Dealing with sore feet after a hard day on the pickleball court

There are times when I have been at work for 10+ hours, but wouldn't want to miss an extra 3 hours of pickleball, and I finally get home, and my feet are sore. My "dogs" are barking like crazy! I have actually used this to relieve tension in my feet and legs.

• Take a used tennis ball, and put it in a sock.  You can use the tennis ball alone, but I think the sock helps keep the ball from rolling around.
• Before starting, stand in your socks or bare feet on a flat surface, and check in with how your feet feel.  Notice any discomfort.
• Sit down in a chair that allows you to sit straight, with both feet on the floor.
• Start by rolling the tennis ball under that foot that is bothering you (or bothering you more).  Roll the ball slowly–ball of foot, arch and heel areas– , and notice if there are any places where it feels especially good, and stop at those points for a few deep breaths.  If you feel any pain, stop.
• If you think your foot can bear more pressure, take your foot off the ball, and stand up.  Roll the ball under your foot again; this time put as much weight on the ball as feels like a good massage.  Take a few deep breaths as you bear your weight on the ball.  Touch a wall or furniture if you need for balance.  If you feel any pain, stop.
• Take your foot off the ball, and once again stand with both feet on the floor.  Notice how you feet feel, compared to before, and compared to each other.  The foot you just massaged with the ball should feel flatter on the floor.
• Sit back down and do the same with your other foot.  Even if you don’t have discomfort in that foot, or think it needs a massage, spend at least a minute to roll the ball under it. It’s always a good idea to give attention to the other side.  You’ll likely feel that the other foot feels flatter on the floor, too.

If you’re at home and have the time, you can follow up by giving both feet a massage with your hands.
If you want to get the benefit of this at work, take a tennis ball and roll it under your feet while you work.  You can do it while you’re working, or dedicate a few minutes to the above exercise.  Your feet, the rest of you body, and your mind will thank you for the brief but effective break.

Pickleball in Dominican Republic

My mother surprised our family with a special Christmas gift: for my wife & I, and our 3 boys to accompany my mother for an all inclusive week in Dominican Republic. The first 2 days was rainy so  we felt right at home, then the clouds cleared for 5 days of hot sun. Perfect!
I had found out that the resort had 2 tennis courts, so I thought I would take down 4 pickleball paddles, some outdoor balls, and some sidewalk chalk to redo lines, as my family is always ready to play pickleball. The 3rd day after the 2 rainy days the courts were closed, due to them having to dry the courts, so we couldn't play. The following day we went to the resort courts for some family pickleball fun. We were told that we could not play, as this was only for tennis. I proceeded to tell the tennis pro that this was a game from North America, that is advancing around the world and is played on converted tennis courts everywhere. "In all my 25 years" he said, "I have never heard of this strange named sport." He told me I would be able to play with my beach paddles on the beach only. I pulled out my pickleball business card, and told him to check his computer to see if pickleball is a bona-fide sport. I told him that we would play tennis while he checked it out. We stepped on the court with borrowed tennis racquets and balls, only after we were made to leave our pickleball paddles at his office. All this time I had thought that the tennis courts would be a hard pavement like back home....WRONG! The courts were semi-hard packed sand. The tennis balls bounced normally, but my kids were not used to the extra bounce in the racquets. We rallied back and forth until, the tennis pro called out to us that he looked online, and pickleball looks real! He invited us to show him how to play, and I proceeded to tell him the rules, giving special attention to pickleballs uniqueness. I served first to my son, and the outdoor dura ball just went thud into the sand court with no bounce. We tried some more, and sometimes it bounced okay, yet other times the same result as before - thud! Not a great showing for pickleball in Dominican Republic. The tennis pro remarked that as he saw on his computer, it looked like the courts were hard pavement, and i told him he was correct. I also told him it is played indoors in gymnasiums. He told me that maybe 10% of tennis courts in DR are hard paved courts, and 90% of courts are hard packed sand.
In a previous blog, I had said how easy it was to play pickleball on vacation at a local tennis court. It is possible...you just have to know what the court is made of.

Pickleball Strategy: Partner Switch

Pickleball owes some of its origins to tennis, and ex-tennis players are making the switch to pickleball.  In tennis this year (2011) for men's doubles the points leaders are a set of brothers born 3 minutes apart named Bob & Mike Bryan. If you have ever watched them before, or any other great doubles team you'll know of the need for communication on the court. far too many times in pickleball I see a player encroach on his partners space, leaving a wide empty space for the opponents to hit the ball to. We might go across the front for a quick poach, or maybe our forehand smash is lined up better on our team members side, or even if we go for that baseline lob, we should be communicating with our partner by yelling "SWITCH." Then our partner knows that they should get into the other court to protect it as normal. Once the play is finished we switch back to our usual places. Watch some top ranked tennis doubles, or any other doubles racquet sport like badminton, squash, racquetball and see how the partners communicate with each other effectively. "SWITCH!!!"