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Pickleballo.com Staff Writer Pickleball is not just for seniors anymore! Originally the game was ideal for seniors, a low-impact game that almost anyone from their 50s to their 80s could play easily and have fun. But now you see teens through 30 year olds competing at a very high level, and many becoming professional players in their teens and 20’s. And there are young pickleball Youtubers teaching techniques on how to play better and be more competitive. These players are fit and compete as hard as any professional athlete, and with investors buying pickleball teams for millions of dollars, pickleball has joined the big leagues of sports. So what’s happening with seniors and pickleball? It’s booming! The seniors continue to play pickleball in their communities with their friends and neighbors, making each game a social experience combining friendly competitiveness with community closeness, because of pickleball, people are actually making friends in their HOA communities faster than e

First, the serve must bounce before being returned by the opponent, the same is when the serve is returned by the opponent, it must also first bounce. Then we have the third shot drop.  Mastering a good return/third shot will give you a significant advantage over your opponent. The objective of the serve return is to make the third shot to your opponent a difficult one, a way to accomplish this is to hit the ball right over the net into the opponent’s kitchen, or hit the return serve court deep, going after your opponent’s weak side, but be prepared for an aggressive opponent's return just in case. What a great game!

Keeping the ball low on your serves and returns is a technique that requires a lot of practice, and even after you think you've nailed it, in many instances the ball falls short of the net by a hair, yes, very frustrating! Learning and mastering this technique will give you a significant advantage over your opponent, the key, in addition to the low serves and return is the speed of the ball, hard and in play, which makes learning the shot more difficult, but with practice, you got this, and a significant advantage.

Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965 by three dads, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum in Bainbridge, a town outside of Seattle, WA. The three dads got together to discuss possible games they can come up with for their kids during the summer, and Voilà, pickleball was born. How did pickleball get its name? According to Barney McCallum, the game was named after Pritchard's dog, however, as stated by Joan, Joel Pritchard's wife “the combination of different sports reminded him of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.” Thank you, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, for bringing the world this great game!

There is some controversy as to the word “pickle” in pickleball, it is generally accepted that in the summer of 1965, pickleball was founded by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Shortly thereafter, Joan Pritchard, the wife of Joel had come up with the name “pickle ball”, associating it with the thrown-together leftover non-starters in the “pickle boat” of crew races. However, years later, as the sport of pickleball grew in popularity, there was some controversy when neighbors of the Pritchard family said they were present when Joan Pritchard named the game after their dog, Pickles. Nevertheless, the Pritchard family including Joan has remained steadfast for decades that the dog “Pickles” joined the family a few years after and in fact named after the pickleball game.  So, it seems the name "pickleball" is associated with the thrown-together leftover non-starters in the “pickle boat” of crew races.

Why is the kitchen called the kitchen in pickleball? It seems no one is really certain why the kitchen in pickleball is called the kitchen, it is believed, however, that it may have originated and borrowed from shuffleboard. Shuffleboard also has a kitchen area, where if you land, you lose 10 points.

How is your serve, are you confident when you serve, or perhaps a bit nervous?  The serve is one of the best opportunities we have in controlling the game and rattling your opponent. We all remember when we started to play this game, our serve was a soft hit over the net without a second thought, not difficult at all for your opponent, that has changed, and advanced players realize that a well-positioned serve can have advantages throughout the game. How can we improve our serve? As amateurs, we also can learn the techniques of serving in a way that can make it difficult for our opponent. A good example is serving the ball fast, right over the kitchen at the baseline of the court, of course, the opponent will adjust quickly if this is the only serve you focus on, so you need to mix it up, another good serve is a short low serve or deep right at your opponent's feet. It takes practice, in our community we are all amateurs, but competitive, we take about 15-20 minutes before we start