Gary Pelphrey Cooler weather and the return of snowbirds mean one thing—pickleball season is in full swing! The SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) courts are buzzing again, and there’s plenty of action both locally and beyond. Pickleball keeps booming! For the fourth year in a row, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. And here’s…
David Zapatka Reader Ann Howard writes, “Hi David, been reading your column in Robson Ranch Views. I’m a 3.5 player, in my 70s, and got a new paddle almost three years ago. I play regularly two to three times per week. I have been making more mistakes than usual and wondering if it’s me, the paddle,…
Linda Schmitz My husband and I both enjoy an active lifestyle. So, naturally, community amenities were an important consideration when searching for a place to relocate. We started playing pickleball a few years ago for exercise and social connection, and we love the game. For this reason, pickleball courts were a highly sought-after amenity to…
Corey Loyd The SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) includes a wide range of members, but one standout group is the Octogenarians—those aged 80 to 89—who continue to impress both on and off the court. These remarkable players bring experience, tenacity, and sharp skills to every match, playing four to five times a week around golf games…
Gary Pelphrey As I sit here, benched by surgery and watching the Arizona sun turn the courts into a frying pan, I can’t help but hear Joni Mitchell singing in my head, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” Right now, my pickleball paddle is gathering dust, and when I am in the…
Rhonda Murray When I moved to SaddleBrooke at 55, people kept asking me the same thing: “Are you even old enough to live here?” I’d laugh and reply, “Apparently just barely—but I made it!” What I didn’t expect was how right it would feel. Before we even unpacked a single box, I had been eyeing…
David Zapatka From 2.0 to 5.0, we have all faced the “bangers,” those players who prefer to hit everything hard rather than play the soft game hitting dinks and drop shots. Would you like to defeat these hard hitters? Consider adopting these tips. Hit deep returns. Keep the banger at the baseline with a deep…
Linda Schmitz As summer arrives in the desert, opportunities to play pickleball are sometimes limited, especially for heat-sensitive individuals. Generally, the best times to play are early morning (starting at 7 a.m.) or in the evening once the sun sinks below the mountains and there is still plenty of light. Here are some other options…
Evelyn Wiltshire This winter, eight teams from the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) proudly represented our community in the Southern Region of the Arizona Pickleball Players League (APPL), competing against teams from Tucson, Oro Valley, Udall Park, The Ranch, and Quail Creek. Founded in 2012, APPL was established to provide adult players with a structured, team-based,…
David Zapatka You’re in a crosscourt dinking rally and your opponent continues to put you under pressure with consistent dinking that tries your patience. The rally becomes more difficult as your opponent pushes you closer to the sidelines with shots close to the net. How long can you dink like this? Is it a battle…