There is a lot of excitement and noise going on about this sport and it’s very difficult to understand the hype, but there certainly is something that captivates. Any sport can be a joy to watch and play, but as much as there is beauty there is just as much agony in watching and participating in the game played badly.
Pickleball has attracted strange personalities, ego filled maniacs and the most inept skill sets, yet people play the game every day and for hours on end. I’m yet to understand the addiction or mania but it certainly merits a chance to try playing the game.
I have traveled to many places in and out of state to play the game without knowing anyone and have easily attracted and met new people. I have approached strangers and coached them without having played the game and they have become very good players.
I have found it to be a most fascinating sport that touches on the skill and mechanics of all the different sport I play, and I think it’s why I’m so passionate about playing together with being a student of the game.
Nothing worthwhile is developed without practice and hard work. There certainly are enough physical mental and emotional benefits to playing the game to give it a whirl. The physical training itself to enhance playing the game the right way can lead to weight loss and many other health benefits together with the inner aspect of the game being great for mental and emotional wellness.
When the world shut down on March 13 2020 due to covid- 19, everything collapsed on me. Staying indoors was the worst form of mental oppression and in a few months of inactivity I went into depression and a mental slump together with reaching my highest weight. When I pulled myself together a few months later I started walking 10000 steps a day. This was a huge struggle on its own until a few weeks later I tried to increase my activity and started running. I could barely run 100 yards as the extra weight was putting pressure on my organs. I persevered until I started a keto eating program to kick start the weight loss and I did this for 6 months. I lost ten pounds from walking and with keto included a modified eating program that saw the weight coming down.
As soon as public facilities opened, I started going back to the gym and got back to pickleball. Through this entire process I lost 40 pounds to reach my goal weight and BMI of 25. I managed to keep the weight off until October last year when I got covid and I was in bed for 2 weeks with very bad symptoms. During those two weeks I fainted 3 times as my oxygen and blood pressure drastically dropped, and lost an additional ten pounds of weight. Thankfully I came through this and as soon as I was able to, I started my recovery process. I was able to walk ten steps at a time in my living room at very slow pace and I made sure I did a little bit more each day. I had no muscle tone and was terribly weak but my strength slowly improved. I was back at the gym walking the track and doing light weights in a few months until I could start playing pickleball again.
I started doing weights when I recovered and my lungs were fully efficient, and after a few months worked up to doing maximum full body training. I started the squat machine and with proper professional input worked up to squatting 740 pounds and holding it for ten seconds for endurance and cardio. I was able to sprint hills and stairs and all to enhance my pickleball game.
I’m pleased to say that after one year to date of having had covid with very slow recovery I’m in the best physical shape I’ve ever been and especially at age 59 and this I would attribute to my training to play pickleball.
I’m a PPR (Professional Pickleball Registry) Certified Professional Pickleball Coach and am confident my methods, theories, play chart and playbook will be highly beneficial to improving your game. I have tested my knowledge by coaching and in playing competitively at singles and doubles.
I do enjoy playing the game, I’ve enjoyed all I’ve discovered about myself, I’ve enjoyed the mental and emotional strength I’ve gained and I do think you should play PICKLEBALL!
The blogs following will give an outline to how your game will evolve together with technical blogs as to the skill, mechanics and understanding of how to play the game. I’ve chosen this method of coaching as there is too much information to share and too little coaching or training time to impart all the information. Correcting ones thinking goes a long way to changing ones’ game and I hope to accomplish this through the blogging.
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