Raymond H. Goettsch With great appreciation, SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association, Inc. (SPA) announces that local realty group, The Moore Advantage Team, has made a generous donation to assist in the expansion of pickleball at SaddleBrooke. For this sponsorship donation, SPA has designated court 4 as The Moore Advantage Team Court. The Moore Advantage Team is a…
Raymond H. Goettsch According to USA Pickleball, more than 4 million Americans now play pickleball. So, it should not be surprising that professional baseball players also play pickleball. However, it was surprising that relief pitchers for the Chicago Cubs play pickleball during home games at Wrigley Field. The Cubs pitching coach, Tommy Hottovy, purchased a pickleball…
Raymond H. Goettsch Many of the members of the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) are youngish, that is to say, in their 50s, or even 40s. In talking to these members, you learn that they chose to relocate to SaddleBrooke for the express purpose of playing pickleball. Jen and Paul Massara are 46 and 55, respectively.…
Raymond H. Goettsch With great appreciation, SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association, Inc. (SPA) announces that Comcast/Xfinity has made a generous donation to assist in the expansion of pickleball at SaddleBrooke. For this sponsorship donation, SPA has designated court five as the Xfinity court. Jim Schlote, SPA fundraising co-chair, presented the Xfinity signage for court five to Gina Grifon, community account…
Shawne Cryderman Any SaddleBrooke resident is welcome to attend this introductory lesson. At the end of the intro lesson, participants will know the basics of the game and be encouraged to join the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) and continue with the Assisted Play program. The only prerequisite or “must have” for the intro lesson is…
David Zapatka Is pickleball a good bet? The Pickleball Players Association (PPA) and Genius Sports, a publicly traded sports data and tech company, recently announced a long-term deal that sets the stage for sports betting in pickleball. Can you imagine walking into one of our local casinos, hearing raucous cheers, and seeing a pickleball match…
David Zapatka Reader Liz Houser writes, “I just moved to SaddleBrooke in April and learned to play pickleball in early May thanks to my enthusiastic neighbor Shawne. I just read your article about Common mistakes numbers 11 and 12, I found them to be very helpful. Would you be so kind as to send me…
Raymond H. Goettsch The SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) has a large roster of members who are 80 years of age or older. For the record, those members include Phil Barney, Jeb Benter, Don Burkhead, Ellen and George Citron, Silvio D’Arco, Patrick Donlan, Mel Durchslag, Rich Flynn, Rich Hagerty, Bill Keese, Tom Kornmesser, Anita Lohman, Tom…
David Zapatka 2020 was a crazy year. Many pickleball tournaments were cancelled. Public pickleball courts were closed and padlocked. That being said, Arizona pickleball players found ways to safely play, and, even through the pandemic, new players found pickleball in record numbers. For 2020, Pickleball Rocks Clothing and Equipment Company recognized a mixed doubles pair…
Nancy Dowell Traveling to Naples, Fla., in April, Linda Bruder was not sure what to expect. She had been invited to enter the 2020 tournament by earning a gold medal in a qualifying tournament previously. Due to COVID-19 protocols, the tournament was postponed to 2021. Attracting thousands of top players, this is a very elite…