Donnie and Patty Gallegos Join The Pickleball Rocks Team

by | Oct 1, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

We are so pleased to announce our first ever Pickleball Rocks brand sponsored players.

We have been searching for a couple who embodies what Pickleball Rocks is all about, and we feel we have found the perfect match for us.

Whether it’s playing in a tournament, teaching a clinic or just horsing around on the courts, Donnie and Patty Gallegos certainly embody our motto of “Helping Pickleball Grow” as they travel from community to community, having fun and spreading the good word about pickleball.

We are truly excited and proud to have them wearing and promoting the Pickleball Rocks apparel brand.

And equally excited for them as this sponsorship also provides them with an exclusive paddle sponsorship from our branding partners at Gearbox Sports. Watch for Donny and Patty as they use the new technology GX5 and GX6 paddles.  Hit them up for a demo.  I’m sure they will be happy to help.

So please help us welcome Donnie and Patty to the Pickleball Rocks team

Welcome To The Pickleball Rocks Team
Donnie and Patty Gallegos

Why Pickleball is Now Unstoppable

by | Aug 9, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage

It was March 14th, 2020.  I was on a jet on the way home from the just cancelled USAPA Mid South Regional pickleball tournament.  Not to sound too dramatic, but it was the day that pickleball died.  Well at least it went on life support.  Tournament directors began cancelling tournaments right and left, followed soon by that painful sound of chains and padlocks being put on public courts all across the USA.

Yes, there were private courts that were able to keep the pulse alive, but for all intents and purposes, the sport of pickleball ceased almost overnight.  And with it came the demise of many small pickleball businesses and pickleball entrepreneurs who simply couldn’t find enough business to keep their pickleball dreams alive.

For over 10 years, players have bought and supported our Pickleball Rocks family’s brand of clothing and apparel. You made Pickleball Rocks the best selling and most recognized pickleball apparel brand in the country by far, and for that we are eternally grateful.

But yes, the COVID19 pandemic has taken its toll on our business too.  The shutdown of pickleball meant we could no longer be a vendor at the 35-40 yearly tournaments on our schedule.  And more impactful was the fact that with people being shut in, they quit shopping online for pickleball apparel and paddles.  Their focus understandably went to buying toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other essentials for survival.

So in the words of Albert Einstein, “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”

For us, the virus forced us to hunker down in the office and while we have been locked down, we have been working harder than ever before.  The result is a brand new line of apparel that we are extremely excited about.  It will include both adult apparel and a full line of kids shirts and shorts.  We know there are still very few tournaments and we know your focus may be on anything else but pickleball clothing, but we hope you will like what we’ve been up to and help us by telling your friends.

The new apparel brand is called Unstoppable Pickleball and the reason for the name is simple.  We believe that you, through your tireless efforts to grow pickleball, have made the sport simply UNSTOPPABLE.  
The story behind the new brand name is all about you, Pickleball Nation.

See the full UNSTOPPABLE PICKLEBALL STORY and APPAREL here

And as pickleball comes back to life, whether it’s a Pickleball Rocks purchase or a new Unstoppable Pickleball purchase or simply helping us share the new brand with your family and friends, our sincerest thanks.  

Because as everyone knows, it is because of you that Pickleball Rocks!

The Unstoppable Pickleball Story

#In This Together Pickleball

by | Jun 10, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

Healing The World Through Pickleball

In trying times, the sport of pickleball just has a way of bringing people back together again.  The #inthistogether hashtag has become synonymous with healing during the COVID19 pandemic.  But beyond that, we believe we are all in this world and need to work together for the greater good of everyone.  This shirt is just our tiny part to help. 

Buy An #InThisTogether Shirt

How To Stay Positive During a Coronavirus Quarantine

by | Apr 13, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, but sometimes it feels like it’s been months since we’ve been able to hang with our friends or play pickleball.

Actually it’s only been a little over a month since I flew home from the USAPA Mid South Regional as president Trump was issuing his initial “15 Day Plan To Slow The Spread” and pickleball tournaments worldwide began to shut down.

I know pickleball is terribly important to us all, and it really is tough to not focus on that loss.  But it is troubling to read some of the online posts about people actually going into mental depression already.  I know some of it is real and some people are truly struggling with the isolation.   But I also believe that a major portion of the “stay inside” gloom and doom could be prevented with the proper attitude and a little bit of positive action.

I don’t know what you are doing with all this new stay at home time, but I have found that the more active I keep myself, the faster the days go by.  And each day brings us a little closer to the eventual end of the isolation.  And trust me, the end is coming.  There are many amazing minds working on new testing techniques and medical technologies and medicines and cures and vaccines.  As they always have in the past, they will come up with the things needed to successfully battle this virus the next time it comes around. 

So what am I doing in the meantime to stay up and positive through it all?

Well, I have had to change the way I approach each day a bit. 
I am now doing three things each and every day to help me personally stay positive.

Number 1) I do at least one thing for our Pickleball Rocks business every day. That may be writing a pickleball article or blog post. I may be creating a Pickleball Rocks Training Academy training video or I might work on a new t-shirt design. So if you have a business that is down, spend a little specific time doing something for it. It may be just working on some creative marketing ideas for when things open back up.
If you are staying home from your job, try to find some small thing you can do that will help you with your job when you go back or find something, just one small thing each day, to do around the house.  Maybe it’s cleaning a floor or rearranging a closet or drawers.  Just actively do one thing each day that you can view as an accomplishment.  A sense of accomplishment is important for all of us.

 

THE SECOND THING that I’m doing a bit different from my normal days?  I pick up the phone and call and talk live to two people a day. I may have a specific reason for the call.  But many times I just reach out to see how someone is doing. It might be a relative. It might be a pickleball player in my contact list.  But I call at least two human beings a day.  It really does help to have a live conversation with a friend. Having that connection is priceless.

 

Then number 3) This one is actually easier when I’m not traveling so much. During this stay at home time, I make absolutely sure I get at least 20 minutes of exercise each and every day.  I know you’ve heard it, but there is just something magical happens right after you exercise.  The adrenaline flows and you just feel great. I’m thankful that Tim Kuss and Scott Moore introduced me to blood flow restriction training last year.  It has allowed me to pack a full workout into a nice compact 20 minutes a day.  Very simple, very easy, but great results. And what a difference it makes in your attitude when you know you’ve accomplished something so meaningful for your own good.

So I do encourage you to get some exercise every day.  Whether it’s something as simple as taking a walk or doing some stretches on the floor, or spending an hour lifting weights, DO SOMETHING TO BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE. 

For me personally it is a 20 minute light weight workout with the B3 Blood Flow Resistance bands.  Can anyone do it?  I truly believe that just like pickleball, anyone from 9 to 90 can do blood flow resistance training.  If you have any questions about blood flow resistance training, check out this video.
Using light weights or therapy bands, BFR training is simply the best way to exercise I’ve found.  Thanks again Scott and Tim.

Of course, these three things don’t completely fill my day, but they do nicely break it up.
And most importantly they give me something to look forward to each and every day. 
It really is just a little different approach to my days at home.  It works for me and I hope it can work for you too.

I look forward to seeing you all on the courts again soon, but until then Pickleball Nation,
stay active, stay positive and stay safe.

Rocket

For Tournament Directors: Postpone or Cancel Your Pickleball Tournament?

by | Mar 28, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings, Tournament and Clinic Highlights

Deciding Whether To Cancel Or To Postpone Your Tournament:
That is a tough question, with many things to consider.

Dear Tournament Directors, we don’t envy you at all during these very uncertain times. Actually, we never envy you because we have been tournament directors and we know the work that goes into pulling off a top notch pickleball tournament.

So the new COVID-19 virus has ground every pickleball playing event to an abrupt halt, and you had a tournament scheduled.

You had people registered, you had sponsors lined up with money committed, and you had vendors, ready willing and able to give your players a first class tournament experience.

We are sorry to see you in this predicament, but the reality is, you have to make a decision.  Will you cancel your tournament and deal with everything that goes with it?  Or will you postpone your tournament til a later date?

As you make this very important decision, there are a number of things to take into consideration.

From our personal experience from working and supporting hundreds of tournaments across the country, we have some observations that might help you.

We know that every tournament needs players, sponsors and vendors.  These are a given.Throughout the year, there are anywhere from 15 – 20 good tournaments already on the PickleballTournaments.com or PickleballBrackets.com websites every single weekend.

If a tournament must be cancelled altogether, it is a reasonable expectation that, when you hold it next year on the same basic dates, you can get the same basic number of players back for it, along with the same basic sponsors and vendors.

If however you decide to postpone your tournament and move it from this spring or early summer to late summer or fall, then things will change drastically.

Since there were already 15 – 20 good tournaments already scheduled each weekend for late summer and fall, you will now be competing for players who were likely already registered or committed to one of those tournaments.  So make sure you are counting on a lower number of registered players for your tournament.

The same basic premise for your sponsors.  Business, whether pickleball related or not, are going through a really tough time right now, so expect that when things open back up for pickleball, their marketing budgets will be greatly reduced, especially if they had already committed funds or resources to the already scheduled late summer and fall tournaments.  

As for vendors, they make a wonderful addition for the players at any tournament.  Unfortunately, some of your smaller vendors may not survive the crisis.  But for those who do survive, we can assure you they are not going to be able to pay the exorbitant vendor fees that have been so commonplace in the last couple of years.  Our hope is that vendors will support those tournaments who support them.  Make it easy for them to come back to your tournament.

So if you do decide to postpone and reschedule your tournament for the late summer or early fall, make sure you understand the obstacles and the consequences for everyone involved.

Pickleball will rise again, stronger than ever, but if everyone tries to operate tournaments and bootcamps and clinics all at the same time, it will only dilute the efforts of everybody.

So, don’t take your tournament planning decision lightly.  There are a lot of moving parts.   Plan your tournament carefully and we will all be better off for it.

We are extremely thankful for those who have reached out and continued to support Pickleball Rocks during the pandemic.

We will not forget it.

Pickleball Rocks because of all of you.

Rodney “Rocket” Grubbs
CEO: The Pickleball Rocks Clothing & Equipment Company
www.PickleballRocks.com