Playing in the summer heat!
By Steven Carr August 2024
Playing pickleball in our Ocala Florida summers can still be enjoyable, but it’s essential to prioritize safety, due to your heat and sun exposure.
Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water before, during, and after play, as dehydration can set in quickly.
https://tpc.pickleball.plus/
Steven Carr
What is Pickleball? July 2024
For those new OTOW residents who do not know what Pickleball is…it is the Seniors’ Secret to Fun and Fitness!
This exciting sport has been sweeping through seniors communities across the globe, captivating players with its unique blend of accessibility, camaraderie, and sheer enjoyment. Pickleball has become the fastest growing sport in America!
Did you know the OTOW Pickleball Club IS THE LARGEST CLUB IN OTOW!?The reasons may surprise you!
Pickleball is very easy to learn.
It is a low impact sport and learning how to play becomes even easier once you become a Club Member!
Why….because…. we have a wonderful team of club volunteers to not only teach/coach you how to play but will teach you how to excel and win!
PB 101 is for those who are new to the sport and/or OTOW pickleball club. Come to our open orientation class on Mondays or the 1st Saturday of the month at 10:30 AM at the upper-level courts. Dress for the weather and bring water, we’ll take care of the rest.
So, If you are interested and would like to come and check us out, come by the upper courts with the Big Oak Trees and look for a volunteer or member to assist you. There are applications available on the courts.
Once you have joined and paid your dues, you will be assigned a username and password to access the website. Then use the website to sign up for our fun and free training!
The social aspect of the club helps you meet new players every day in open play and we also have a lot of fun social and playing events year round!
As we enter the summer months in OTOTW, an annual migration takes place that makes interesting changes to our Pickleball playing times. The snowbirds fly or drive to their northern summer homes. This reduces the number of players on the pickleball courts.
Many groups of players have formed their own “time on the courts” from around 5:00 AM to 7:30 PM with the purpose of honing their play and increasing their skill without the heat of the mid-day sun.
When you sign up to join us online, be sure to access the members site and click on events to see all the training and learning opportunities provided by our very skilled volunteers and friendly members!
The unsung Hero’s who make playing Pickleball better at On Top of the World.
One of the biggest hurdles to starting a new sport or activity is learning how to play at a competitive level.
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the USA and there are more than 600 OTOW residents who play pickleball ranging in age from their early 50’s to their late 80’s. That is a lot of opportunities to learn, have fun, play and participate with Men and women alike. You will meet and make new friends every day!
So, what do you do if you want to experience this fun and exciting sport? You simply join Top Pickleball Club for only $18 a year. Then you have access to a group of volunteers who are waiting to teach you all you need to know to get you up and playing at an accelerated pace.
Our training team is led by Coach Ron Edward, whose passion is to help people change their lives in the simplest and most realistic way possible. He believes everyone deserves the right to good health and to be happy with themselves inside and out.”
Ron is “Hands On” when working with his training team and many levels of members skill sets. He lets people know that he is patient and understands that all players were beginners when they first tried the sport.
Ron is certified to train our members and trainers by The Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), The International Pickleball Federation (IFP) and The Pickleball Coaching International. (PCI)
Our Club is extremely proud to have Ron leading our Elite Team of Trainers
Top Pickleball Club Volunteer Instructors
Changes are coming on the OTOW Pickleball courts!
April 2024
Hello OTOW friends and all our Pickleball playing members.
We all know the changes of the seasons are once again warming the courts to encourage earlier morning and late afternoon playing. “And I wonder where those dreams of covered, air-conditioned, well-lit pickleball courts come from!”
Other changes are also being implemented to help reduce the waiting times between games, as well as how we move on the courts as we play.
We are scheduled to implement new signs soon for the courts to help the player traffic flow.
When the courts are full, the “4 on 4 off” signs will be visible to help the flow of players on the courts. This is practiced almost universally on most busy pickleball courts throughout the USA. (I know, many of us grew up playing “King of the Hill!”) Just remind yourself it is for the greater good.
Along with the “4 on 4 off” signs, we are going to soon roll out the practice of “the Slide” or Sliding.
Look for the new video soon on our YouTube Channel, showing you how to help eliminate the endless flow of players coming off the courts and walking behind you on their way to their rehydration stations as they break between games.
Our new YouTube channel can be viewed by going to “TopPickleballClub.com and then click on the the YouTube Icon. In the future we will have events, training and more on YouTube for your viewing pleasure!
In closing, remember, our hard working volunteer pickleball trainers who are ready to take you from Zero to Hero as fast as you want to go! If you are a current OTOW resident reading this and your interest is peaked, make your way to the pickleball courts adjacent to the OTOTW Rec Center, Monday through Saturday between 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM.
Top Pickleball Club March 2024 News Letter
By Steven Carr
What a wonderful February! Top Pickleball Club members enjoyed several great social and play events with good Florida winter weather and fun times.
Our pickleball training team has been green-lighted to develop a more robust and complete A to Z training program with the goal to fast-track new Pickleball club members on the path to better playing and ranking.
In February’s Board meeting, the Board engaged a volunteer committee who were given the task of explore ways that other large Pickleball communities dealt with challenges of high levels of court usage during the morning hours playing, as well as other court usage opportunities..
The committee presented the results of their findings and recommendations to the Board Members in early March at the board meeting. Their recommendations were well researched and, after careful review, were given a go ahead to be adopted and implemented over the coming weeks with the goal to provide a fair and equitable way to reduce the waiting time between games in the morning hours on all courts.
Additionally, we added to our Social footprint with a YouTube Channel to host videos of events and more. as a way to communicate more effectively with our current members as well as potential new members.
Moving forward, we now have open orientation for all new residents/members/players to the game of Pickleball.
Every Monday at 10:30 AM on the upper courts and the first Saturday of the month, same time and place. Just show up and we will assist you on your journey to master the game.
This is not a skills training class; it is a basic game and rules introduction to the game of pickleball in OTOW’s Pickleball Club. No need to bring any equipment for this. Just bring something to drink for hydration. Time frame is 1 to 11/2 hours. Also, no need to sign up, there will be a class even if only 1 person attends, unless otherwise notified (such as holidays, inclement weather, etc.
Thank you to all the volunteers who make this possible!
We are Looking forward to seeing you on the Pickleball Courts!
February 2024 NewsLetter
By Steven Carr
January 2024 has quickly become a distant image in our rear view mirror as we have worked through the cold, wet and windy Pickleball play that January and February eternally brings.
In January, we had the fun of “Color Wars” and the following social event.
Additionally, We also had a “Donut” day for all morning players on all levels
February 2024 also had a busy social roster full with activities.
New Court usage, including a better flow of players during busy play times from 7:30 AM- to 10:30 AM. Monday through Saturday, was implemented in January and is waiting for additional input from a committee formed to find the best solutions.
Top Pickleball Club is also going to see transformable changes in the pickleball training the club provides for free to all the members. The new approach will be implemented by our very experienced club training volunteers who are committed to providing a complete training program for all levels of play. Additionally the board is looking to bring additional “Outside Pro” teachers to be used to in the future to train in specific areas, augmenting the volunteer trainers in their pursuit to bring each member to their full plying potential.
So, if you are a current OTOW resident reading this and your interest is sparked, make your way to the pickleball courts adjacent to the OTOTW Rec Center Monday thru Saturday between 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM.
Come see how the game is played. If you like what you see, come join us at one of our free introductory classes. These sessions are specifically for OTOW residents who want to learn about the fastest growing sport in the world!
Steven Carr
February 2024 Newsletter
By Steven Carr
As we close out 2023 and turn the page to 2024, we can look back at the fun, comradery, good exercise, and accomplishments we have all shared over the past year.
One very memorable event was having our volunteer members who worked with, trained, and enhanced the lives of the local athletes with the Special Olympics. In return, each volunteer walked away in the end knowing that they learned and benefitted more than they ever thought possible.
Through the power of sports, people with intellectual disabilities discovered new strengths, abilities, skills, and success.
Our athletes find joy, confidence and fulfillment—on the playing field and in life. They also inspire people in their communities and elsewhere to open their hearts to a wider world of human talents and potential.
In last month’s article, we shared their accomplishments made in practice and competition.
Unfortunately, the results were not fully tallied from their competition, resulting in not being able to include and share the participating winners in November.
So….with great pride, here are the athlete winners of 2023’s events
- We took 5 Delegates to compete in the State Competition
- Becky Richter – First Place Skills in Regionals / 5th. Place States
- Kenneth Lundy – First Place Skills in Regionals / Silver Medal States
- Lauren Hennicke – First Place Unified Doubles in Regionals/ Gold Medal State
- Connie Young – First Place Unified Doubles in Regionals/ Gold Medal States
- Zach Oetjen – First Place Singles in Regionals / Gold Medal States
- Barry Barnhart – Inspirational Coach – Marion County
2,580 Volunteer Hours during Special Olympics Training provided by member volunteers from our Pickleball club
