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54 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | DECEMBER 2022 | Some days you may find you are spending more time in the kitchen than Betty Crocker. If so, it may be helpful to remember some of the basics of that hallowed space. A common misconception about pickleball's "no volley zone" is that a player may not cross the line until the ball lands there. Not true. It doesn't matter what the ball does so long as you don't hit it until it has bounced. You can hang around in the kitchen all day. Just don't hit a volley while you're in there. And it's not just you who has to avoid touching the kitchen (including the line), so must anything you brought to the court. If our prevailing easterlies loft your cap or visor into the kitchen during a point, you have committed a fault. Same for glasses, gate keys, or your lip gloss. The key rule phrase is "in the act of volleying." The kitchen is off-limits during and after your strike of a ball that hasn't bounced on your side. That means you have committed a kitchen fault if the momentum of your swing causes you to step onto or over the NVZ line, even if the point seems well over. The above tips are vividly illustrated by veteran players and Pickleball Magazine contributors Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner. You can watch their informative and entertaining YouTube video on that channel's Pickleball 411. Check it out. Our sport attained another milestone as it sweeps the globe. On a recent episode of Jeopardy!, the contestants were posed the following challenge: "In pickleball, a drop shot is a soft, short shot from the back of the court; this other four-letter 'D' shot is hit from closer in." Let's just be glad that dear old Alex Trebek didn't have to say "soft, short shot" on national TV. In any event, when pickleball makes it onto Jeopardy!, it has truly arrived. It isn't just dinkin' around. The work to renovate our courts is on schedule so plan to come out and enjoy the new venue. If you are new and want to learn, give our vice-president Judy Luna a call at (949) 929-2390. She will help get you plugged in. Last month she and club president Tony Browne held an orientation for several prospective players who had visited us at Activities Day. We look forward to more clinics. See you on the courts! Pickleball Club