THE PICKLE POST
PRESCOTT PICKLEBALL ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
MAY 2026
UPDATES
MEET YOUR PLAY GROUP LIAISONS
Ann Steiner and Andrea Schmidlin are PPA’s Play Group Liaisons. What does that mean??? It means they’re your go-to people for questions regarding any of the following:
- Court and Kiosk signage (outdated, missing, erroneous, etc.)
- Shed inventory (Do we need balls? Bandaids? Ice Packs?)
- Lost and Found
- Ideas for new PPA playgroups or events
- Schedule and Calendar concerns
- Concerns about PPA player conduct
You can catch them on the courts, or find their contact info in the member directory on the PPA website.
Have a paddle you don't use anymore? Want to donate a new paddle(s)? PPA is starting back the pickleball paddle drive to support our community through events and donations. All paddles are welcome! Simply bring your paddle to a RR or Ladder and give to the captain in charge. Your past donations helped with the Boys and Girls club camps, and donations to various children's and school programs. Thank you.
April's Coaches Corner
Question Winners!
In April's Coaches Corner Coach Rick Bothell posed the question:
"Easy as the date March 14, 1592. First person to solve the riddle wins a free PB lesson at Pioneer Park from Rick"
The answer was "Original Pi date"
There were two winners:
Cynthia Brewner
Mia Misbach
Congratulations you both won a free lesson from Rick, Honorable mention goes to Jim Ray. Good job and thanks for playing,
NEW NEWS
Volunteer of the Month
Our volunteers are the life-blood of our organization and PPA wants to take the opportunity to celebrate them! Each month we will highlight someone from our amazing pool of volunteers we are privileged to have make PPA a great Pickleball destination. This month we highlight Marcie Moody!
We are proud to recognize Marcie Moody as our Volunteer of the Month!
Marcie was one of the original volunteers at the creation of Prescott Pickleball Association. She currently serves as a member-at-large on the PPA Board of Directors and our resident PPA Historian. Marcie is instrumental in all PPA
events. She has served in many capacities including organizing, partnering with other organizations, event coordinator for special events such as The Pickle Ball, Mark's Beer Garden social, and much more. Currently she is helping coordinate PPA volunteers in an effort to have a robust volunteer network.
It is with great appreciation and gratitude for all Marcie has contributed over the years to PPA, Thank You Marcie!
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Our next new member orientation will be held on May 2 at Pioneer Park Pavilion starting at 9:00 am. This is a great time to learn more about PPA, how we work, and all the programs that are open to you. Don't forget to bring your paddle as some Pickleball play will be part of the time spent together.
Any questions, please email prescottpickleball@gmail.com.
Please note when planning for play in June, all courts will be reserved from June 5-7 and there will be no PPA Round Robins and Ladders that weekend. Open play will go from 6-8 am.
EVENTS
May the Dinks be with You
Social Saturday Round Robin
Dink, Dink, Dink! Join us for another fun-filled Saturday of PPA Pickleball with all our PPA friends. This is such a popular event that we have opened it up to another 8 players so that we will be taking 10 courts. Registration will begin May 4 at 6:00 pm and all fees will be collected online. There will be no refunds. We look forward to spending a beautiful May day with you playing Pickleball!
Date: May 16, 2026
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Place: Pioneer Park
Click here to register May 4th @ 6:00 pm
Click here for more info as far as timing on the day of the RR.
Pickle for the Pets - 2026
We are getting closer and closer to this amazing tournament that supports the Yavapai Humane Society and our furry friends. This tournament will be a braketed event and will include skinny singles, mixed, men's, women's, and youth. Come by yourself for skinny singles, or find a partner and join in the fun. There will be a few vendors and sale of the very popular t-shirt supporing YHS. There is also a site where you can donate if you can't make the tournament, and a site to buy raffle items.
THE
COACHES
CORNER
by Sue Brogaard
** Pickleball phrases to live by **
Serve and Stay - Because of the two bounce rule, the serving team needs to stay behind the baseline and react to the return of serve. Staying behind the baseline will enable the players to move forward as needed and not get caught inside the court as the ball is returned to them.
Return and Go (Return and Run) - After the returning player returns the serve, they need to get up to the kitchen line to join their partner and form a wall, thus making it more difficult for the serving team to come up and play out the point. If the returning player stays back, they risk the chance that the serving team will continue to hit at their feet and prevent them from advancing to the kitchen line.
Shoulder high, let it fly - When in the transition zone, resist the temptation to hit high balls, as they are likely going out of bounds.
Low and Slow - I believe this is the best way to advance to the kitchen line to be competitive. Banging the ball from the baseline will only get you so far, so a controlled game is necessary in order to advance to the NVZ. Keeping the ball low minimizes the chance of your opponent being able to attack the ball.
Move, don't reach!! - Move your feet so your body is behind the ball as you make your hit. Doing so will keep you balanced and more ready for the next shot. Too often we reach just because we can, but that puts us in a bad situation for the next shot, as we are likely off balance, unstable, and out of position. We need to practice a quick shuffle movement and have 'Happy Feet'!
Create space between you and the ball: get out of your own way - This relates to the previous topic of moving your feet, except in this situation we don't move soon enough and the ball gets too close to us and we get jammed. Ideally, contact with the ball should be made about a foot or so in front of your feet.
Watch the ball hit your paddle - I continue to be amazed by how many people DO NOT watch the ball hit their paddle. If you have trouble with the ball coming off the side of your paddle or the tip of your paddle, this is likely the reason why it happens. Get in the habit of physically watching 👀 the ball hit the paddle every time you hit the ball.
Interested in private or group lessons?
- Feel free to contact me -
Sue Brogaard
608 790 0709 call or text
