Tony Schneider has been the president of USSP for some 18 months and he chats to Paddy about how he got into the sport and his plans for the organisation. Tony describes USSP, its aims and its mission. Also listen to how he learnt the reset shot (the hard way!), what's in Paddy's coffee mug, the importance of partner communication and hear the two of them debate whether a little bit of 'nastiness' is possibly coming into the sport.

If you're a senior, you play pickleball and you live in the US - you need to listen to this episode. AND you need to join USSP (see the link below) for only $20, which you can recoup by simply entering two or their seniors' tournaments (sounds good eh?).

But, actually, even if you live elsewhere in the world - there is a good chance that USSP is coming to you soon!

Join USSP here: https://usseniorpickleball.com/about/

Join our new (free) Academy here: https://www.skool.com/senior-pickleball-academy-9457/about

Paddy was in Malaysia a couple of months ago - and as always - when he travels he always has his trusty Friday pickleball paddle. Finding himself in Penang, Paddy hunted down some open play and joined in the fun. But what amazed him the most was the quality and dedication of the players. Malaysians have badminton and table tennis in their DNA - so pickleball is natural to them.

So, Malaysia has taken to the sport instantly and spontaneously! Its been in the country for only seven years and it has taken off big time - and much of this was due to seniors introducing pickleball into their own communities - and it grew from there.

Paddy meets up with Tommy Tan, a senior player, in Penang - and after playing, they talk about the phenomenal growth of pickleball in Malaysia (and Paddy asks him a cheeky question out of the blue!).

Check out our new (free) Academy: https://www.skool.com/senior-pickleball-academy-9457/about

This is the Story of one of our members - William Clelland - who dragged himself out of the Glasgow drug dens with the help of this amazing sport. Listen to his story of drink, trouble with the law, prison, heroin and deep dispair. Until one day, it all changed for him.

Be patient with his strong Scots accent - don't worry, after 5 mins you'll get used to it!

This is in total contrast to our episode a fortnight ago - when we met Lee Whitwell, the world #1 senior - but that is what Senior Pickleball Tips as all about.

Pickleball is about PEOPLE - and William is one of those people - just like you and me.

UPDATE - a month after this was recorded William won his first tournament against 23 others in an Americano tournament (what ever that is!). From heroin addiction to winning pickleball tournaments - what a guy!

Check out our new Academy:

https://www.skool.com/senior-pickleball-academy-9457/about

Check out our 140,000-strong Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/315147621275194

Wow! What a 50th episode we have for you!

Paddy chats to Lee Whitwell, the world No.1 Female 50+ pickleball player, US Next Gen coach, businesswoman and all-round bloody amazing person.

They discuss her early introduction into tennis then pickleball (in Gibraltar and England), what advantages are there to being a leftie, misogeny in the pickleverse (actually not that bad!), her book "The Third Space Effect: How Pickleball Became the Place We Belong" and her philosophy about the sport.

Also we are SO lucky - because Paddy manages to get some seriously valuable tips for the 10 Essential Shots including...

"I don't believe in hitting winners, I believe in setting up points"

Lee shares a joke and a funny story (she likes to make people laugh), then describes her work founding GameChangeHER Events which helps all players but especially focuses on women 40+ and why she feels the community side of things is much more important than the pro tour, the medals and the cups. But she should know - she's done both!

So listen to them chatting away and you might just take away a gem of advice or an incredible tip that will make a difference to your game.

Find Lee's book here :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/3rd-Space-Effect-Pickleball-Became/dp/B0GJ75B5Y8

Go to Game ChangeHER Events here :

https://www.gamechangeherevents.com/

Be one of the first to join our new Senior Pickleball Academy here :

https://www.skool.com/senior-pickleball-academy-9457/about

Wow! What a 50th episode we have for you!

Paddy chats to Lee Whitwell, the world No.1 Female 50+ pickleball player, US Next Gen coach, businesswoman and all-round bloody amazing person.

They discuss her early introduction into tennis then pickleball (in Gibraltar and England), what advantages are there to being a leftie, misogeny in the pickleverse (actually not that bad!), her book "The Third Space Effect: How Pickleball Became the Place We Belong" and her philosophy about the sport.

Also we are SO lucky - because Paddy manages to get some seriously valuable tips for the 10 Essential Shots including...

"I don't believe in hitting winners, I believe in setting up points"

Lee shares a joke and a funny story (she likes to make people laugh), then describes her work founding GameChangeHER Events which helps all players but especially focuses on women 40+ and why she feels the community side of things is much more important than the pro tour, the medals and the cups. But she should know - she's done both!

So listen to them chatting away and you might just take away a gem of advice or an incredible tip that will make a difference to your game.

Find Lee's book here :

https://www.amazon.in/3rd-Space-Effect-Pickleball-Became/dp/B0GJ75B5Y8

Go to Game ChangeHER Events here :

https://www.gamechangeherevents.com/

Be one of the first to join our new Senior Pickleball Academy here :

https://www.skool.com/senior-pickleball-academy-9457

Okay, okay I know - this is OVER AN HOUR LONG!!!!!

BUT - we've moved to high-intermediates (3.5) so there's more to to talk about. More ways to hit these essential shots. So many potential serves - which should I do? Do I do a 3rd shot drop or a 5th shot drop? What can I do if my backhand drive isn't as good as it should be? Is it good to 'Shake & Bake'? How do I prepare properly for a re-set shot? What do I need to do to try and get to 4.0?

I was going to cut this into 2 or 3 episodes - but decided to keep it as one to avoid muddling it with the 10 essential shots for other ratings. So maybe listen to it in sections. Or, if you have that 'seniors'' patience - just go for the whole hour!!

But, if you're a high-intermediate (like me) - you NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE.

Check out Coach Jeff at his YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@limitlesspickleball

Here is the ultimate guide to the 10 essential shots for intermediate senior pickleballers - for you to print out and keep:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lou9bvyp8mopsgr0si0mm/SUMMARY_PDF_10-SHOT.pdf?rlkey=wlola530lwa5m8sd0g11kig93&dl=0

Okay, okay - yes, this is a full 45 minutes! Yes, it's long. But this episode is FULL OF AMAZING INSIGHTS AND TIPS for low-intermediate players (at around 3.0).

Maybe listen to it in 2 or 3 stages - but listen to it you must!

Coach Jeff (Limitless Pickleball) & Paddy go through the ten basic shots and what you should be doing at the 3.0 level. The serve, return, third shot, forehand & backhand drives, lob, dink, smash and the (all important) reset shot.

They discuss each shot in some detail - what to do and what NOT to do! But don't worry it's not super-serious, they also have a bit of fun along the way! Hear Jeff's 'pearls of wisdom' and learn how Paddy deals with each shot (he has just gone up to the dizzy heights of being a high-intermediate player with a DUPR of 3.6 !).

If you're at about the 3.0 level - this episode will certainly help you improve your pickleball.

Check out Coach Jeff at Limitless Pickleball here https://limitlesspickleball.com/

Check us out here seniorpickleballtips.com

Karen Mitchell is an absolute star in regard to pickleball in England, and indeed throughout the UK. After starting to play the sport (beware putting your bins out in sleepy Sussex villages!!) she saw the need, together with Frank Arico, to organise pickleball in the country. So they started Pickleball England in 2018 to promote the sport, organised a tournament (with about 320 players) and, as they say, the rest is history. The last English Open (largest tournament outside North America) had 2,350 players - with senior categories in 5-year cohorts from 60+ upwards (Paddy played in the 65+ category in all three events).

Hear how the sport is growing in the UK - thanks partly to Karen's efforts - and her views on global growth of the sport.

Karen and her colleagues had their greatest victory when they won the right to be the National Governing Body - beating the (English) Lawn Tennis Association in that contest (yes that's right, the folks who organise Wimbledon every year and have millions £££££ !!!) - by putting together a petition of pickleball players (yes, Paddy did sign it!).

Learn about Karen's own pickleball story and about the army of volunteers who are the life-blood of the sport in the UK - including her husband Chris - who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

If you live in the UK - PLEASE JOIN YOUR NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY (no cost) - it is important that together we support our pickleball and have a strong voice over the sport.

Join Pickleball England here https://www.pickleballengland.org/individual-membership/

If you live in Scotland join here https://pickleballscotland.org/

If you live in Wales join here https://www.pickleballwales.org/

If you live in Ireland (incl NI) join here https://pickleballireland.ie/

Check out our website here https://www.seniorpickleballtips.com