Welcome to Sturbridge
Pickleball
Play during the winter is mostly at the
Southbridge YMCA. Membership or day pass ($5 65 and over, $10
under 65) required. Monday thru Friday 1-4, Tues and Thur also
4-7:30. Both Open play (2.0-5.0) and Advanced (3.5-5.0) sessions
are available.
Occasional play outdoors at The Rec weather and court conditions
permitting.
We use Playtime Scheduler
(PTS) for both venues as it allows us to see who and how many
are planning to play. PTS is a free web-based app that can be
put on your phone/tablet. Sign up, answer to question is 0-0-2,
we are in Southern County Worcester, MA. Click on the Globe icon
to set the region(s). PTS let's you know when a session has
attracted 4 players, allows for notes, etc.
Click here for Pickleball
101 - the basics of the game. Many video links below.
Buying a paddle guide: here is PickleballCentral's comprehensive
guide to buying a paddle.
Whether you buy from them or not
it is a worthwhile read. Pay particular attention to paddle
weight and grip size. At PickleballCentral a given paddle
has a weight range and you can specify the weight you want
and comes is one or more grip sizes - not all paddles will
meet your specifications, look at the table on the guide to
get an idea. These options might not be available from
other sources (Dick's, Amazon). (Read below about our Club
Code, 5% discount, trial period at PickleballCentral).
Keep in mind that the
Sturbridge Rec courts are public courts so we hope no one else
will be using them during our play schedule. Bring water,
chair, hat, bug spray needed sometimes. Portapotty is on site
in summer; bring your own water.
2022 Rule changes: The drop serve has been retained as an
alternative to the traditional serve, and service lets are
no more so any served ball hitting the net but going into
the correct service box must be played. Here's a link
to a video of drop serve details. New for 2022 is that spin on the
service can only be imparted by hand, the paddle cannot be
used as a surface to impart spin prior to serving the
ball.
Here are some links to guide you in buying a new paddle: PickleballCentral.com has a good guide;
also this guide was very helpful
Is your
traditional serve legal? Check out
this link Really, you should
check it out! And check
this one for improving
your serve and seeing how the good players serve, legally!
Drop serve? It's a DROP, not a bounce! Many videos on
Youtube!
Kitchen or NVZ: Most Complete
Pickleball Non Volley Zone Rule ;
3 Myths
about the Kitchen everyone should watch these at some
point!
Here's a video on 3rd Shot
Drop Skills and Drills
Need a pickleball laugh? Excerpt
from
Last Man Standing
What
Kind of Pickleball Player are You?
It's here! Our own club rewards code! Anyone ordering pickleball
stuff from Pickleball
Central can now use our own ClubRewards code which is CRSturbridge (it's not case
sensitive, btw). Put it in the Coupon box at checkout.
You'll get
a 5% discount on what you buy and Sturbridge Pickleball will also
get 5%. Every February Sturbridge Pickleball will receive a gift
card we can use to buy things for our club! And shipping
is free for orders over $69 (actually, about $74 if you are
getting the 5% discount).
If anyone
is ordering balls we are playing with the Franklin X40 ball
primarily. We also play with the Onix ones both outdoors and
indoors types especially for newer players or older players
looking for a higher bounce and hang time. The Onix outdoors Fuse
G2 is what you should look for.
Videos worth watching! - Paddle
Position At the NVZ ; Quick Hands
for Net Domination ; When to
Move Up in Doubles
Some videos on successful dinking: Five keys to successful
dinking Grip
Pressure for Dinking Unattackable Dinks
Hitting
Dead Dinks
If you want to improve you really need
to do drills! 5 Great
Drills (fourth one at about 6
minutes is especially good and the 5th is similar but all are
good)
Another drill: Two Person
Game Drill
Join us to learn, play, and have a great time!
Location of the Sturbridge
Rec
courts on Cedar Pond Road in Sturbridge. Open to public, no
fee.
If you want to play/practice with us at other times please email us.
For more information and/or to join our mailing list please email SturbridgePickleball@gmail.com
Here's a video from WCVB (Channel 5) Boston on the pickleball craze
(40Mb): Pickleball
craze in Massachusetts
Thanks, and stay out of the kitchen (newbies, you'll find out)
Frostbite Pickleball Nov 30, 2018
- temp 40F, wind 0, great playing conditions for Bob &
Carol, Cliff, Dave O, Les, and Brian. First time we've played on
the newly line-painted courts!
Pickleball
Shoes
