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Pickleball Coach, Prem Carnot, The Pickleball Guru will teach you to play Smart Pickleball.

7 “Hit to the Middle” Secrets Every Pickleball Player Should Know

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We’re trying a new format, where for certain topics, we will divide the blog post into different sections for different skill levels.  Let us know what you think by commenting down below.  Now… On to this month’s topic!

7 “Hit to the Middle” Secrets Every Pickleball Player Should Know

If you’ve been playing pickleball for any length of time you’ve probably been told by some player (probably more advanced than you) to “Hit to the Middle”.  Maybe you’ve even congratulated your team on a winning shot by saying “Down the Middle Solves the Riddle!” (With or without a somewhat obnoxious “Yeah, Baby!” added before or afterwards…)

Hitting down the middle is often an excellent strategy, but it’s also frequently mis-understood and incorrectly implemented.  [Read more…] about 7 “Hit to the Middle” Secrets Every Pickleball Player Should Know

The 3 Most Common “Paddle Up” Mistakes (Featured on The Pickleball Channel)

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This week’s episode of Pickleball 411 Features (you guessed it!) Yours Truly Sharing the 3 Most Common Mistakes People Make When it Comes to Keeping Your Paddle Up…

If you aren’t subscribed to Pickleball Channel, do it ASAP!

Pickleball Channel produces TONS of great video content featuring top players, coaches and thought leaders in the sport of pickleball.

They produce plenty of more in-depth content but one of my favorite things they do is called “Pickleball 411” where they give you some great pickleball advice wrapped up in just a few short minutes.

If you’ve been part of #GuruNation for any period of time, chances are you’ve heard me discuss this week’s topic of keeping your paddle up before, BUT I am willing to bet you $100 that you STILL aren’t doing it consistently.  [Read more…] about The 3 Most Common “Paddle Up” Mistakes (Featured on The Pickleball Channel)

What You Win From Me Losing at Nationals

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Back before I was "The Pickleball Guru" when I was just another bloke getting his behind walloped... We look confident but I am pretty sure neither of us even knew what a dink was!
Back before I was “The Pickleball Guru” when I was just another bloke getting his behind walloped… We look confident but I am pretty sure neither of us even knew what a dink was! Back then there weren’t many online resources to learn about pickleball!

Unless you’ve been living in a bubble, or you haven’t yet reached the advanced stages of the pickleball addiction, you are probably aware that the 7th Annual National Pickleball Tournament will take place in Casa Grande, Arizona next week.

My wife and I competed in the first national tournament. (If you’ve read my book, you know that that’s where we got our behinds kicked!) The rest, as they say, is history.  I haven’t missed a year yet.

I’ll be heading off later this week to teach and compete in what will be the largest, most competitive tournament yet.

If you think YOU put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform well, imagine if you had a following of thousands of people who know you as “The Pickleball Guru!”  It could be a lot of pressure.

And, yet, as you know from the title of this post, I’m prepared to lose and I’m not afraid to admit it.

What?!?

“The Guru” is going into Nationals prepared to lose??

What kind of mindset it that?!?  

Here’s why I can feel 100% confident admitting that I’m not likely to take a medal at Nationals also feel 100% confident serving my VIP clients who pay thousands of dollars to come train with me…

[Read more…] about What You Win From Me Losing at Nationals

Get a Grip On Your Game…

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In the survey I did a while back, a few people asked about proper grip techniques and positions.

It can be a tricky subject because most people don’t realize that the way you hold the paddle at the beginning of the point is usually not how you’re holding it when you actually hit the ball.  Plus, most paddles don’t have the octagonal base like a tennis grip, so it’s a little harder to gauge the angles of the paddle relative to your hand than in tennis or badminton.

In this article, I’m going to tell you about the most common grips I see players use across the country, how to tell the difference between them, and which one NOT to use if you’re one of those people who “Doesn’t Have a Backhand.”

[Read more…] about Get a Grip On Your Game…

The Ball’s In Your Court… How Can I Help You?

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This month, I’m changing things up a little.  Nope, you’re not going to get a new article today.  (But, wait, read on!!)

You know how patience pays off in pickleball? (Or, rather, do you believe it would if you could manage to BE more patient?) 😉

Patience will pay off here, too.  You see…

  • Some of you have been reading my newsletters for years, others just signed up last week…
  • Some of you have read my book already and some haven’t…
  • Some are past tennis pros and some have never played a sport in your life ’til you got addicted to pickleball…

I want to know how I can best help YOU.

So this month, it’s up to you to tell me what you want to know about the strategy, strokes and positioning YOU need to play better pickleball… [Read more…] about The Ball’s In Your Court… How Can I Help You?