Great news!
Lots of good things happening on the Heber Valley pickleball front. Midway City has now put dedicated pickleball courts in their capital budget with $85,000 allocated. The project plans for 4 new courts, hopefully beginning construction this summer. The courts would be located south of the Valais tennis courts. Since the funds may not cover the total cost of 4 courts, we may begin with 2 and still be able to use the tennis courts.When we formed the Heber Valley Pickleball Club, we discussed helping the city with fundraising for courts. Your ideas of what we might do to raise more for this project would be welcome.
Approval of the budget will be at the City Council meeting on Wednesday, May 13. You can show your support by attending the meeting. Put it on your calendars. More information about the agenda will be sent out closer to that date.
Club Update
HVPC now has 2 new Board members: Cary Hobbs has filled the vacancy of Vice-President, and Mickey Oksner will be our liaison with city and county government.The Valais courts have been taped and will be painted soon, as summer outdoor play begins. Some players may continue to play at the Rec Center as well. Those who enjoy playing outside, whenever the weather cooperates, meet your fellow picklers at Valais courts. Open play will be every day at 9 am except Monday and Friday at 10:30 until school is out, then at 9 those days also.
Wasatch County is also looking at outdoor locations for pickleball courts. Since we have been playing all winter at the Wasatch Co. Rec Center, they know how popular the game is and how much it has grown. Currently we've been told that the 2 courts in Southfield Park in Heber will be striped for pickleball.
MEMBERSHIP
Hooray! We now have 50 members and interest is growing. In the first 2 days of this week, we had 7 new (to us) players, some of whom had played other places, some who were new to the game. We also will have our "snowbirds" returning for the summer so prepare for a busy season of pickleball!
Those of you who participated in the recent tournament may have also responded to Mike Altieri's survey with positive feedback and ideas for future tournaments. The Board discussed the possibility of a fall tournament with a similar format as April 7th.
We also talked about holding mini-clinics during the summer as well as larger clinics with experienced players or pros. Your feedback on clinics and tourneys would be helpful in making future plans. Contact Mike with your ideas: ma1977@swbell.net, 913-449-3944.
And speaking of future plans:
Summer Kickoff
PLAN TO JOIN US FOR THE SUMMER KICKOFF
THURSDAY, JUNE 4TH
VALAIS PARK COURTS & PAVILLIONS
4PM TO 6PM - EXHIBITION GAME & OPEN PLAY
6:30 - POTLUCK
Bring your beverage of choice and a dish to share. Appetizers, sides, casseroles, or desserts - your choice. We'll provide tableware, utensils, napkins, & ice.
Bring friends & neighbors. Picklers & nonpicklers welcome!!!
RSVP by Monday, June 1st to Leslie Oksner - 2lolo@earthlink.net, 435-671-1405
T-shirts
The first order of t-shirts was a hit and many of us are wearing our club logo when we play. Great promotion of the club, yay! Bill Miano is working on a new shirt, a performance T, perfect for summer play. When he completes the design, he will send out the information for ordering. Stay tuned.
New member Carole Sanders shared this YouTube link to the Pickleball Blues. Listen at http://youtu.be/Atazp_5lJJQ.
Honing your pickleball skills
Most of us want to continue to develop in the game of pickleball. We play and play and play game after game after game and STILL, we make the same mistakes or don't improve either our technique or strategy.Drills can help as can watching experienced and professional players. Since we all use the internet for almost everything, why not watch some pickleball?
Here's a list of great sites that show everything from serving to dinking to lobbing to stacking and all variations of play in between, including all the things you shouldn't do, like NEVER EVER err with a service fault. Now how many of us have EVER done that? You can also watch some great tournament play with champions in singles, men's, women's and mixed doubles.
Google pickleball and just see what there is out there, including equipment if you want to buy a paddle, balls, bags, clothes, etc.
www.usapa.com - Join the national association and receive a t-shirt, rules book, and monthly newsletter. The website is full of interesting information too!
www.pickleballchannel.com
www.pickleballcentral.com
www.pickleballrocks.com
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