The Sky Is Not Falling!

For the past couple of weeks I've been playing a bit outside my comfort zone - new location, new partners, new opponents, new skill levels, and new challenges.

The change in scenery has been welcoming, refreshing, and a ton of fun.

While I had to watch carefully and adjust to some different styles of play, I am happy to report that, contrary to popular opinion, the "game" is pretty much the same everywhere. The net is still 34" in the center, the court is still 44' by 20', and you still have to keep the ball in play and on the court to win.

Yes, the way the game is played changes from time to time and occasionally from place to place - we see periods where we get a hot paddle, or an exceptional banger, or a very athletic and young newcomer, but the game itself doesn't change much.

As for the pro game, the top smart players will adjust their style of play as necessary, and will quickly rise to the top again. The Johns brothers lost, adjusted, and quickly dispensed with any talk of having to kick one of them to the side. Anna Leigh and Catherine learned a hard lesson last week when someone had the gall to challenge them to numerous hand battles and then BEAT them at it. Do you really think this is going to happen again soon? They will learn from it, adjust, win again, and move on like it never happened.

So the game we love is in good hands and will continue to be so well into the future. Sorry Chicken Little, the sky is not falling, and you will not see any big differences the next time you step on a court.

Get back out there and have a great week!

Michael Gauthier
​Pickleball Strokes