by [email protected] | Dec 1, 2012 | Rockets Ramblings
I know that is a sad title to a blog post. And yes, my birthday is celebrated every year around Thanksgiving so they always make sure I get a huge, delicious meal. And yes, Christmas is coming and I do understand and promote the real reason for the season. So you would think this would be a special time of the year.
But NO, it is a time of sadness. The court chairs look lonely. The pickleball courts here in the midwest are empty. 
The wonderful, daily sound of pickleballs popping off the paddles is gone. It is getting dark so early that most guys and gals can’t get to the courts after work. It is getting so cold (today was a nice exception) that bulky coats are quickly becoming an outdoor necessity.
And the real problem is we can’t find an indoor place to play this time of year. We live in Indiana where of course basketball is king. Every boy and girl from the 5th grade through high school is practicing and playing basketball daily. The gyms are all occupied seemingly 24 hours a day from now until towards the end of January.
Then things will look brighter. We will be able to secure some indoor time, hopefully at our local high school where there is room in the practice gym for 4 temporary pickleball courts.
Can’t wait. Just have to hang in there. Life will be better soon. 🙂
Tell us where you are playing indoors this winter?
by [email protected] | Nov 23, 2012 | Rockets Ramblings
When I started playing pickleball five years ago it was tough enough to find and buy a pickleball paddle online, let alone a pickleball shirt or pickleball hat.
Wow how times have changed.
Today you can buy all makes and models of paddles, purchase them with a credit card and have them shipped directly to your home in a matter of a few days. CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW
Likewise you now can find and buy all kinds of tshirts and other pickleball gear right from the comfort of your home.
Well, today takes the cake. A Black Friday Sale for pickleball shoppers.
It is being advertised all over the internet, from Facebook to Twitter to Hubpages: starting at 12:01am est tonight (November 23rd), pickleball has their first Black Friday sale ever.
At the new shopping website, PickleballChristmas.com you get a FREE 6 inch “Pickleball Rocks” car magnet with any purchase.
Yep, FREE!!!
And the selection of pickleball stuff there is amazing. Really cool dri fit shirts for guys and gals (you should see the Power Pink V Neck Tee for the ladies), as well as coolers, water jugs and even “Pickleball Rocks Since 1965” chairs.
There is even a couple of christmas paddle / shirt packages that make it really easy to buy for your pickleball friend or spouse.
Shopping for pickleball stuff just got a whole lot funner.
Enjoy the season everyone!
Pickleball Rocks,
Rocket
CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW
by [email protected] | Jan 31, 2012 | Tournament and Clinic Highlights
Southern hospitality was at its finest the weekend of January 27-28 at EP Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The following post and results were provided by the fabulous Oakle “Pete” Petrey.
The E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Pickleball Club
E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park
Louisville, Kentucky
Pickleball News Vol. CCIII
January 30, 2012
The gym was rocking last weekend as Rodney (Rocket) Grubbs led a strong group of out-of-town players to the Inaugural E. P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park Pickleball Tournament. And, they took a big chunk of the medals home with them!
Rocket, a nationally prominent player, teamed with Mike Schwartz, of Northern Kentucky, to win the MENS DOUBLES. His wife, Karen, playing with Cheryl Wyatt, of Middletown, Ohio, picked up the second place medal in LADIES DOUBLES. Cheryl, playing with Pete George, also from Middletown,
placed second in the MIXED DOUBLES event, won by Niles Cline and Diana Phillips, of Northern Kentucky.
Local players managed to hold there own, however, winning medals in each of the four events. Brenda Ferrell and Francie Kammer won the LADIES DOUBLES, and the team of John Tackett and Susan Kenney* edged out Ron Knorpp and Paul Cline for second place in MENS DOUBLES. Susan*and Chrissy Haywood finished third in MIXED DOUBLES.
*Although definitely not male, Susan Kenney was coaxed into playing in the MENS and MIXED DOUBLES because the men were short one player. One pundit named her the “Boy named Sue, Sounds like a good name for a song?
All of us are indebted to John Tackett for his herculean efforts in launching what, hopefully, will become an annual event at Sawyer Park. We gratefully acknowledge all the work done by many of the Sawyer Park staff, led by Zack Potts and Nick Price.
Bill and Nancy deserve special thanks. They arrived at 7:15 a.m. to welcome everyone.
The Hospitality Room was a huge success and all of the many who made contributions earned our gratitude of a job very well done.
Last, but not least was the appreciative crowd that supported the players. The WAVE that went around the gym several times was really great.
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by [email protected] | Feb 13, 2010 | Rockets Ramblings
Gang,
I just posted the following reply to an article from the Racquet Network News and Info website.
Their article was saying that the new APike paddle should be allowed by the USAPA because better technology makes the sport better. Below was my posted reply. What is your opinion?
Dear RNNI,
Maybe technology change was good for squash and tennis. But keep in mind that Pickleball is currently the fastest growing participation sport in the US. And what is driving that participation growth is the simple fact that a lot more people are able to compete and feel like they can win because of the pickleball rules of play, plus the paddle and ball restrictions. Unlike other sports, pickleball was designed, and is a game of strategy and accuracy, rather than a game of power and speed. Since power and speed are played down, this creates a lot more interest because a lot more people are capable of competing. So I endorse whatever the governing body (USAPA) chooses to do as long as it is in the best interest of keeping the sport growing. Pickleball Rocks!
by [email protected] | Aug 2, 2009 | Tournament and Clinic Highlights
WOW!!!!
That is the impression that everyone had of the 2nd Annual Middletown Ohio Open Senior Pickleball tournament.
Team Stanley along with Cheryl and Robbie put together a very professional feeling tournament atmosphere and pickleball paddles were flying everywhere.
If you have never been to the courts of the Middletown Pickleball Club, they are beautiful. This weekend they were surrounded with food tents, banners and even an ice cream truck. All put there to make this a great player experience and it worked.
It was a ton of fun along with a whole boatload of high performance pickleball matches.
Starting off the weekend was the men’s and women’s singles matches on Friday evening.
Tennis maven Robbie McClain took home the gold medal for the ladies, while Brookville, Indiana native Jeff Siebert captured the top prize for the men.
SIDE NOTE FROM ROCKET: I got knocked into the consolation bracket in the singles semifinals by my friend and doubles partner Jeff, but I did manage to win the consolation gold. Very happy to get any type of hardware in return for all the pain of getting out of bed on Saturday morning. 🙂
Saturday was another perfect weather day for pickleball and it started with Ron and Deb Arnold winning the mixed doubles crown. Around 1:30pm men and women’s doubles kicked off and the crowd was treated to a great afternoon of high quality pickleball.
After the proverbial dust had cleared, our great friend Kay Gallagher and her partner Robbie McClain claimed the Women’s Doubles Gold.
The day’s activities climaxed with the playing of the men’s double championship which was a rematch from the 2009 Indiana Senior Games.
Brookville, Indiana natives Rodney “Rocket” Grubbs and partner Jeff Siebert were able to reverse the outcome with a great three set gold medal victory over extremely talented veterans Al Hager and Lynn Carlson. Taking the consolation gold were Dick Lewis and Rob Gartlan.
Thank you Middletown for a great weekend.
My hats off to you for another super tournament.
– Rocket
See all the Middletown Tournament Results Here
