If you had to guess: what’s the most money a municipality has spent on pickleball?

Is it a few grand for some new courts? Maybe 25K for a full-blown lighted multi-court situation?

As far as we know, this honorable spend belongs to Wichita City. They invested $6 million of taxpayer money in the creation of a pickleball complex in South Wichita this year.

I’ve never wanted to live in (South) Wichita more.

Do you have an interesting story about something that happened to you on the court? We want to hear it! Email us here to spin your pickleball tale.

In This Issue:

• Disguise your body language

• MLP San Clemente breakdown

• NCAA pickle league could solve many problems

• Beating the Johns

Happy Friday. Let’s go!

Hear What They’re Not Saying

The ability to read body language is an undervalued part of pickleball. The sooner you know what shot is coming, the better you can prepare.

When you jump on the court with someone who just started playing, it is pretty easy to see what they are going to do with the ball. You know if it is coming fast or slow based on their body language.

Senior Pro Champion Steve Dawson has a tip to disguise your body language and keep your opponent guessing.

Dawson suggests that your dinks look exactly like your speedups. A speedup from the kitchen does not require a big wind-up. Just a quick acceleration at the last second.

If you haven't broken the habit of using a big swing, try to recreate the same swing path and motion on your dinks.

As Dawson shows in the video, his dink swing path is compact and so is his attack.

It's never a bad idea to film yourself playing. If you get some gameplay recorded, be sure to review if your attack is indistinguishable from your dink.

And if you need some help staying honest as you review your form, we have an app suggestion for you.

Make Money off Your Home Court

As if you need another reason to add a homecourt to your backyard, now you can share your court with local players when you aren’t using it.

Swimply allows court owners the chance to rent out homecourts and players the opportunity to reserve a private court for their game.

Off and Rolling in San Clemente

Day one from San Clemente is in the books and we've got some surprise contenders moving to the knockout stage. The AZ Drive and Miami Pickleball Club are advancing out of Group A.

Unsatisfied with previous performances, the Drive underwent a complete overhaul throughout season one. Then their big man Andreas Siljeström was a gameday scratch and was replaced by Anderson Scarpa.

New members of the team John Cincola and Genie Erokhina had a huge impact for the Drive and finished in the top 5 in the individual player standings for the day.

Miami was the only team to defeat the Drive and advanced out of group play with a 2-1 record.

There were no surprises in Group B:

• The two-time champ Bay Area Breakers went 3-0 and claimed the top spot.

• The Chicago Slice finished just behind them and casually advanced to the knockout stage. They had the highlight of the day, an unbelievable game winner from Ryler DeHart in men's doubles.

In Group C:

• The Daytona runner-up Dallas Pickleball Club went 3-0 and will have a bye into the semis.

• Sam Querrey and the DC Pickleball Team stole the second spot and will make their first appearance in the knockout stage.

The Challenger Level quarters and semis will be played today but most eyes will be focused on the Premier Level teams who will complete two of their group play matches today.

Tune in for more thrilling team pickleball and dreambreakers all weekend long on the Major League Pickleball Youtube. And don't miss the special live PicklePod on Sunday leading into the Premier Level final.

The NCAA Pickle League Needs to Form

American Universities are struggling to recruit new students, finance athletic programs, and provide access to the college experience.

Part of the solution to all these problems? Launching the collegiate varsity pickleball league.

At least that’s what Fahoum says. He’s an advocate for social change through sports who is not the first to note where American universities are financially right now:

• Undergrad enrollment in fall 2021 dropped 3.1%. Since 2019, the drop amounted to 6.6%

• Loss in revenue has forced colleges to either raise tuition or cut costs, especially in their athletic departments

But for colleges and their students, pickleball on campus wouldn’t be so strange. Participants under the age of 21 were the fastest growing cohort between 2020 to 2021, according to USA Pickleball.

Intramural competitions and sponsored events on campuses are already occurring, never mind the DUPR Collegiate National Championship.

With millions pouring into our sport, it will raise schools’ national profile, boost the number of applicants, and lure major donors. The revenue can finance operations and fund scholarships.

Launching a collegiate pickleball league can help universities generate revenue, increase access to college, and create opportunities for college graduates.

In a time when the median annual cost per athlete is more than $700 while the average pro pickleball players make over $100,000 annually, our sport may be a viable, low-cost solution for athletic students to consider.

Read Fahoum’s full blog on the topic here.

Stay in the game with OS1st

The Official Sock of Major League Pickleball, OS1st compression socks are designed for comfort, injury prevention and improved recovery.

A Growing Number of Pros trust OS1st including Jay Devilliers, Jessie Irvine, James Ignatowich, and Brooke Buckner.

Hear what “Big Poppa Jimmy” said about the sock’s comfort and durability, “I finally found the one sock that can handle split steps as aggressive as mine.”

To learn more about OS1st products visit www.os1st.com.

A Foolproof Strategy to Beat the World’s #1’s

What will it take to beat the most dominant men’s team in the game? Zane Navratil thinks he has the answer.

The guys cover the stand-out performances from San Clemente including the rise of Hurricane Tyra Black. Equity and royalties are now being structured into paddle deals. How big should the pros’ slice be in the pickleball pie?

Watch here or listen here.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• A tennis player's dream paddle

• ICYMI: 8 MLP rule changes ahead of San Clemente

Highlights

• Pickleball is not golf 🗣️

• Did he survive?

• A matter of etiquette

• Newman goes flying

Homecourt Havens

The crown jewel of this $31 million CA home is the deep purple pickleball court surrounded by palm trees. This crib was recently scooped up by St Louis Shock owner Richard Chaifetz.

If you have a homecourt that you’d like to start paying the bills, sign up for Swimply’s pickleball feature: coming soon.

A review from the Dink Fam...