The Dink Newsletter: Shot Selection vs Shot Creation, MLP Daytona Wrap Up, and States are Hungry for More Pickleball
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Have you ever encountered this precarious situation before?
“It’s Jake from State Farm” is outdated.?The?new routine is: “It’s Sharon, from pickleball.”
Ever had?an?awkward pickleball situation? Leave your comment?here?for other readers to see and interact with.
Wrapping Up MLP Daytona
One adage in professional pickleball appears to hold true.?If you give? Ben Johns ?a?little bit of time to figure out?the?competition, he's going to win.
He did exactly that at?the?second Major League Pickleball event of 2023. Johns and?the?Seattle Pioneers?captured?the?title in front of?a?packed house in Daytona.
The?Pioneers drafted players on?the?rise back in December.?Etta Wright?and event MVP?Meghan Sheehan-Dizon?both made massive strides between Major League Pickleball Mesa and last weekend's competition.
Combine that with?the?highlight plays from "Erne King"?Tyler Loong, and this team was prime for?a?championship run.
Two goosebump-inducing moments from?the?event include:
Riley Newman?balled out in his return to Major League Pickleball . He led all players in point differential despite?the?SoCal?Hard Eights?missing?the?knockout stage.
There was another MLP return that outshined Newman's.?Maggie Brascia?rejoined?the?California BLQK Bears,?and propelled them to an undefeated group stage performance along with?a?trip to?the?finals.
Major League Pickleball Mesa Champs,?the?LA Mad Drops,?lost?Thomas Wilson?due to injury and their hopes of back-to-back championships died in semi-finals.?Tyson McGuffin?was also bit by?the?injury bug.?Brendon Long?filled in for McGuffin on?the?NY Hustlers?and?Hunter Johnson?subbed in for Wilson.
The?first ever?MLP blue card?was issued to?Pablo Tellez?for excessive foul language (What's?a?blue card? Brush up on MLP's new card system and newly introduced rules here). Tellez exchanged "pleasantries" with?a?spectator who was then asked to leave.
At?the?Challenger Level,?the?Bay Area Breakers?dynasty has begun. They were able to repeat as champions and now lead all teams in?the?standings to reach?the?Premier Level for 2024.
The?Season 1 championships are only 80 days away. Get ready, San Clemente, CA. Major League Pickleball is coming to town June 15.
Error Minimization Drill - No Attacks
This is?a?new one for most. We’ve only heard of?a?few people that utilize this…but man, is it effective.
The?gist:?you don’t hit ANY attacking shots for an entire game, at least.
No speedups. No overheads. No nothin’.
You can only hit third shots, resets, or?dinks. Think you can do it?
The?goal is to outlast your opponent and?minimize errors.?Consistency above all else. This is an extremely effective way to harness patience, improve consistency and force you to think analytically about shot selection; and just as importantly, shot?creation.
Shot Creation:?strategic shot placement that forces your opponent into playing certain balls to you.
领英推荐
Think of?a?third shot that lands at your opponent’s foot on?the?backhand side. Often, you’ll earn yourself?a?pop up.?Identifying these patterns is like learning cheat codes.
By contrast, you’ll also begin to better read your opponent’s shots and tendencies. You’ll develop an acumen for identifying smart vs not-so-smart shot selection. Perhaps you’ll notice?the?same patterns in your own game.
Can you win?a?game, or even?a?match, if you never hit an attacking shot?
We bet you can. In fact, we’d be willing to bet that this strategy is not only great for training, but can also win you most matches, particularly if you’re under 4.5.
Tournament Site Transitions
A?few months ago, Pickleball Play Solutions announced its merger with Pickleballbrackets.com. Now, they want to clear up some confusion about?the?future of both websites.
According to?a?statement, Pickleball Play Solutions is not going away.
“We are in transition to?a?brand-new tournament management platform with new features and services to bring to?the?pickleball competition community,” they said.
This process will take feedback?the?website has received from tournament directors and players to develop new capabilities for Pickleball Play Solutions , including:
Pickleball Play Solutions called this?a?“short update process” currently taking place.
The?States That Want Pickleball Most
If we told you that demand for pickleball in Florida grew by 50% last year, we’re guessing you’d believe us. What if we said 75%? Would you believe 100%?
If you’re about to throw your bet down, keep your eyes to?the?sky:?the?real answer is 236%.
That’s according to?the? World Sports Network (WSN) , an independent online sport and betting guide that recently used?places2play.org?& online search data to determine?the?“Top 20 states with?the?biggest demand for pickleball.”
Their research found that while Florida has at least 633 courts, in terms of?the?ratio of courts per capita,?the?Sunshine State only ranks 33rd…meaning they’re definitely in need of more courts to keep up with Floridians’ interest level.
We’ll hold back on revealing number 2 (check out?our blog?for?the?full list), but we can’t help mentioning?the?number 3 most pickleball-hungry state. What’s your guess?
Was it Rhode Island? It should have been, but we know many outside of New England forget?the?state even exists.
With only 33 courts in?the?entire state (albeit?the?smallest in?the?country), Rhode Island has?a?long way to go to meet its skyrocketing demand for pickleball.
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