Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

You know when you find out about something you wish you had known before? Today, we'll discover what you weren't warned about before taking up pickleball, visit a court that's not on land, hear from the head of an iconic American sports brand, and a whole lot more.

Let’s go! 👇

We all know that being physically active is healthy for our bodies, and that competition (just a little or a lot) is fun. Enter... sports.

But sports aren't just fun and healthy — they can also give us many lessons about life.

All sports have the power to reveal life lessons; and individual sports, such as wrestling, golf, and tennis (singles), teach us so much about resilience, confidence, and determination.

Team sports, however, bring yet another element to the table because they also build important social skills, such as teamwork, trust, and unity.

So where does pickleball fit in? We would argue it offers lessons that may even be more applicable to life because it works on building and developing 1 on 1 relationships.

As you can all attest to, you might be teamed up with someone you love playing with one game. And the next game, your partner may be someone you can't stand, followed by another partner who is somewhere in the middle.

That's life. You won't always see eye to eye with everyone you cross paths with. But you will have to work with that person in order to achieve a goal.

So for any of you parents out there who are considering a variety of sports for your kids to get into, you can place pickleball at the top of your list.

As for the rest of us, we already know how great pickleball is. But if you hadn't yet stopped to think about the 1 on 1 relationship-building it provides, now you can. 😉

Mix Up the Spots on Your Dinks!

You should always hit your dinks to different spots in the kitchen. The pros rarely, if ever, dink to the same spot more than 2-3 times in a row. If you want to dink to the same opponent several times in a row, you should try to hit different spots on their side. Hitting to different spots will keep your opponent from getting into a rhythm, keep them guessing, and make them uncomfortable. If you mix up your spots well enough, you can get your opponent to step off the kitchen line or give you a high dink that can then be attacked. High level pickleball is all about making your opponents uncomfortable, and moving your dinks around is one of the best ways this can be done.

Can You Spot the Erne Lob? 😲

As you saw in the story above, playing pickleball can be flat-out addictive — in the best possible way. Why? Because when you play pickleball, you're having fun, exercising, and spending time with friends. So if you're going to have an addiction, then pickleball is a pretty good one to have. 💪  

But have you noticed some aches and pains recently? Like sore muscles that keep you from playing as much as you'd like to? That's not fun, but there is something that can help these days. A company called Picklebalm wants pickleballers to play more and hurt less. Here's to playing for as many hours and years as possible. 🍻

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could ask Matt and Aaron (who are both 5.0+ players by the way) your very own pickleball-related questions? Well you can on Monday, August 25th from 6pm to 7pm EST when the guys will go LIVE on The Pickleball Clinic’s Facebook group and Instagram account!

We've featured pickleball courts overlooking water in the distance and right alongside the water at beaches. But actually floating on water? That's entering new territory. In fact, it’s actually brand-new territory because today’s featured court is the first regulation-size modular floating pickleball court in the world!

Located in San Antonio, Florida's Mirada Lagoon, the court was installed as a trial for the summer. But evidently it has been extremely popular among novices and seasoned pickleball players alike. There is a charge to enter the water-themed facility, but once you're in, it's just $10 per group of up to eight people for a 45 minute session. Not too bad for getting to play pickleball on water. 💦

We hope you're sitting down because it's time to once again find out what all of you think about an important pickleball question.

As many of you know, we like to ask questions to our community on social media, including our Instagram and Facebook accounts, as well as our Facebook group.

You keep giving us amazing responses so we keep posing more questions! A recent query was "What's Something That Nobody Warned You About When Playing Pickleball?” Let's hear what you said...

A ton of you talked about how it's an addiction and that it's almost like joining a cult. We totally agree with that! But don't blame us for not giving a warning — we always warn new players to clear out their calendars before learning to play. 😉

One person commented on the cost of playing, "You’ll spend a fortune on paddles, shoes, lessons, cute clothes and knee braces. 🤣" Maybe not a "fortune," but we hear you. 

Another person left a very insightful comment: "The mental work you have to put in to be a better player." So true!

There were definitely a fair share of comments about being sore afterwards and getting injured. But most people conceded that they just needed to take stretching more seriously.

And one person wrote "Bruises, but from my own paddle. 🤭" That’s funny. But come to think of it, how exactly do you hit yourself multiple times with your own paddle? Maybe you're holding the paddle wrong?  

Someone else wrote, "That you can’t turn pro just by doing rec plays. 😂" That's probably true. Although it depends who your rec plays are with. If they're 5.5+ rec plays, then you might have a shot. 

A few people also mentioned that pickleball has once again made them feel like a kid. That's truly remarkable, as there aren't too many things in life that can do that. Long live pickleball!  

You should get the kids started young — like not-old-enough-to-walk young. 💪

Another week, another couple of gold medals for pro pickleball player, Richard Livornese Jr. (who’s created a ton of videos with The Pickleball Clinic and started off as a coach for Montclair Pickleball), who dominated the English Open by winning the Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles tournaments while using the new Engage Alpha paddle, which is set to release soon.

Will Engage paddles make you play like Richard Livornese Jr.? Probably not, sorry. 😉 But will it allow you to reach your full potential. Heck yeah! Because when you play with an Engage paddle, you know you're playing with one of the very best paddles in the world. Check out Engage Pickleball’s whole line of paddles, and use code "clinic10" at checkout for 10% off.

We often show you a specific pickleball shot in this section, but today, we're taking you behind the scenes of one of the premiere sports brands in America — Franklin Sports. Aaron sits down with the president of Franklin Sports, Adam Franklin, a third-generation owner of this family business that was created in 1946. If you’re interested in marketing, branding, sports history or pickleball, then you've got to check this out. 👇

Local police and fire departments have participated in friendly competitions in the past, but this is the first "Battle of the Badges" we know about that chose to settle the score with pickleball. Jeannie Padgett, the owner of PickleZone in Holland, Ohio, came up with the idea as a way to show the softer side of the local first responders and to raise money for mental health. Firefighters and police officers often interact with one another at the scenes of dangerous emergencies, so this friendly pickleball competition allowed them to get together in a fun and lighthearted environment.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic