Happy Friday. Need we remind you that The Dink is always accepting your best pickleball clips?

And we don’t just mean your successful shots. Send in your most humorous fail clips, too. We promise to behave ourselves while we’re roasting you.

(Side note: if you’re not recording yourself play, you may be missing out on more than just an opportunity to land on our social media pages).

Send ‘em here.

In This Issue:
 
➡️ Be the better right-sider
🤩 Celeb match at Nationals
🤠 Pickle’s best school is in the Lonestar State

Let’s cook.

You’re Playing Doubles Wrong

Last time we had Collin Johns on the PicklePod, he explained why you shouldn't split the court 50/50 with your partner.

This week, he went one step further and told us his exact code to success: a 70/30 split.

So, what does it take to be a good right side player?

Mentality: "You're job is to make your partner look good."

• They're going to get the winners and the credit most of the time, you have to be okay with that.

• "If you do a really good job of passing to your partner, like in basketball or other sports, you have enormous value, and your partners are going to love playing with you."

Where would MJ be without Scottie Pippen? How about Karl Malone without John Stockton? A good assist man can make a huge difference.

You could argue that playing the right side (as a right-hander) is more difficult than playing the left.

Sure, the left side has more responsibility, but they also get the benefit of using their forehand to cover more court.

Before you default to putting the lesser player on the right, consider the difficulty of being an effective right-side player. Or just find yourself a left-handed partner and don’t let go.

A Drink for Sports & Everything Else

Introducing Sap's electrolyte drinks: the difference-maker in peak workout performance.

Unlike other sports drinks, Sap's boasts of transparency, offering products free from added sugars or artificial colors and enriched with potent ingredients like the energy-boosting Shiitake Mushroom, the natural sweetener Monk Fruit, and the nutrient-rich Coconut Water Powder.

With flavors catering to every taste bud – it's designed for every athlete, especially the pickleball player striving to out-dink their opponent. For hydration that goes beyond mere thirst, choose Sap's.

Visit sapsoriginal.com and use code DINK20 at checkout!

Sports Stars to Try Their Hand at Pickleball

Sports icons Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Romo, Jason Kidd, Tyler Seguin and John Isner will join some of the PPA Tour's top talent in a celebrity pickleball tournament during the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships.

In case you're unfamiliar with some of these names...

If a celebrity pickleball tournament wasn't enough, Nationals has other big plans for this year's event. Those include:

• A Guinness World Record attempt for Largest Pickleball match

• Dozens of musical acts including American Idol winner Phillip Phillps and local sensations Le Freak

• Beer gardens, music venues, culinary immersions, tasting rooms, interactive games, kid-friendly activities

The Celebrity Pickleball Showdown will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 7 at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, kicking off professional-level play at the event.

A Lifetime Supply of Pickleball Gear

Be a hero for your hometown. Bring a new pickleball facility to your city and give your pickle crew a place to play.

Not the cape-wearing type? No problem. Individual winners can take home a lifetime supply of paddles, bags, and apparel.

The Dink has teamed up with The Picklr and Katy Perry’s Firework Foundation to bring a Picklr facility to one lucky city and a truckload of other prizes to 50+ winners. Learn more here.

Driving Home the Win

The National Pickleball League's inaugural season came to an exciting finish last weekend in Glendale, AZ.

The new league is the first and only professional pickleball league for senior pros aged 50+. It is made up of six teams representing six different metropolitan cities.

Last weekend’s championship match at Chicken-N-Pickle in Glendale, pitted third-ranked Indy Drivers against the first-place Austin Ignite.

Led by two legends in the pro game, Rick Witsken and Nathalie Bagby, the Drivers put the Ignite in their rearview to claim the checkered flag and hoist the NPL Cup.

It was the Drivers’ mixed doubles team of Kim Jagd and Tao Thongvanh delivered the final blow. They overcame a 2-7 deficit in their third set to come back, win the match, and win the team championship for Indy.

After a successful first season, NPL co-founder Michael Chen says the league has plans for growth in 2024. They aim to expand to 10+ teams and host events in even more cities next year. Turning 50 never sounded so good.

Healthy Hydration

Drinking enough water isn’t just about keeping your blood pumping or your body properly hydrated.

You literally need water to stay smart and strong on the court. If you’ve ever asked yourself if you’re drinking enough water, the answer is: probably not.

Click here to find the best water bottle for you. Their bottles keep fluids cool all day, whether you’re practicing with friends or competing for gold.

The Best School for Pickleballers?

Several colleges around the country announced spiffy new pickleball facilities leading up to the start of the semester. But, as the saying goes…everything’s bigger in Texas.

The Texas A&M Pickleball Club currently comprises over 150 members, to say nothing of the GroupMe intramural league of over 500 casual players.

To accommodate these unusually-large groups at an unusually-large school, the home of the Aggies now boasts 10 designated courts and 18 temporary courts.

But they haven’t stopped at court construction.

The A&M Physical Education Activity Program has eight pickleball classes, attracting more than 200 students.

We can hardly say we’re surprised. This is Texas A&M we’re talking about; a school with over 57,000 students spread out over 5,200 acres. Clearly, they have the space and the resources to kickstart pickleball to this capacity.

But even so, eight classes dedicated to the sport seems impressive, even for a large school. Let’s hope their dedication inspires other schools to invest in a similar capacity.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Get "the gist" of what's going on in the sports world

• ICYMI: Pickleball forehand roll tips to carry over from tennis

Highlights

• “We’re just here to have some fun”

• Dudes will trash talk pickleball 24/7 then go out and play this

• Rationalizing the lob

• Collin Johns calls out the Bryan Brothers 

Homecourt Havens

This week’s homecourt isn’t a jaw-dropper. It’s a pretty ordinary setup, but the owner, on the other hand, is far from ordinary. This court belongs to the man who could take over the pro scene next year, tennis legend Jack Sock.

Let your home court pay for itself with Swimply.

A review from the Dink Fam...