Pickleball at Highland Lakes is growing stronger everyday.

We need to Thank the Pickleball players from Legacy for keeping our courts alive with competitive play during the summer months. Tonight we had 6 players from Legacy and 4 players from Highland Lakes. We were glad to see Bob Miller back after a long absence. Welcome Back, Bob! We are sorry to hear that Cindi (staying alive) will not be playing Pickleball for awhile due to her ailing feet. We will miss her. Cal will be operated on for a partial knee replacement on Wednesday morning. We wish him well!

This is our sixth week of Inter-Community play.

I can't believe that we are nearly half way through the month of July. Tonight was our sixth week of hosting Inter-Community play. We had 3 nets set up with 9 players from Highland Lakes and 5 players from Legacy. There were some good games going but most of all everyone was having lots of fun playing Pickleball. Players from Highland Lakes were Manny & Marie, Marvin & Sue, Karl & Janet, Ed, Cindy & Anita. Players from Legacy were Sue, Nancy, Frank, Bob & Mark.

Highland Lakes Article is now ready to read.

Wanted to let all of you to know that the Highland Lakes Pickleball Article written by Donna Donald is now ready to be read on the USAPA Atlantic South website.
There is a link at the bottom of the blog that points to this website: www.south.usapa.org

This is a Proposed Rule Change

Note: these changes are proposed by the USAPA rules Committee. They have not been approved by the USAPA board. There is 30-day comment period beginning June 2, 2009.
Proposed change to Rule 4.B

Proposed Rule 4.B. The server must start the serve with both feet behind the baseline. At the time the ball is struck, at least one foot must be on the court surface or ground behind the baseline and the server's feet may not touch the court surface in an area outside the confines of the serving area. These confines lie behind the serving court baseline and on or between the imaginary lines extended from the court centerline and each sideline.

Existing Rule:
4.B. The server must keep both feet behind the baseline during the serve with at least one foot on the court surface or ground at the time the ball is struck. The serve must be made while the server’s feet are within the confines of the serving area. These confines lie behind the serving court baseline and on or between the imaginary lines extended from the court centerline and each sideline.

Friday morning Pickleball at Highland Lakes

What a great day for Pickleball in our Air Conditioned Arena. Joining us was Ron Eversole with his grandson (Jamin) & son-in-law (Trevor). It was Jamin's first time playing Pickleball but like all the other younsters, he loved the game and learned quickly, it was a pleasure teaching him. We had 3 nets going all morning. Five of our friends from Legacy came to join us in some competitive games.

Inter-Community play creates friends among the groups.

The month of July is upon us and Pickleball is still going strong among the communities. This morning we had 9 players from Highland Lakes and 4 players from Legacy. The players from Legacy were Rueben, Sue, Nancy & Penny. We love having the other communities play Pickleball with us, it gives us such a challenge. It was nice to see Bob Cuenin back from Costa Rica. Don Haro went into the hospital this morning for a catherization to find out all was well. The Doctor told him he had the heart of an 18 year old. We are all happy for him! Way to go, Don!

Third week of Inter-Community Play

We had a great turnout tonight for our Inter-Community play. Highland Lakes had a large group of 12 players. Legacy joined us with their group of 10 players. It was great to see Ann Parker back for some Pickleball play. Visiting were Joel & Dyan's grandchildren Brooke and Nicholas from Indiana. We also had the opportunity to meet Sue's (Legacy) Mother from Fall River, MA.

A good mix of players for todays Pickleball Games

We had a good turnout for a Thursday morning. Twelve players from Highland Lakes and five players from Legacy. We welcomed two new players from Legacy,(Clara & Carol). There were many levels of play, beginners, intermediate and advanced players and they all mixed in and had a good time. It was nice to see Irene back from vacation. Everyone cheered when Cindy came in to play today after a long absence caring for her Mom. Nice to have you back, Cindy!

Highland Lakes Pickleball featured on Website in July

Hi Everyone,
An article is being featured on Highland Lakes Pickleball along with pictures, this will go out on the USAPA Atlantic South Website. This website features pickleball news from areas throughout the Atlantic South Region (ASR), which includes Al, GA, North and South Carolina and Florida. So our group will be getting publicity across those states. The article will be posted to the website somewhere between the 10th and 15th of July. There is a link at the bottom of the blog that points to this website: www.south.usapa.org

The ASR (Atlantic Southern Region) Monthly Newsletter is published on the 15th of each month. Our club will be mentioned in the July newsletter, with an abbreviated version of the story and will include a link to the website. I was sent a copy of the June newsletter this month, and I would like to share it with our group. There is a link at the bottom of the blog that points to this website: www.asre-newsletter.blogspot.Com

The person responsible for all articles to these sites is Donna Donald. She is the USAPA Ambassador, New Tampa, Fl.
You are encouraged to view these sites on a monthly basis to keep up with the latest Pickleball news from different areas.

This is an email I received from Donna and was asked to share with all of you.

My official title is USAPA Ambassador, New Tampa, Fl. My husband and I both love the game of pickleball, and love teaching and promoting the game. Without the USAPA, pickleball would not be the sport that it is today.....there would be no official rules, there would be no place for us to share our great ideas and successes that keep pickleball both competitive and fun. It is a great organization and the only one that supports the game we all love. My husband and I are both members of USAPA. I voluntarily manage the USAPA Atlantic South Website, and I also write and publish the monthly newsletter. I hope as Chairpersons of your club that you will pass this along to your players and encourage membership. Every membership to USAPA helps to promote and teach and support the game. Yearly membership is only $20 and that incudes a USAPA member T-Shirt.

Second week of Inter-Community play at Highland Lakes

This was our second week of Inter-Community play at Highland Lakes. Tonight the number of people was less than last week but we still had a great time playing Pickleball. Highland Lakes had 5 players and Legacy showed up with 6 players. Its always nice to see other communities come to play Pickleball and enjoy playing in our Arena. We love having them and encourage all players from Pennbrooke, Hawthorne, Legacy to come on over and have some fun.
Cal Blenis had knee surgery this morning and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

USAPA Ambassador, New Tampa, Fl

I received this email from Donna Donald who is the USAPA Ambassador. She is interested in featuring our Pickleball Group on the USAPA website. I thought I would share this information with you and will inform you when this information is available as well as point you to the Website. (M&M)

I've been trying to feature a pickleball club/league each month with a snipet in our newsletter and then the full article on the USAPA Atlantic South website. The newsletter goes out to all USAPA Ambassadors on the 15th of each month who in turn forward it to their local clubs/leagues or groups. Many of them post it to their local websites or blogs. I'll make sure you are on copy.

Another thing that caught my attention, and that is such a great idea is how you've partnered up with some of the other local communities and rotate some weekly pickleball play with them. I am going to make mention of that in our newsletter this month.

I'm finishing up the June newsletter now, and then I will get back to you. I'll send along some questions for you to respond to. With that, a few pictures of the group/facility, and the information that you have on your website, we can showcase Pickleball at Higland Lakes.

Thanks.......
Donna Donald
USAPA Ambassador, New Tampa, Fl

Inter-Community play at Highland Lakes

Tonight was our first night of Inter-Community play at Highland Lakes. Legacy came with a total of 12 players, Hawthorne had a total of 4 players and Highland Lakes had a total of 8 players. It was great to see such a turnout and hope they will all return again next week. Those of you who aren't familiar with the groups, Legacy is in the top photo, Hawthorne is the second photo and Highland Lakes is the third photo. Thank You Legacy, Hawthorne & Highland Lakes for making our Inter-Community play a huge success.

Summer play at Highland Lakes

We had two nets set up for Pickleball play today. Highland Lakes had 6 players & Legacy had 4 players attending.

Jim is playing with Harry.

Bob is enjoying playing Pickleball indoors.

Sue of Legacy is determined to win.

Nancy of Legacy is enjoying a game of Pickleball with Marvin.

A reminder to all Pickleball players to take advantage of the Pickleball Inter-Community Summer Play

Pickleball Inter-Community Summer Play

Hawthorne has invited all Pickleball Players from Highland Lakes, Pembroke & Legacy to join them on Wednesday nights at 6:00 pm at their outdoor Pickleball Courts starting on May 6th. They have 3 separate Pickleball courts. All you need to do is tell the person at the gate that you are joining Hawthorne for Pickleball play. You do not need to inform anyone beforehand that you will be playing because Hawthorne will be playing anyway.

Pennbrooke has invited all Pickleball Players from Highland Lakes, Hawthorne & Legacy to join them on Thursday nights at 6:00 pm at their outdoor Pickleball Courts starting on May 7th. They have 4 tennis courts, which are set up to be used as Pickleball courts. All you need to do is tell the person at the gate that you are joining Pennbrooke for Pickleball play. You do not need to inform anyone beforehand that you will be playing because Pembroke will be playing anyway.

Highland Lakes has invited all Pickleball Players from Hawthorne, Pennbrooke & Legacy to join us on Monday nights at 6:30 pm at our indoor Pickleball Courts starting on June 8th. . We are capable of setting up 4 Pickleball Courts for Pickleball play. They do not need to inform us that they will be playing because we will be playing anyway.

Legacy has only 2 outdoor Pickleball Courts. At this time they are trying to come up with some type of schedule that could accommodate Inter-Community Play.

All Communities are looking at this Summer Play as only fun play for everyone.
Whoever wants to play is invited to do so. This is an opportunity to meet new people and have fun playing the game of Pickleball.

The motto is “If you go, you go” and “If you don’t, you don’t”.

Let's play Pickleball,
Manny & Marie

Lots of visitors decided to join us today to play Pickleball.

Lynn Corbett (Greenville, SC), Nancy from Legacy, Gary Leader trying his hand at Pickleball and Kathy Fegers from Tavernier, FL.
Penni Ebersman, Sandy O'Neil (Weymouth, MA), Kathy Fegers (Tavernier, FL), Ken Corbett (Greenville, SC), also Bob Fegers and Cal Blenis.

Bebina Zeis, Kathy Garza, Lynn Corbett (Greenville, SC), Don Gullakson, Richard Ekstrand and Sue from Legacy.
Bob Fegers is at it again. With a helmet and support for his knees, you still don't want to play against him because he has a deadly shot at the net.
We had 3 nets set up today and as you can see there were many players waiting to play. Left to right are: Susan from Legacy, Cal Blenis, Bob Fegers, Ken Corbett, Don Gullakson, Don Haro and Manny Cardoza.

Ken Corbett (Greenville, SC) enjoyed a game of Pickleball with Harry Yorgensen, Don Gullakson and Bob Fegers.

Bob Fegers playing with his daughter Kathy Fegers (Tavernier, Florida that's in Florida Keys).

Dick Mell playing with his daughter Sandy O'Neil from Weymouth, Mass.