Laurie and I share our pickleball journey as husband and wife recreational pickleball players. Our goal for 2024 is to start playing tournaments. We'll show what we are doing to improve our level of play, information on products that work for us, and insightful interviews with other recreational plays in our Pickleball Chat series.
A piece of advice, for what it's worth. It's not important to watch as you unbox your Slinger for the first time. If you had discovered something that would be crucial to future buyers of a Slinger as they unpack their machine I would understand, but there was nothing of note I heard from you. I'd rather you had done so ahead of time and become proficient in describing how this machine works rather than struggle through its features in a start and start manner. Also, 14 min and 30 sec is way long to keep viewers attention. Again, familiarity with the product ahead of time would have probably allowed you to shortened the final video by 5-7 minutes. That said, thanks for taking the time to post this clip about the Slinger. I look forward to seeing your review of the machine after a few uses on a practice court.
Wow, I can't believe you're relatively nearby in Belmont, CA! Only 2 pickleball courts at Hallmark Park, right? How is your backhand coming along? That is my best stroke that I get the most compliments on. I play with an Engage Pursuit Pro MX 6.0 with 5.75" handle, but I can still get two hands on my 5" handled Engage Encore EX 6.0. I have a friend shopping for a 6" handle for his twoey, so I was looking for play feedback on this Connor Garnett paddle. I worry that the sweet spot and twist weight are compromised with this elongated paddle.
Right Hallmark has only two courts. But they is also Alexander Park that has two courst as well and restrooms. My backhand is a work in progress but good enough for the current level of players I play with. Laurie took the Connor Garnett paddle away from me 😉so I have a Power Air being delivered on Tuesday. I was using a demo for a few days and while the handle is short compared to the Conner Garnett I'm able to get a decent two-handed backhand. I feel for the price and performance when it comes to spin and power the Connor Garnett is a great value in particular to its 6" handle length. And it has reasonable control as well. I was going to get the ProXR Zane 14mm paddle when Laurie appropriated the Connor Garnett but decided I wanted to learn about the Selkirk Power Air so I went in that direction. 😊 I never consider the sweet spot and twist weight, nor head heavy versus not head heavy, when it comes to paddles. I've played with a good variety of paddles over the last 3 or 4 years off and on where my approach is every paddles has its pluses and minuses and my job is to minimize the minuses and amplify its positives. Where do you play? Do you do singles, mixed, and / or gender doubles? ~ Bill
Been using the SLK Halo Control and I've been loving it but I've been starting to notice I need more power to keep people back and fire fights. Just ordered the 11six24 Hurache-X Control hoping it does it for me since its so similar but seems to have a bit more power.
The issue with my knee is just mild osteoarthritis. I've probably had that condition for a while but it was exacurbated by me putting on a lot of weight and eating food that causes inflamtion. I've dropped 8 lbs and cut out most inflamatory food. I think the Boswellia Serrata and Tumeric with Curcumin supplements are helping me as well. Too early to tell how much the 1st HA injection may be helping if at all at this point. I did not have any tears. Just old age wear and tear on my knees.
Yeah I'm taking a positive outlook. Definately weight loss and cutting out food that contributes to inflamation helps. Thank you for taking time to comment. Much appreciated. 👍
Love, love love PB! Age 55 - ~128 lbs. I've been on the bench since Jan 1. I'm so blue. I was playing some avid PB. I think the side to side movement exacerbated my knees. Otherwise never had a complaint. You did not mention whether you had an MRI. Mine showed a bit of osteoarthritis and meniscus tears in both knees. Terrible pain behind the knees, deep knee bend pinch. Terrible at night trying to move from side to side in bed. I've been taking meloxicam every 3 days to manage the pain and be able to walk. Everything I have read is all about PRP and it is supposed to last longer than HA. Curious to hear your follow up. I just want to play PB, but afraid that if I start feeling better and go back out on the court, it'll flare back up and get worse. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing your current condition. I know how frustrating it can be. For me I'm able to play but not at the level I would like as the gets I used to be able to get, are not in the capabilites of my knee right now but at least I can get on the court. I hope we keep in touch so so can let me know when you are able to beack on the court. I did not have an MRI just X-Rays of both knees for comparision. I have mild osteoarthritis in the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade 1 or 2 range. It indicates a slight narrowing of the joint space. No known tears exist. I have the most pain when my leg is extended in the driving position. Also is I was to do a deep squat. My case is complicated by the adverse effects I experienced immediately after the first booster. First two shots no issue but when I took the first booster as a follow up my joints all became imflamed. I did not know at that time that I started having premature ventricular contractions (PVC) where one of the lower heart vales started firing out of sync with the other 3 chamber valves 15% of the time. Took me about 9 months to figure out I was having the PVC's, I just throught because I was playing pickleball again the pain in my joints and the occasional pain in my chest was related. I presented myself to my Doctor and through a series of tests the PVC's were confirmed. My Doctor could not determine why I was having the PVC's although she did put me through a battery of tests. Having no known root cause I started researching on my own. I started removing foods from my diet. I started with removing gluten even through it was confirmed through the tests I did not have Celiac disease. I also quit coffee and alcohol. Then I started cutting out foods high in histamine. Prior to getting off gluten and reducing histamine intake I was fatigued all the time. My symptoms were similar to long COVID and Cronic Fatigue Syndrome. Long story short along with a supplement routine I got my inflamation under control. It took me abouot 8 months of trial and error on food selection and supplements to start feeling better and almost became joint pain free. I also dropped my weight which helped take the load off my knees. But I lost control of my diet in October of 2023 by starting to ingest alot of sweets and adding milk to my cereal. Sugar and milk are both inflamatory. The almost 20 lbs I put on over that time period did not help. This is why I think the pain in my right knee really flared up. This caused many nights of unrestful sleep. I could not get my knee in the right position so I was always tossing and turning. So my apologies for the long story. Food choices clearly matter when it comes to me managing my inflamtion. My histamine issue is more related to contributing to my fatigue and I don't think it contributes to my joint pain directly. I have researched platelet-rich plasma injection therapy. I'm prepared to pay out of pocket if the HA injections, diet changes, and weight loss are not enough. So with the minor changes I've just made in my diet and the use of Voltaren my knee is already feeling better. If I'm lucky and my osteoarthritis does not get worse I'm hoping the HA injections will help. I've also added two additional supplements that have helped some people mitigate inflamtion: Boswellia, Turmeric w/Cucumin. Independent of the tears if you are not already reviewing the foods you eat which may promote inflamtion, you might want to start a review. Thank you for taking a moment to view the video and comment. Hang in there and stay positive. I hope we keep in touch. ~ Bill
Thank you. Got the first injection of Supartz FX yesterday. Two follow up injections have been scheduled one week apart. The Physician Assistant (PA) who gave the shot said it typically takes 6 to 8 weeks from the first injection to determine if this approach will work. Efficacy will vary by person. PA confirmed I have mild (KL 1 or KL 2) Osteoarthritis. Injection was painless but I did feel a warm sensation in my knee while the needle was inserted. No restrictions other than I should avoid submerging my knee under water for the first 24 hours. Showers OK.
We put a link to the Enhance Pickleball page that show the Mini-Court. We've not yet set up the one we showed in this video. When we do we'll show it set up. Thank you for your comment. 👍
Yeah it will be interesting to see if it adds value. I'm thinking Laurie and I should invite over some pickleball friends, cook a few pizzas, and have a mini dinking tournament. Might be fun. 😉
Great question but not sure. It's definitely not a.clone of her Anna Bright Joola. But I have played with a Gen 1 version of the Ben John's Hyperion and I detect some similarities.
Thanks for your videos. I always enjoy watching them. I've only been playing for about a year and, like you, I've bought quite a few paddles trying to figure out which is the best for my style of play. Great to always see your honest thoughts about products.
It is fun to be recognized. We enjoy the opportunity to test a product and give unbiased feedback on the product quality and ability to perform based upon our needs. Manufacturers reached out to us several times on our Twelfth Avenue Cuisine RU-vid channel and it gave us a chance to test out some great pizza making related products and share the results with our subscribers and viewers. We understand the manufacturer is looking to give visibility to their product(s). We only accept with the understanding, good or bad, we'll share our unbaised thoughts. Fortunately so far, like now with the AMA Sport Kronos Raw Carbon Fiber 16mm paddle, the products have been quality products and a great value making it easy for us to recommend to others. Thank you for viewing and taking a moment to comment. Much appreciated. 👍
They feel comfortable but I'm getting a bit of fogging which I know there are ways I can cotrol it. Thanks for taking time to check out the video and commnet. I need to check the new moon weather report. I've been too busy playing pickleball! 😉
Thanks for demonstrating. Using scrap plywood in the garage & basement for now, but the bounce isn't real consistent. I know what you mean when you say it's hard to find a wall!
At the time of the video Laurie was using the PaddleTek Tempest Wave Pro if I recall. She moved on to using the Joola Anna Bright, tried the Selkirk Control Aire Luxx, and moved back to the Anna Bright.
i have to agree with the quote, and thats coming from my own experience. I play tennis and pickleball at an amateur but competitive level. Its two fold:mentally and playing. I found mentally that if you start to only play forehand site (For example), you can often find yourself very low in confidence if you have to play backhand. Secondly, if you play competitively you are often playing with different folk. You might consider yourself better on that side, but what if you are paired with someone even stronger on your favored side? Or alternatively you also are paired with someone who is reluctant to move off their favoured side.
Yes excellent point and over the past two months I've been working on a two-handed backhand. I had the situation where I was paired with a stronger left side player so I just took the right and had a blast playing right. I focused on getting the ball over the net and if the opportunity came up try and side my partner up during dinking. ~ Bill
The plate came as part of the package at the time of the video for I think around $799. I still just use needle nose pliers to remove a stuck ball which has only happened twice since we bought it. We use the Slinger on average 2 times per week.
If you want to practice fast action eye hand coordination for dinking and vollys, then a DinkBuddy is great for indoor practice when the weather is bad and you don't have to chase balls. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Zvr6TRDgu1I.html
God job, my wife and I got this launcher yesterday and while we used it right away we did not use the oscillator. Your demo has showed us a novel way we can use the launcher for dual play Thanks
Thank you. Laurie and I got side-tracked for the past 6 months but we are back at it. Our Slinger is holding up well and getting used 2 to 3 times a week. How is yours doing?
Still watching your video, I would suggest adding a little bit of weight to the Joola paddle. Put the weights at 3 and 9 oclock to start and possible 2 more at the throat of the paddle. That will make it feel like you are hitting the sweet spot more consistently and not get the "wobbles" when you slightly mishit the sweet spot.
@@2512pickleball Let us know if it helps out in your next podcast! I was skeptical about adding weights to paddles. But I have done it and helps my paddles a bunch.
Olegyamleg, the idea behind the drill is to control the ball while changing the pace. You must keep your eye on the ball and move your feet to maintain the pattern. This is a practice session to develop control. Laurie
I appreciate sharing your initial thoughts. How has your game developed since implementing the Slinger into your training regimen? I'm contemplating the purchase of this Slinger for my wife and I. Her playing time is much more limited than mine and I'd really like to sell her on this unit, as I think training/drilling is essential for consistent shot making.
Robby, I love having this launcher. It enables us to practice a particular shot or a sequence of shots without a partner. This is especially great for beginners or even intermediates who may be unable to deliver shots to a practice partner in the best spot or at the right pace. Bill wanted to drill more and I wanted to play more at one point. No problem. The unit is so portable and everything is in one package even a pickup tool can fit inside. This is the most affordable for a unit that includes top spin and back spin. Other entry level units do not include top spin. Laurie
Thanks and I really enjoy my Ronbus. Took me a bit to adjust to the different form factor compared the the Engage Pursuit 6.0 I was using but worth the minor setback to gain additional control. We appreciate you taking the time to view and drop a comment. Much appreciated. ~ Bill
Ah the white line is a tennis line. The pickleball line is light blue and overlaid on the tennis court. Thank you for viewing and taking time to comment. Much appreciated! ~ Bill
Rdelpozo, thank you so much for the compliments. ❤️ You are the first to say that. We are sharing our progress and hope others may follow what we are learning. Laurie
