Pickleball Rocks Opens First Retail Brick and Mortar Store In Brookville

by | Nov 16, 2022 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

If you haven’t heard of the sport of pickleball, you soon will.  Simply turn on the TV and on any given weekend you’ll see players competing in tournaments and leagues across the country and around the world.  Yes, over 70 countries now have people playing the fun sport of pickleball. Television shows like Good Morning America and The Today Show have recently showcased pickleball, and the news is abuzz about the fact that people like Tom Brady, Lebron James and Mark Cuban now own Major League Pickleball teams.

We personally have been playing pickleball in the tiny town of Brookville, Indiana since 2008. And yes, thanks to Brookville friends and residents Marilyn Hedrick, Larry Sheets and Charlie and Betty Allen, pickleball has been played here since 2006.

So with the simple cutting of a ribbon, we’ve launched the very first Pickleball Rocks Shop at 110 Main Street in our hometown of Brookville, Indiana.

This new site will be the first midwest store dedicated solely to the sport of pickleball and further solidifies Pickleball Rocks as the country’s best known pickleball apparel brand.  The shop will handle much of the world famous Pickleball Rocks branded apparel as well as their new branded paddles and portable nets. Additionally people will be able to demo paddles from major paddle makers like Gearbox, Selkirk, Engage and Pro-Lite Sports.

 

 

USA Pickleball Rocks
Pickleball Rocks Shop Mens Department

The store has its own indoor dinking court plus, during good weather, will have an outdoor demo court for trying out your future new paddle.  We are excited to move the Pickleball Rocks administrative office to 110 Main Street and additionally the new shop will act as the launch pad for all new Pickleball Rocks products before they go for sale online.

We are thankful for our many customers and fans. Pickleball Rocks because of you!

Why The Spin Serve Is Here To Stay

by | Oct 19, 2022 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage

The spin serve is here to stay. What????

Seems like everyone is buzzing about the possibility of USA Pickleball banning the spin serve starting in 2023. And people are worrying about how we are going to be able to call it against our opponent if a referee is not there to do it for us.

 
We’ve read the proposed rule change and one critical thing popped out.  It states that a ball will naturally have some spin on it when it leaves your hand during the serve. That is very true.  It is really tough to toss a pickleball and have it exhibit zero spin.
 

What that statement told me was that USA Pickleball is doing a great job of keeping the intent of the original rules makers intact. The most basic rules of pickleball included the fact that there would be no decisive advantage gained through the serve.  That is why it has always been an underhanded serve.

So USA Pickleball is not trying to eliminate spin completely. They are eliminating what we would call gimmicky spin.

There will be no spinning the ball off our paddle.
There will be no holding the ball with your thumb and index finger and squeezing the ball hard to make it spin fast.
There will be no twisting of the wrist to make the ball spin different directions.

All of these things are very easy to see, and all cause excessive spin which can in turn make the ball do some crazy things when it hits the court on the opposite side of the net.

If this rule change passes the final board of directors vote, this type of spin will be against the rules. Is that a bad thing? NO!

My personal opinion, and it doesn’t have to be yours, is that I love keeping the opposing teams, offensive and defensive, as equal as possible.  That makes for great battles, great rallies, great games and great matches at every level.

So some are worrying about how to tell if their opponent is putting too much spin on the ball.

The simple answer is: DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.  Spin has been on everybody’s serve since the first rally was played in 1965. The pure fact is that a little natural spin causes NO advantage for the server.  The kind of spin that makes the ball jump and do crazy things can only be accomplished by an exaggerated motion like the ones mentioned above.  You have to put some serious spin on a pickleball to make it move or jump, and those exaggerated motions are very easy to spot.

If your opponent is tossing the ball and it has a little spin on it, he or she is not breaking the rule. And the only spin they will be able to generate will come from their paddle making contact when striking the ball. Now that spin is a topic for another time.

In the meantime, have fun and spin away with your hand all you want……until January 2023.

See you on the courts,
Rocket

Click Here For Rocket’s Video Explanation

Click Here To See Rocket’s Video Demonstration and Explanation.

Pickleball Rocks Welcomes New Team/Club Sales and Event Sales Director

by | Oct 7, 2022 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

Pickleball 4 Kids

Today we are welcoming long-time sales professional, Kevin Lindley to the Pickleball Rocks team.
Kevin joins the team as our new National Team Sales and Event Sales Director.
Besides selling our famous Pickleball Rocks clothing all across the country, helping the sport grow has been our passion and mission for over 13 years. We’ve worked with communities, small and large, and we have worked with players of every age and ability level.

We are excited to announce that we have added a new business division to our Pickleball Rocks parent company. The new division was added to specifically sell low cost pickleball paddles and equipment to elementary, middle and high school physical education programs as well as college recreation centers, college club teams and YMCA’s.

Even more exciting is the fact that this new equipment division of Pickleball Rocks will be headed up by former Reebok National Sales Director, Kevin Lindley. Kevin has the dream resume for this new position. On top of his stint with Reebok, Kevin has spent the last 15 years leading the Team Sales group at Indianapolis Racquet Club, selling tennis equipment directly to colleges and schools across the country.

When we first talked to Kevin about him selling our pickleball equipment to those same schools and colleges, I literally held my breath until he said yes.

Soon we will be launching the new Pickleball Rocks branded paddle line along with a selection of low cost balls and portable nets. Everything in our new line will be amazingly affordable for our school and organizational customers.

For the last 6 months we have been stockpiling low cost paddles that are earmarked specifically to be sold to this new youth market.  Some of the paddle names you may recognize while some soon-to-be-added paddles you may not be familiar with, yet.

Our first project, code named “Pickleball 4 Kids” will use these low cost paddles to get the kids of America playing this great sport.  Growing pickleball at the youth level nationwide has been a passion of ours for years, and now, with Kevin’s help, we are going to help introduce the kids at warp speed. We believe every phys ed teacher and recreational program director will love working with Kevin.

When asked about his joining the Pickleball Rocks Team, Kevin said, “It really is a dream job.  I’ve absolutely loved working in tennis sales for years, and now I get to be involved with, not only the fastest growing sport in America, but I get to be an integral part of one of the best know pickleball brands on the planet. Everyone seems to know Pickleball Rocks and its products and their reputation for helping pickleball grow.  I’m super excited to get started.  I love that everyone on the team has the same vision, to get everyone playing, no matter what age they might be.”

So let your school know about Kevin and he will be in touch.

For a FREE equipment quote for your school, college or organization, contact Kevin at [email protected]

Kevin Lindley

To Learn More About The Pickleball 4 Kids Project and the recreational paddles available go to https://pickleballrocks.com/pickleball-4-kids/

Remember When Pickleball….

by | Aug 6, 2022 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

Memories are wonderful things, especially when it comes to pickleball.
We remember important milestones in the growth of the sport and we remember personal events that continue to make us smile (or sometimes cry).
I remember playing my first USAPA Nationals in Buckeye, Arizona.
As a new 16 year old, just getting my feet wet, I won the Mens Singles 5.0 Open division and pocketed my first pickleball paycheck of $1,000.  Wait, maybe that is just a fantasy.
But I do actually remember that first nationals for me.  It was in Buckeye, and I did manage to play in a big men’s singles bracket and come in 4th in my first singles tournament.  And I remember that almost every court at that nationals used a standard portable net on a taped tennis court. I also remember how hard it was to buy a paddle 13 years ago. Today we think it’s tough to buy a paddle because there are thousands of paddles to choose from.  I remember that I could only find three companies online who sold paddles, ProLite Sports, Pickleball Inc and Fran Meyer’s Pickleball Stuff.  I also remember that if you liked one of the paddles they sold, you couldn’t buy it on their website and pay for it with a credit card.  You had to mail them a check, and when your check cleared, they shipped your paddle. That was only 13 years ago.I remember that only 13 years ago, that clearly the best player on the planet was a guy by the name of Pat Kane.  I couldn’t find anyone to argue that, and Pat was in his early 60’s at that time. He simply won everything against everybody.

I remember living in southeast Indiana only 13 years ago and not being able to find any pickleball courts in Cincinnati (except suburb Middletown) or Indianapolis or Dayton.  Some volunteers in our tiny town of Brookville built 2 nice ones so we could play.  Those two courts became the seeds that spawned many midwest communities, towns and cities.

I remember that 13 years ago, seemingly nobody had ever heard of the sport of pickleball.  “What’s that?”  You spent a lot of time telling the pickleball story, especially the dog part. 🙂

I remember when every tournament treated players the same, no matter what level or age they were. We all shared a nice hospitality area and everyone pitched in to make sure everyone had a good time.I remember the joy on people’s faces when they would show up at our courts for the first time and they were welcomed with open arms to come out and play.  No paddle?  No problem, here’s one of mine. That culture by the way has never changed at our courts. Sad that some places don’t create the same experience for those new players. But that’s for another article.

I remember when there was no money prizes to play for and I remember when a tournament didn’t really need big corporate sponsors to be able to hold a good event.

The local grocer donated the bananas and the local insurance agent furnished the bottled water for the players.

Your memories of course are different from mine.
The key point about my memories is that they are from only the last 13 years.  It is amazing how the sport has changed and continues to change.  But it has seen all this change in only the last 10-13 years.   With recreational players and amateur tournament players growing in record numbers, it is a fun time to be a part of this great sport.  It continues to make memories for me, my family and all my friends who will soon be playing.
All good memories indeed.
While you play pickleball today, make yourself some memories and help someone else make some good ones too.
So Let’s Play,
Rocket

2021 Pickleball Rocks Player of the Year Announced

by | Jan 1, 2022 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Pickleball Rocks Players and Clubs of the Month

Pickleball Rocks Players Of The Year: Zane Navratil and the Certified Referees

During the year, people throughout Pickleball Nation email us or use our NominateAPlayer.com website to tell us about their favorite players. They tell us about players who have dominated in tournament play, but many times they also tell us about players who have had tremendous impacts on their communities or towns or even the game of pickleball overall.  (We really like those.)

Throughout the year we may recognize a player, club or community of the month, or we may give a simple Facebook shout out. They are all deserving.  But once a year, we pull together all the nominations and feedback, to finally determine who is most deserving to be called the Pickleball Rocks Player of the Year.     It’s certainly not an easy task.

Past winners include amazing people such as Riley and Lindsey Newman, Stephanie Lane, Ben Johns, Leigh and Anna Leigh Waters, Enrique Ruiz, Jim and Yvonne Hackenberg, Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner, Daniel Moore and Scott Moore, Aspen Kern, Simone Jardim, Dick Johnson and more.
You’ll notice all our past winners are definitely great players, but you will also immediately recognize they all are very giving of their time and talents to “help pickleball grow”, which of course is the foundation of our Pickleball Rocks mission.

This first player hit us from both angles. Not only has hard work and
perseverance paid off big time in his game, his impact on the actual
game itself is undeniable.

Many of us even named a shot after him. The “Zanesaw” serve has been
tried by legions of pickleball players, some as young as our 9 year old
grandson all the way to some of the top names in the sport of
pickleball. Though the two handed spin serve has now been eliminated
from the official rules, Zane’s creativeness and ability to push the
boundaries brought many great, meaningful conversations to our sport in
2021. These conversations are important because they help people
recognize how fast the sport is growing and understand how decisions made now will
impact the way pickleball looks in the future. So whether you like the
chainsaw serve or not, Zane created a point in time that will help shape
the future of pickleball.

But beyond the zany serves, Zane embodies everything we look for in our
Pickleball Rocks Players of the Year.
Of course he is one of the top professional players in both singles and
doubles. Just check the brackets in any tournament he enters and his
name is always around the top. But also the demand for Zane the coach
is second to none. We received almost as many votes for Zane because of
his clinics and lessons as we did for his playing ability. People just
love learning from Zane.  If there are still any doubts about his 2021 credentials, just check out this graphic below.
And yes, it did not hurt that he puts family (Jenny) ahead of winning a National Championship.  A man of character too.

So we are proud to name Zane Navratil our 2021 Pickleball Rocks Player
of the Year.

Yes it has been an unusual year and having an unusual selection for our next Player of the Year just makes sense right now. We believe a lot of players, especially new ones entering the sport likely don’t understand the importance of this choice.

In 2016 the USAPA had the vision to create the national certified referee certification program. Two people, Lynn and Lynda Laymon, were tasked with creating the guidelines and steps that a person would go through to be awarded the title of Certified Referee. Those original steps and tasks were daunting to say the least. Many people who wanted to become a certified referee could not make it through the gauntlet. But thankfully there were individuals out there who had the desire,
perseverance and even the willingness to fail, who made it through the program and became the seed group that created this great national organization of today. Today the certified referee program is headed up by Mark Peifer and the program is growing like wild.

Yes it it still the toughest certification of any kind to obtain in the sport of pickleball. But the Certified Referees bring that much needed element of professionalism that will see our sport continue to grow and be admired by players and non-players alike in the future. It is a first class organization of individuals who are dedicated and extremely good at officiating a pickleball match.  We have been long time supporters of referees at all levels and believe they are a key to any good tournament.  We are certainly thankful this organization exists and are proud to recognize all the Certified Referees as our
Pickleball Rocks Players of the Year.