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This 7-year-old is BALLING OUT
How your paddle can help you in the transition zone
Resets are among the hardest shots in pickleball to execute. They require great touch and control, as well as the experience to know when to reset and when to attack.
And it’s a shot that has huge implications at every level.
3.5 and 4.0 players will likely need to hit multiple resets from the transition zone before they can advance safely to the kitchen line. In 4.5+ games, a good reset can bail you out of trouble and completely turn the point back in your favor.
Today we’re discussing a few paddle options that can make things easier in this area of the court. Learn more below.
In this issue:
This 7-year-old is legit 🫡
The 4 stages of pickleball skill development 📈
JOOLA starts youth mentorship program 🤝
How to re-grip your pickleball paddle 🫰
Send us your best amateur highlights 🎥
Let’s cook! 👨🏻🍳
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
This 7-year-old is BALLING OUT
Imagine being this good at anything as a 7-year-old.
This kid’s attacks have some serious pace for somebody who is not much taller than the net, and he’s clearly not afraid to go toe-to-toe with grown men.
We are all in big trouble when the next generation of pickleball players grow up.
🔗 Check out this clip on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok
GOT A CLIP WORTH SHARING? Each month we showcase the Top 10 Amateur Pickleball Highlights of the Month on our YouTube page. Submit your BEST clips for a chance to be featured in next month’s video using this form.
JUNIOR PICKLEBALL
JOOLA creates youth mentorship program for up-and-coming junior pickleball players
JOOLA Pickleball recently announced the launch of JOOLA Forward, a new mentorship and athlete development program designed to support the brand’s sponsored junior athletes and emerging professionals both on and off the court.
The program was created to provide structured support, continuity and meaningful relationships for young players, something JOOLA felt was missing within the pickleball landscape.
JOOLA Forward aims to set a new standard for how brands support their athletes by combining athletic development with personal growth, providing exposure beyond competition and building a long-term connection to the JOOLA brand. The program leverages JOOLA’s global infrastructure, including 16 offices, 400+ employees and a diverse roster of professional athletes across multiple tours and regions.
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
The initial participants in JOOLA Forward include 20 JOOLA-sponsored junior and emerging athletes, each paired with two mentors:
A JOOLA-sponsored touring professional who can offer insight into elite performance, pressure management and competitive habits. Current mentors include pro players Kate Fahey, Brooke Buckner, Donald Young and others as well as JOOLA coaches Johnny and Regina Goldberg, Eric White and Scott Crandall.
A JOOLA staff mentor who will provide exposure to business, leadership and interests outside the sport.
PADDLE CORNER
The best paddles for resets
The transition zone is arguably the most intimidating area of the court — there’s a reason it’s sometimes referred to as No Man’s Land.
But what if we told you that improving your resets in the transition could be as simple as selecting a paddle that was meant to excel in that area of the court?
There are a handful of paddles that stand out in our testing when it comes to resets.
We’ve separated these paddles into three tiers:
Best in class: If resets are the No. 1 priority, this is the paddle we’d go for.
Elite: All of these paddles are excellent on resets. Maybe you’re looking for a certain brand or price point. We bet there’s something in here that fits your needs.
Very good: While these paddles didn’t make the elite tier, they still perform very well on resets. We’re talking Top 15-ish out of hundreds and hundreds of paddles that we’ve tested.
So if resets are something you want to put an emphasis on, you can’t go wrong with any of the options below.
BEST IN CLASS
11SIX24 Jelly Bean 2: The Jelly Bean 2 features a softer, denser EMA foam core wrapped in the brand’s popular “HexGrit” surface, giving you ultimate control when you need it most. Shop here — use code “KITCHEN” for $10 off!
ELITE
VERY GOOD
PICKLEBALLERS UPDATE
In Tuesday’s newsletter we told you the Pickleballers Podcast was making its return this week after a couple months off.
Turns out we might have jumped the gun on that one — our bad. Season 5 is still happening, it’s just been pushed back a couple weeks while we put together the full lineup for this season.
We do know this: The first episode will feature Gabe Tardio, who has risen to the very top of the pro game over the past two years. We dive into Tardio’s partnership with Ben Johns that completely changed the men’s doubles landscape on the PPA Tour, as well as his time with the St. Louis Shock in Major League Pickleball. You won’t want to miss it!
GEAR
How to re-grip your pickleball paddle (step-by-step guide)
Your pickleball paddle grip is one of the most important parts of your paddle, but it’s also one of the easiest things to overlook. If you don’t love the feel of your factory grip, adding an overgrip is a quick and inexpensive way to improve your paddle.
In this video, we’ll show you exactly how to put an overgrip on a pickleball paddle, including where to start, how overlapping the grip changes the thickness of your handle, and how to finish the grip cleanly.
An overgrip can give you better sweat absorption, a more secure grip, and lets you customize the thickness of your paddle handle to your preference.
So whether you’re new to pickleball or just want to improve the feel of your paddle, this is one of the easiest and cheapest upgrades you can make.
INSTRUCTION
Breaking down the 4 stages of pickleball skill development
Players learning to play any sport progress through four main stages of skill development. We recently took a closer look at each stage as it applies to pickleball and how players can progress through the stages and keep improving.
The four stages are:
🔴 Unconscious incompetence: Beginning pickleball players often don't recognize their weaknesses or understand how much practice it will take to reach the higher levels of the sport. The low barrier to entry means that players can often sustain a rally at lower levels the first few times they play. It makes pickleball fun and welcoming, but it also leads to a false sense of security. At this stage, the big challenge is overcoming this lack of awareness.
🟠 Conscious incompetence: This is when players begin to recognize the complexities of the sport and understand their true skill level. Frustration can often creep in during this stage because players become aware of their limitations, but that awareness is a crucial step toward improving. Recognizing the gap between where they are and where they want to be often sparks the motivation to improve through drilling focused on specific shots.
🟡 Conscious competence: At this stage, pickleball players can execute the standard shots -- third-shot drops, drives, dinks, counters, etc. -- but it requires concentrated effort and focus on their technique and court positioning. Each shot and decision requires attention.
🟢 Unconscious competence: This is the stage where pickleball players have achieved mastery. That doesn't mean they're a pro necessarily, but executing at a high level has become effortless. Decisions and execution of shots are driven by muscle memory acquired over thousands and thousands of reps and hitting good shots requires little conscious thought.
QUICK HITS
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