Category: News

General news about the Huntsville Pickleball Club.

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Pat DeSantis reviews the SELKIRK Sport Maxima AMPED X5 Fiberflex paddle

I want to thank Selkirk and PickleballCentral for allowing me to experience and keep this paddle at no cost. I have played using this paddle for about four hours and also shared the use of this paddle with two female and one male club members in a combined additional three hours of use. The following is an overall evaluation of this paddle:

This paddle is great for players who wish to have the extra length and prefer a lighter paddle. If you’re looking for a paddle to help with your control rather than power, this is the one. You can put your serves across court with the control to land the ball deep or short. You are able to control your third shot drop into the kitchen to get a volley going. While involved in the volley, you have the extra length of the paddle to reach those close ones that might otherwise slip through the middle. If you are a player who likes to put spin on your serves or drop shots, this paddle will work for you. What I liked the most about this paddle is the comfortable grip and a balanced feeling when swiping the ball.

Both women who tried the paddle liked the grip and the fact that they could reach lobs that seemed out of reach with their current paddles. Both felt challenged at first by the paddles slimmer shape but admitted it helped them to concentrate more on watching the ball make contact with the paddle allowing for better control of their hits and placements of the ball.

The other male player stated he could play fine with the elongated style paddle and liked the feel of this one. He and the two women thanked me for letting them try this type of paddle and would consider the switch once they are ready to purchase another paddle.

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Chip Manning has been playing in Highlands, North Carolina.

Chip Manning, a member of the Huntsville Pickleball Club, has been playing in Highlands, North Carolina for a couple of weeks. He had the opportunity to play pickleball with Mima Jaušovec, the 1977 (tennis) French Open winner. In doubles, he and his PB partner were victorious twice and then her team won four times. Mima and Chip played as partners and they won. To quote Chip “So far my biggest claim to fame in PB!”.

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Senior Center Fund Raiser.

The Senior Center Fundraiser will be held on Saturday,  August 5,  2017 at the Jackson Center at 6:00 PM.

Click the link below to view the flyer for further information.

Senior_Center_Fundraiser_2017_Flyer

If you do not want to attend the fundraiser but want to make a donation, please make the check payable to the Senior Center with auction on the memo line.

The address is:

Huntsville Madison County Senior Center
2200 Drake Avenue
Huntsville,  Alabama, 35805

The fundraiser and donations will be used to support senior center programs and make them affordable for all.

Thank You

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Coaches Corner is coming soon.

A new area will soon be added to our front page.  It’s called Coaches Corner.  Periodically, tips and advice for our club members will be posted.  Anyone can contribute.  Just send your suggestions to Sheila Davidson.

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New leadership and more pickleball.

New Leadership –  Please welcome our new Officers of the Huntsville Pickleball Club:

Chairperson – Sheila Davidson

Vice-Chair – Bill Payne

Secretary – Joette Carter

Dick Raymont continues to serve as our Treasurer.

Special Day – Monday, May 30, 2016 Memorial Day: All indoor Pickleball locations closed.

More Pickleball – Another 2 1/2 hours of playing time each week:

Beginning May 31st, every Tuesday evening from 6:15 to 8:45 at Berachah Gym.
See you on the courts.

Gary

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March Pickleball Madness

All new for March 2016.  Our default playing format for the month of March at Optimist Park and Fern Bell will be Playing Level Court Designation.  At each location one court will be designated for Intermediate and Developing Players, one court for Semi-Competitive Players, and one court for Competitive Players.  Adjustments may be made based on attendance to balance playing time.

Remember… just like Almond Joy and Mounds… some days you feel like a pro, some days you don’t, so you decide which level is best suited for you.

Please let me know how you think this is working out during the month so we can make a decision for the future.

Evenings beginning March 1st at Fern Bell.  Every Tuesday and Thursday come join us for evening play at Fern Bell from 6:00 to 8:30 pm.  At long last cabin fever ends for those who have not been able to take advantage of the winter (basketball restricted) daytime only hours.

A bonus day.  On a trial basis, beginning March 2nd, we will be playing at Fern Bell every Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:45 am.  Courts will be designated for New and Developing Players through Semi-Competitive Players.  (Note: Competitive Players are encouraged to join the group at Optimist Park.)

Reminders.  At Max Luther on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am to Noon we continue to work with New and Developing Players and have two courts for Intermediate and Semi-Competitive Players.

And more.  Recreational play at all levels continues at Brahan Spring four days a week and one day a week at the Senior Center.  We also hold a New and Developing Player Clinic for those 60 and above at the Senior Center.

Outreach… The Huntsville Pickleball Club is also currently:  Providing instruction for over 30 players through adult programs at Learning Quest and OLLI.  Supporting new Pickleball start-ups in other parts of Alabama.  Assisting with Pickleball in our schools.

How can you help?  You are, by being a member of the Huntsville Pickleball Club.

Thank you,

P.S. Have you checked out our Facebook Page or Web-site this week?

See you on the courts.

Gary

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Schedule changes, Congratulations & more.

Two schedule changes

Saturday play at Max Luther is over for the summer.  The other four playing times at Max Luther during the week continue as scheduled.  We expect Saturday Pickleball to resume there this fall.

Monday, May 25th all locations will be closed in observance of Memorial Day.

A big “Thank You” to Bill Payne and Jim Montague

Bill and Jim lead a very successful Tournament where 40 of our members participated in a double elimination three division tournament.  We also had more than 30 spectators on the bleachers including family, friends, newer Pickleball players and potential players.

Congratulations to the winners of our Spring Tournament

Division 1   Peggy Montague and Kay Heckman

Division 2   Lee Harris and Corbin Warfel

Division 3   Jack Wright and Steven Weckwarth

A tip from the “Pro” (no, not me)
Take Care of Your Paddle

Taking good care of your paddle will extend its life. Here are some tips …

  • Do not slap the net, your leg or any other surface with the paddle.
  • Try not to take “divots” by scraping the ground. This action will eventually cause breakage at the “neck” of your paddle. Just look at your edge guard at the top of the paddle. It will tell you if you take too many “divots.”
  • Do not slap the edge of paddle on the ground.

These are sure ways of breaking the paddle at the neck. And it doesn’t happen instantaneously. It usually happens after you have hit an overhead or a hard smash at the net. Why? Because the culmination of all the misuse results in weakening the neck of the paddle.

You know who you are…

Members Only

Have you checked out the Members Only section of the Huntsville Pickleball Club web site; http://www.pickleball-huntsville.com.  When you get a chance… sign-up, log on, stay informed and share your information.

From your friends @ USAPA and IFP

Rule Revision:  April 20, 2015

3.O. Non-Volley Zone. The section of court adjacent to the net in which you cannot volley the ball. It includes all lines surrounding the zone. The NVZ is only two dimensional and does not rise above the court surface.

6.D.1. Players will call the lines on their side of the court (excluding the non-volley line on a serve — i.e., short serve, if being called by a referee).

6.D.5. No player should question an opponent’s call unless asked (except that player may appeal a call to the referee in an officiated match). A player should ask the opponent’s opinion if the opponent was in a better position to see the call. An opponent’s opinion, if requested,  shall be accepted. The opinion of a player looking down the line is more likely to be accurate than one looking across the line.

9.A. The non-volley zone is the area of the court (not the space above it) bounded by the two sidelines, the non-volley line, and the net. The non-volley line and the sidelines are included in the non-volley zone.

9.G. For non-officiated play, non-volley zone faults may be called by any player on either team.

Happy Birthday

The big “50” coming up soon.

See you all on the courts.

Gary

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Pickleball News 05/03/2015.

First, a change in our schedule.  Evening Pickleball at Optimist Park has been changed from Thursday to Monday.  Beginning tomorrow, Monday, May 4th, we will be playing Pickleball at Optimist Park from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.  All the same competition, just on a different night.

So… We are playing at two locations on Monday evening:

Recreational and Intermediate @ Max Luther 6:00 to 8:30 pm

Semi-Competitive and Competitive @ Optimist Park 5:30 to 8:30 pm

Hot of the press: Pat McInnis and Sherry Barnes took 2nd place in the recent Pickleball tournament held in Fairfield Glades, Tenn.

Congratulations Ladies!

Our Website now has a “members only” section.  We now have a secure location to share information with other members of the Huntsville Pickleball Club.  This will allow members to make contact, set up games, discover who may be new to Pickleball, put a name to a face or a face to a name, etc..  Please, when you have a chance, go to http://www.pickleball-huntsville.com and enter your information to share with other members.  If you have any difficulty with the input, let me know and I will help.

Celebrate with a game of Pickleball.  Tomorrow is the “Official Anniversary” of Pickleball in Huntsville.  On May 4, 2010 Tony Horn shared the game with six others at the Senior Center.  To mark this auspicious occasion, Y Pickleball (your unofficial designated supplier of Pickleball equipment in Huntsville and Madison County) has donated five “Pickleball” t-Shirts for a fun HPC Members give-away this month.  To qualify for a drawing for the first one, respond with the name of the only current active player who was on the court five years ago.  We will draw from all correct responses in five days.

To qualify for the Second T-Shirt Drawing please let us know… At what level are you playing Pickleball?  Novice, Recreational, Semi-Competitive, Competitive?  Where do you want to be?  What can we do to get you there?  Are you having a great time playing recreationally and want to play with others at that level?

To qualify for the number three shirt drawing, play Pickleball five times this month.  Make sure you are signed-in and you will be automatically entered.

The fine print… one win per person.

See you on the courts,
Gary