Pickleball Paddle Review: S-Type Composite Z5

S-Type sports creator, Steve Wong, a top ranked pickleball player, designed the new Composite Z5 with outdoors play in mind. The Composite Z5 WIDEBODY Paddle provides maximum power.  If you like a heavy Composite paddle that plays like a tennis racquet then look no further.  The Z5 enables the toughest competitors to hit hard and still be consistent.  The wide body design gives S-Type customers a new high performance shape.  Stand out on the court with the NEW Z5 WIDEBODY!! 

• Made from High Performance composite fiberglass materials 
• New WIDEBODY dimensions
• Extra wide hitting surface with the new WIDEBODY design
• Even larger than our oversize paddles
• Designed for outdoor play in mind, but adored by indoor pickleballers too!
• Endorsed and Designed by a Top Player, Steve Wong!
• Exciting colors with a fresh cool logo.
• Plays like a tennis racquet. 
• This paddle has good pop when the ball strikes the wider surface
   
  This paddle weighs in at approx. 8.8 oz. according to my digital scale. You can feel the power in the paddle surging to hit the ball. There are some paddles that are touted as heavyweights, and they are just that...heavy. But the composite Z5 widebody feels comfortable in hand, with it's gel contour gamma grip. The face is a honeycomb design with a huge Z5 in bold colours. There is a departure from S-Types signature pickleball snake (my favourite pickleball logo) but that same logo i like has scared off many female players I'm sure. The paddle is by no means overtly wide, maybe an extra inch or 2 than any regular paddle. I have played with this paddle, and it has a very full sound and power when struck. Composite Z5 Widebody's sell for $60.

Pickleball Tournament: Kelowna 2012

One of the biggest and most successful Pickleball Tournaments in BC was held in West Kelowna in May 2011, just under 90 people attended from all over B.C.
2012 Registration opens March 3rd, the dates are MAY 19th & 20th. This tournament is “sanctioned” under IFP rules. All PCO members receive a $5.00 discount when registering.
There are two divisions: Recreational (rating from 2.0 to 3.0) or non-rated players/members. Competitive (rating from 3.5 to 4.5) or top local players. Each division will have Men’s and Ladies DOUBLES and MIXED Men’s & Ladies Doubles. It will be run as a “Double Knockout” best of three format NOT as a Round Robin tournament.
ALL AGES WELCOME. You will be rated by yourself or by other players that know you. This system worked well last year. Price $25.00 plus $5.00 per event, Less PCO $5.00 discount.

I know there are a bunch planning to head up from the Fraser valley...come join us! May 19-20, 2012

Pickleball Strategy: Pre-game warm-up

So the other night at pickleball I re-introduced myself to some newbies to pickleball, and asked how they were enjoying themselves. They remarked that they liked the game but are feeling more and more sore after pickleball. I asked them if they were warming up before playing, and astonishingly...they weren't. Dynamic warm-up and flexibility training is an essential element of any pre-practice or pre-competition routine and helps prepare the body for the demands of today’s pickleball game. An effective warm-up does five very important things for pickleball players.

1. Increases body temperature allowing muscles to work more efficiently.
2. Gets the heart and lungs ready for vigorous activity.
3. Stretches muscles actively, preparing them for the forces experiences during pickleball.
4. Engrains proper movement patterns and the coordination needed in pickleball.
5. Wakes up the nervous system and gets the brain talking with the muscles.

A dynamic warm-up, which involves stretching with movement, accomplishes all of these tasks.
Warming up for pickleball is an important part of your routine. Research suggests it can speed nerve transmission, increase blood flow to the muscles and assist in injury prevention. The aim is to increase your breathing and warm up the specific muscles to be used in each stroke and court movement. Start with low impact movements and gradually build to more dynamic movements that contract and stretch the muscles through their full range of motion. Start at the baseline and move forward to the net, then repeat each movement backwards to the baseline:

• Walk on heels
• Walk on toes
• Right leg lunge, then rotate upper body to the left. Repeat on left leg, and alternate
• Lift right knee to hip level, then straighten knee, repeat on left leg and alternate
• Lunge sideways
• Skip
• Jog
• jog with knees high in front
• Jog with heels to buttocks
• Side steps
• Side step crossovers.

On the spot with racquet:

• Split step then shadow forehand, repeat for backhand 10 times each side
• Split step then shadow forehand volley, Repeat for backhand volley 10 times each side.

Pickleball Paddle Review: Pro-lite Graphite Blaster

This is a paddle review of Pro-lite sports new Graphite Blaster.  This is Pro-lite's newest paddle, and according to Pro-lite, "have been the best sellers." The Graphite Blaster is extremely light. When I first picked it up, I was surprised how light it is. I put it on my digital scale and it only weighed 6.5 oz, yet the paddle face is one of the largest on the market. Because of it's larger overall paddle face, it has a greater sweet spot, so you can have no excuse not hitting the ball. This means, combined with the Graphite addition, you can hit the ball harder with less energy and more bounce with almost no sacrifice in paddle speed. If your playing style includes a long swing motion (Swing motion is distance that the paddle travels by moving your arm back and raising your paddle and then swinging down through ball contact and then back up on your follow-through) then the pro-lite Graphite Blaster is a great selection for you. I myself find the paddle a little on the light side, but I have heard many great reviews of how lightning fast peoples reactions are with the Graphite Blaster. The graphics alone are great. The paddles sell for $65 CDN.

Pickleball App

Okay for all you pickleballers and Ipad lovers, Onix sports now has a pickleball app! Keep score of your Pickleball games in real time with this awesome iPad app! There is a blank "coaches" board for you and your friends to draw up plays. Additionally, you will find the Score Tracker modules that allows you to keep track of the game scores and player's positioning with ease.

INSTRUCTIONS

Pickleball Playbook
- Use a stylus or your fingers to draw up plays on the coaches board.
- This is a unique training tool to help you and your partner draft up plays or talk about pickleball strategy.
- The ball can be dragged to the desired location.
- Use the clear button to erase the board and start over.

Score Tracker
- Select the game (singles or doubles and total points).
- Decide on which player will serve first and the player's positioning.
- Player 1 (starting server for the game) should be entered in the first player text box.
- If you are playing doubles, Player 3 should be the first server on the opposing team.
- Select Start Game after entering in all the players.
- The highlighted quadrant indicates whomever is serving.
- Once a rally is won, click on the + (plus sign) for the team that won the rally. The App will do the rest and figure out the correct positioning until the game is won.
- If you make a mistake, just select undo.
- One the game is finished, click Reset.
- Select Game History after a game is complete to view the results.

Search "Onix Sports Pickleball" in your ipad store.

Pickleball Strategy: Court movement

Mobility is important but don't overlook economy - don't waste energy shuffling backwards and sideways. Striding, lunging and sidestepping are much more effective than using lots of small steps. You will find it difficult at first to judge strides, often arriving beyond the ball or losing your balance after over-striding. By striding, your body position is lower and your knees are already bent, a much better position from which to stroke the ball than an upright, running posture. Karate, for example, executes well placed lunges for side to side movement.

Pickleball Reminder: New weekend times

Hey Abbotsford Pickleballers...or Fraser Valley/Lower mainland Pickleballers. Get out for the start of this wekkends new pickleball time at ARC. Saturdays & Sundays 7:00 - 8:45 AM. The best start to any weekend!