverage on ESPN+, For The Fans, Roku, Selkirk TV and YouTube, and over 80 total hours of live action from 3 courts. The program will provide coverage from November 8 – 13 (originally they had the 5th as the start date which apparently was an error!- see their graphic above!!) on the respective platforms and accessible from the official event website.





********** Celbrities are buying Pickleball Teams **********

Read the story about LeBron James HERE

and Tom Brady HERE



Reset the Point to
********** Get out of a Jam **********

 

USA Pickleball
********** Rule Changes **********

DID YOU KNOW that the USA Pickleball website maintains a list of proposed rule changes and those that have been passed and those that failed to be accepted?

One rule change (ID #521) that seems likely to go into effect in 2023 is the “Clothing as a distraction” rule. For years I argued that in tournament play, players should not be able to wear clothing that is the same (or very similar) color to that of the ball being used. There are times, depending upon the server’s motion, that a ball matching a garment color would be difficult to pick up immediately upon serve.

If you want to see the proposed rules, the USAP Board Voting Status and the USAP Rules Committee Voting Status click THIS LINK: [ See Hints Below ]

HINTS:

1 – There are multiple pages of proposed changes. Look at the upper, right-hand side above the headings and you will see numbers 1 through 6. Click on 6 to see most of the current rules that have passed.

2 – Reading the “View Details” notes often clarifies the reasons for and the anticipated results of the rule change.

To read about the rule change process or suggest one of your own, visit THIS WEB PAGE!



For Advanced Players
********** Around the Post Shots & Strategies **********

1 – ATPs – Around The Post shots – A pickleball shot can go around the side of the net without going directly over the net and still be a valid shot!
2 – Court Coverage




NOTE – There are many courts where there is not enough room around the courts to attempt ATPs so be very careful and AVOID RUNNING ONTO ADJACENT COURTS WHEN PLAY IS IN SESSION!


Doubles Strategy
********** Getting to the Net **********

While the video below is a demonstration of “higher level play,” there are good, basic strategies discussed by Jordan Briones throughout (don’t rush the net willy-nilly, court coverage, when to move back as a defensive strategy, and more).

********** Pickleball Problems Podcast **********


For those who cannot get enough pickleball or who want something of interest to listen to in the car while driving, you may want to drop by Mark Renneson’s Pickleball Problems website to check out his podcasts.

 


********** That’s All for Now **********

 

Stay Well and Play Safely!

Regards,

Jeff Ross
N. Phoenix Pickleball Enthusiast

Best Day of Televised Pickleball – Peachtree Classic

Jeff

During COVID, I had very little court time with pickleball and this was the motivation for me to watch matches on YouTube.

Recently, I watched the final matches of the Peachtree Classic and the commentators said that this was probably the best display of championship pickleball ever streamed/televised. I couldn’t agree more!

The lineup for the finals:

  • Women’s Singles Final: Callie Smith vs. Anna Leigh Waters

    •  

  • Men’s Doubles Final: Ben Johns & Collin Johns vs. Matt Wright & Riley Newman

    •  

  • Women’s Doubles Final: Anna Bright & Jessie Irvine vs. Anna Leigh Waters & Leigh Waters

    •  

  • Mixed Doubles Final: Ben Johns & Anna Leigh Waters vs Riley Newman & Catherine Parenteau

    •  

  • Men’s Singles Final: Julian Arnold vs. JW Johnson

    •  

For those who are curious, you can check player rankings at the Professional Pickleball Association.

One thing for sure, the sport of Pickleball is maturing and the long-dink rally is slowly disappearing and the hard-core bangers seem to be taking over. The reflexes exhibited by the players in these contests are amazing.

So…if you are interested in watching excellent pickleball, this video has over seven hours of pickleball magic.

NOTE: I don’t think most people would elect to watch the entire video in one sitting. If you are not familiar with YouTube videos, check the section below with hints regarding how to watch YouTube videos and use the controls.


Peachtree Classic – Championship Sunday

 

Some things to note:

  • Pay attention to those matches where the momentum seems to change. This happens in all sports. It is hard to measure, but one point, one play or one tug on the emotions can shift the momentum of the contest.
  • Note how players/teams change strategies when they find that their style of play is not winning.
  • I never appreciated the importance of “stacking” and how certain players are better at one side of the court than the other because of the location of the stronger backhand or forehand. I don’t think most recreational players do much stacking, but is interesting to watch the pros.
  • I also enjoy learning the names of some of the shots: the ATP (Around the Post), the Ernie, the Bert and the Scorpion.

This video has more than 56,000 views. That many pickleball fans can’t be wrong!!

Check this YouTube website for additional tournament videos!


Hints about watching PB on YouTube

To start the video, click on the right facing arrow in the middle of the screen.

When the video linked above starts to play, if you point to the bottom of the video frame, a line appears (this can be yellow or red). You will then see a variety of controls which are explained below in the diagrams.

Here are some other controls you should know if you are not familiar with watching videos on your computer.






From time-to-time YouTube will provide the option for the viewer to skip the current add by placing a link like the one below. Click that to return to the video if so desired.



 

If you stop the video for a break, note the time stamp indicated by the red line. The number of elapsed minutes/hours will show. Write that down in the event you have to find that place when you next start the video. Do this each time you are going to take a break of more than ten minutes or so.

Don’t worry if you forget. Viewers can start the video and click and drag the right-edge of the red line to move the video back and forth to find the desired location, i.e. any place in the video.

Once you click on the start arrowhead, the icon at the bottom left of the video frame changes to two short vertical lines. That is the “universal symbol” to stop a video. You can click on that whenever you want to pause or stop the video.

To start the video once again, just click the right facing arrowhead.

I hope you enjoy these matches as much as I did. Although we may never approach the skills exhibited in these matches, it is grand to see what can be done by some of the best players in the world!

Happy Viewing – Jeff Ross, Pickleball Enthusiast