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

 

When the dust has cleared, WE WILL SURVIVE

by | Mar 23, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

So, have you seen it?  Have you seen Morgan Evans’ amazing video of hope, perseverance and victory?
It’s all over Facebook and Youtube.  It’s “When The Dust Has Cleared”,

And it was the impactful last words of the video that really hit home with our team.  “WE WILL SURVIVE”.
It struck a positive chord with us and we knew it was touching many others as well.

The moment we watched it, we contacted Morgan to see if the power of that video could be used for even further good.  And his immediate response was, “I’m in mate. Sounds like a great idea.”

So in collaboration with Coach ME Pickleball, Selkirk Sports, and Morgan’s great video of perseverance and victory, we have created this very special shirt to help raise awareness and funds for those who need COVID-19 assistance now.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR "We Will Survive" SHIRT

All profits will be donated to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, specifically the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund.

A little about the fund:

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) has launched the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund to support preparedness, containment, response and recovery activities for those affected and for the responders.

The Fund and the Needs
The CDP COVID-19 Response Fund will focus on supporting nonprofit organizations working directly to respond to the pandemic among the most vulnerable populations in order to help build their capacity for response. These will include social service organizations focused on supporting hourly wage earners, workers in the gig economy, immigrant/New American populations, older adults, people with disabilities and other communities vulnerable to the physical health, mental health and economic impacts of the pandemic.

CDP is working closely with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to follow what the likely needs will be:

  • Supporting healthcare workers: Many public health, low income and other clinics will not have the ability to make significant capital purchases of masks, gowns, gloves and other essential personal protective equipment. These items help prevent the infection of essential medical staff who are at increased risk because of their close contact with people who may be infected.
  • Supporting quarantined and especially vulnerable individuals: The use of quarantines is crucial in helping control the spread of any infectious disease, including COVID-19. However, this means individuals are unable to go to work, go shopping for necessities, attend social functions or even see their families in some cases.
  • Supporting hygiene promotion activities:  Water, sanitation and hygiene are key to limiting the spread of any infection, especially those that are spread by close contact. Increasing access to WASH resources will help limit the spread of coronavirus and other infections. Supporting areas with poor access to medical healthcare by supporting healthy populations. This will help limit the spread of all viruses and other infections.With these factors in mind, CDP will use contributions to the Fund to address any one of these issues, which will allow CDP to be adaptive in our support.
  • Thank you to the following donors for their generous support of the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund:
    • The Coca-Cola Foundation
    • Google Play
    • The Hershey Company
    • New York Life
    • UPS Foundation
    • Verizon

The shirt is available in men’s crewneck and women’s vneck fits.  Available in White, Lime and Light Blue.
Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR "We Will Survive" SHIRT

Can We Play Pickleball Please?

by | Mar 22, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

The quick answer is NO.  Read on to see why I believe that.

A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM ROCKET:

As of the middle of March 2020, the COVID-19 virus has been identified in over 140 countries and every single state in the United States, making it one of the, if not THE, most viral epidemics in history.  That is because it spreads sooooo easily.

A person carrying the virus simply needs to sneeze or cough and the tiny almost invisible droplets settle on virtually any surface, hard or soft, where it could live for up to 9 days, to be accidentally picked up by any unsuspecting person.  That surface could be a hand railing, or gas pump nozzle or a seat at the pickleball courts, or another person’s clothing that you just touched elbows with. 

The point is simply this: The virus moves around easily, and it is transported by people who have ZERO idea that they have it, or where they picked it up from.  Did the person hug a grandkid a couple of days ago.  Did the person pump some gas and didn’t immediately wash or sanitize their hands before accidentally putting their hand to their face (eyes, nose or mouth).  We all touch our faces so much without thinking. But that is how the virus enters the body, only to be sneezed or coughed out again on the next seemingly innocent surface.

Oh, and did I mention that a pickleball court is a hard surface?  Yes, if a person, unknowingly carrying the virus, playing before you arrived at the courts, sneezed or coughed while playing, the tiny virus carrying droplets have settled onto the court.  From there the virus can easily be picked up on the bottoms of players shoes, but waaaaay more importantly, onto any pickleball that bounces in the infected area.

Now it transfers to your hands or the glove you are wearing.  Just don’t touch your face or send the infected ball back to an unsuspecting opponent.

Yes, the virus can move around that easily.  That is why we are seeing the number of positively identified people growing like wild in so many places.

So to answer the question, can you play pickleball safely?  NO, IT JUST CAN’T BE 100% SAFE

My opinion, based on what I now know about the transporting of the virus, is this:

It has nothing to do with wearing gloves because gloves can retain and pass on the virus.

To play almost 100% safely….

1) You must wash the balls before you begin your game.
2) Every person on the court would have been through 14 days of isolation directly prior to coming out to play.  This would assure they have not unknowingly picked up the virus anywhere. If they’ve been anywhere around people after completing the 14 days of isolation and prior to coming to play, they could potentially be carriers again, so invite someone else.
3) Any benches or chairs at the court would need to be sanitized.
4) The courts you are about to play on haven’t had anyone carrying the virus playing on the courts in the last few days (supposedly the virus can live on a hard surface for quite awhile). So if anyone adheres to these guideline, there is no danger of the ball picking up the virus while you are playing.

I personally live in a tiny rural town that I lovingly call Mayberry when I’m on the pickleball trail.  Well, the COVID-19 has been positively found now in Mayberry and we are encouraging everyone in our tiny community to hunker down for a few weeks so we can drastically limit the incoming or outgoing spread of this disease.  Because it travels so quickly and so silently, we simply don’t know of any better way to battle its growth.

So for those who may think I’m infringing on your right to play or right to congregate, that is not the case at all.  This post is simply to let you see the situation from my viewpoint and you then can make any decision you choose.  But now it is simply a decision you can make with more things to think about.

Here in Mayberry, 1% of our population plays pickleball and they have individually all decided to help our community slow the spread rather than take a chance of unknowingly spreading it on to others. 

As much as I’d love to be out on the pickleball courts or at the restaurants and movie theater with them, I am very thankful for their choice.

Good luck in your community.  May everyone stay healthy and virus free until we meet on the courts again.

Back to my 14 isolated days.
All the best,

Rocket
The Pickleball Rocks Team

DISCLAIMER:  Any numbers quoted in this post may not be exact, but they are close and pertinent to the message I wanted to convey to all my pickleball friends.

Pickleball Rocks: Celebrating 10 Years Helping Pickleball Grow

by | Feb 22, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage

Celebrating 10 Years Of
Helping The Sport Of Pickleball Grow

“The Pickleball Rocks Clothing & Equipment Company”

The Pickleball Rocks Team in 2020

Just ten short years ago, the sport of pickleball was very different.

Only 10 years ago, to buy a pickleball paddle, you had to mail a check to one of the very few existing pickleball manufacturers (remember the Champion paddle and the ProLite Classic). Then they’d mail you a paddle.  

Only 10 years ago, there were only 200,000 players in the entire world and the best player was over 60 years old. My how times have changed.

Over ten years ago, I created a simple website called AllAboutPickleball.com
This website allowed people to purchase a pickleball paddle and actually pay for it online with a credit card.

Additionally, this very simple website allowed anyone and everyone to “Ask Rocket” any question about pickleball, and receive a well thought out, mostly accurate, answer.  Kinda the original Pickleball Forum without all the snarky feedback. J

Also, over ten years ago, I hand ironed on the words and thus printed the very first Pickleball Rocks tshirt. Along with that I made a commitment to do everything I could to help grow the sport of pickleball in my travels as well as in my home community. As Pickleball Rocks began to take off, Josh and Zack Grubbs took a big leap of faith, leaving their careers and joined the team.  At that point we actually made “Helping Pickleball Grow” our corporate mission.

Over the years, we have developed programs such as “The Pickleball Mile” and “The Pickleball Champions Club” and “The Pickleball Paddle Foundation” as well as others to help you help the sport grow.

Besides our home website at PickleballRocks.com, we have developed websites such as PickleballRules.com and WhatisPickleball.com as well as WhyPickleball.com and more.

Today, the Pickleball Rocks Team consists of ten dedicated people who are not only great pickleball players, but also phenomenal human beings, dedicated to helping the sport of pickleball expand and grow in communities around the world.

And thanks to you, the Pickleball Rocks apparel has become the most recognized and best selling apparel brand in the sport of pickleball.

We are indeed thankful to all of you, for all the support, and of course purchases of the Pickleball Rocks clothing line as well as our other branded products. 

We certainly would not be here today without you.

We look forward to seeing you on your courts soon and we hope you are playing pickleball, because as everyone knows…..Pickleball Rocks!

Our warmest thanks,

Rocket, Zack, Josh, Abby, Stephanie, LeEllen, Mindy, Cam, Jason and Wyatt.
The Pickleball Rocks Team

Some of our original cotton t-shirts along with some of our early polyester Dri-Fit shirts.

Our 2 Best Selling Dri-Fit Shirts for over 10 years and still going strong.

Thank You For 10 Fantastic Years

COME JOIN THE FUN AT

PickleballRocks.com

Watch for our 30 days of Thankfulness Giveaway
starting March 1st.

To be eligible to win, you must be a member of the Pickleball Rocks Club.

To join today go to www.PickleballRocks.com and subscribe.

Starting The New Pickleball Year Fit, Healthy and Strong

by | Jan 12, 2020 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Rockets Ramblings

Every year it seems we set our new goals to include some form of “getting into better shape”.

We do it with good intentions, but what generally happens?  The good intentions quickly exit stage left as we go about our daily routines.   So why do we even include that goal in our list each and every year????

We do it because we know it is important.  Not only is it important that we do the things necessary to get and stay fit, healthy and strong every year, it is vital to our living our lives the way we want to; HEALTHY!

We all want to be healthy and feel great, so why don’t we???  I saw a quote recently that said “wanting a healthy body without exercise is kinda like buying a new car but choosing to not put any gas in it. The car is just going to sit there and rust.”

So what holds us back?  Well, about 9 months ago, I had my epiphany.  And as with most epiphanies, it was initiated by an event or a person.  In my case it was both.   The event was the Mid South Regional pickleball tournament in Denton, Texas and the person was none other than national senior pickleball champion, Scott Moore.

I played men’s doubles in the tournament and I still remember how tired I was after only 2 or 3 matches. I remember my game taking a serious dip in the third match, and how I hated it because I knew it was from not being in very good physical shape.   And I also remember Scott specifically asking me the very next day, “what do you do for exercise besides just pickleball?”  The interesting part of the story is that Scott had no knowledge of how I had “hit the wall” the day before.   He was just making conversation and willing to share what he had been doing to be in the top shape that he is. It was a fascinating talk indeed as Scott introduced me to something called Blood Flow Restriction training.  I had never heard of it, so I left that conversation intrigued, but the big thing that came out of it was that the conversation really got me thinking about what I was doing to try to stay in shape.

I flew home after that weekend and I proceeded to take a good long look at my own daily and weekly routines.
And quickly two things popped out to me.

Number 1: I’m just really busy so I justifed my skipping the exercise with “I don’t have the time.”  It takes time to drive to the gym and then spend 60-90 minutes on the machines.  Then there is the post workout shower and drive home.  So I was using the time excuse often.

Then I also found Number 2:  And I never thought I’d say this, but my age is starting to make it harder and harder to lift the heavy weights or workout on the machines for extended periods of time.  So I just couldn’t or didn’t want to lift the heavier weights anymore.

So after some thought, I gave Scott a call to learn more about his new training regime. I still remember him saying one line that really helped me decide to give it a test drive.  Scott said, “Rodney this has changed my life because I now can exercise with half the weights I used to use, and be done in half the time.”  So the magic phrase for me was “lift half the weights and work half the time”.  That essentially took away both my excuses for not getting in shape.

So I decided to give Blood Flow Retriction training a test drive.  And boy am I glad I did.

Not only is my fitness level and strength better than it has been in several years, the big thing I noticed on the pickleball courts is my balance. I’m now able to stretch out and get to balls that previously I wasn’t able to.  So my balance on the courts has greatly improved and so obviously my game has improved.   Didn’t think about that aspect when I started my blood flow restriction workout bands, but so happy to be able to move confidently around the courts again.

Blood flow resistance training has been used by high level athletes for decades, but only recently has the technology been available to “regular” people like us.

So I’m telling the world, if you want to look at a new way of getting or staying in shape and spend half the time doing it, I wholeheartedly recommend taking a test drive like I did.

Simply pick your fitness goal below and CLICK TO LEARN MORE.

You’ll be soooo glad you did.

Have a happy, healthy 2020,

Your friend in pickleball,

Rocket

Take a 30 Day Test Drive Today

When you take the 30 Day Test Drive you will get to try and experience all the benefits of using Blood Flow Resistance Training.

Here is what you get while on the 30 day Test Drive:

A B3 Bands Exercise System
  • Comes with 2 Arm Bands + 2 Leg Bands + Pump + Case (Choose Sizes below)
A Home Exercise System
  • Exercising Tubing with 5 different resistance levels to match your personal resistance needs and an Exercise Poster to show you easy exercises to follow
A Gym in a Bag B3 Back Pack
  • To carry your B3 Exercise System everywhere you go
A B3 Shaker cup
  • Mix up your favorite Nutrition product from anywhere
Choose a 30 Day Fitness Program that fits your personal goals:

  • This program is perfect for people looking to lose weight fast and tone up.

  • This program is for people who have not currently been exercising and are ready to resume exercising with the B3 System.

  • This is the program for people who have been lifting weights regularly, and want to build more muscle with the B3 System.

  • This is for current athletes participating in sports, at any level, that want to improve their athletic performance.
And on the 30 day Test Drive you get a 30 day supply of one of the four Fitness Nutrition products listed below.  You choose which one you’d like to try that fits with your personal goals.

My personal favorite is B3 Meal.

  • For morning energy, to rejuvenate your joints, skin, hair, and nails. Also for joint pain or joint issues
  • Start your day with Natural Energy, two sources of Collagen, Essential Fats, Fiber and Vitamins

  • For people who want to lose weight, build muscle, and a clean quick on the go meal that can be made anywhere
  • Delicious mocha flavored meal shake with Plant Based Protein, Fruits, Veggies, Essential Fats, Aloe Vera and Fiber

  • For people who drink coffee, energy drinks, sodas, and pre-workout products
  • Delicious Black Cherry drink that will increase Energy, Focus and a feeling of Alertness for hours

  • For people who want to lose weight or tone up fast
  • A Delicious Blueberry Pomegranate drink, to reduce Hunger and increase Fat Burn mid-morning and mid-afternoon

Last year, Scott Moore encouraged me to take a 30 Day Test Drive to see what blood flow restriction training was all about.   I am so glad I did, and I encourage you to try it too.

 

Get your daily exercise in half the time using half the weights and getting full results.

Take a 30 Day Test Drive Today
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE TEST DRIVE

2019 Pickleball Rocks Player of the Year Announced

by | Dec 31, 2019 | Pickleball Rocks Homepage, Pickleball Rocks Players and Clubs of the Month

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:
Enrique Ruiz, Jim and Yvonne Hackenberg, Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner, Daniel Moore and Scott Moore, Kyle Yates, Aspen Kern and Simone Jardim as well as Lucy Kovalova and the fabulous Dick Johnson.
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 year we are recognizing a team and an individual as Pickleball Rocks Player(s) of the Year. 

As everyone knows, this was a changing year for pickleball. 15-20 tournaments now occurring every week and we cleared 3 million players in the continued player growth explosion.  So you would think it would be tougher and tougher to choose the Players Of The Year, but this year it was quite the opposite.  The voting and responses were so overwhelming for these two selections that this was the easiest choices we’ve ever made.

Our first award winner this year exemplifies all the good things that have helped pickleball become such a fun and growing sport. This team has a 12 year old who has not only caught the competitive attention of players at every level, but also endeared herself to everyone with her great attitude and example on and off the courts. Her hashtag #EatswithAL is quickly becoming legendary and she has also helped everyone easily understand how to move up the ratings ladder.  She simply started out the year at the 4.5 level and, with her mom as her partner, proceeded to beat such iconic pickleball teams as Kovalova/Tereschinko and Jardim/Carr and Parenteau/Irvine.  The UTPR computer took notice and elevated her rating in a hurry.  Nine times this year her ladies partner happened to be her mom and from all the responses we received, the pickleball world is in love with this partnership.  People loved watching the obvious positive connection and the way they worked perfectly together to win tournament after tournament, including the world’s biggest pickleball stage, the USA Nationals at Indian Wells. Besides all the people who cast their votes for Team Waters, what caught our attention, was the wonderful mother/daughter and family connection that was present every time we personally saw them on the tournament trail.  The perfect example for future family pickleball teams.

This pair entered 9 Open Women Doubles events, playing against the strongest women’s teams in the world
and came home with 9 medals:         4 Golds, 4 Silvers and 1 Bronze.

We want to personally thank Leigh and Anna Leigh for helping us all grow pickleball in the most positive ways.

Congratulations to 2019 Player of the Year: Team Waters: Leigh and Anna Leigh Waters

TEAM WATERS:  Anna Leigh and Leigh Waters

The 2019 Men’s Pickleball Rocks Player of the Year was another no-brainer.  The people who voted at www.NominateAPlayer.com simply overwhelmed the process with one name.  Ben Johns!

It is hard to believe Ben is only 20 years old because it seems like he has been around our great sport a long time.  But believe it or not, he is just hitting his stride.

Throughout the year we always poll Pickleball Nation to see the opinions of the people who play the game.
When we asked “What Pro Player Do You Admire Most?”, the answer came up Ben Johns.
When we asked “What Pro Player Would You Like To Be?”, the answer came back Ben Johns.
When we asked “What Pro Player Gives Referees and Line Judges the Least Amount of Trouble?”, Ok, we didn’t ask that one, but Ben’s demeanor and attitude on and off the court would surely place him at or near the top of that list too.

Players across the country and the world love the way he plays the game and made it clear there was no close number two this year.

Ben’s playing statistics for 2019 were simply amazing:

In 8 Pro Singles Events, only one player was able to beat him (Tyson McGuffin – twice), so Ben came away with 6 titles, including the coveted USA Nationals Gold Medal at Indian Wells.

But as dominant as Ben was in singles in 2019, his domination in men’s doubles was almost unbelievable.
16 Pro Level Mens Doubles Events:  13 Gold Medals.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

So we want to thank Ben for being such a great example of what a great pickleball player should be and congratulate him on being overwhelmingly selected as the 2019 Pickleball Rocks Player Of The Year!  You Rock Ben Johns!

Ben Johns