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60 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2023 The heat is really on this summer and the pickleball courts are on fire with newbies and seasoned players. We are a "family" of players who welcome with open arms everyone who wants to get some great exercise. We laugh, miss shots, "get in touch" with the net, and stay out of the kitchen whenever possible. To recover from these hard-played games, we cool off with fantastic pool parties and magnificent margaritas. Come out and see what all this craziness does for us. You will always have great guidance to enjoy and learn this game. Saturday mornings are skills and drills starting at 9:30 am to learn the game and pump up your skills. See you on the courts. ~ Karen Reed, kbfini@gmail.com Pickleball If you could sum up the game of table tennis in a single word, it would be SPIN. Indeed spin is incorporated into many sports such as tennis, where spin is created by a yellow fuzzy ball coming in contact with a stringed racket, or in baseball, where a pitcher's grip and arm motion will put spin on a ball that will fool the most professional of hitters. But the spin in table tennis is of another dimension. Just imagine the action you can put on a hollow, plastic ping pong ball weighing 0.095 of an ounce meeting a high friction table tennis rubber attached to a racket that weighs 85 grams. If you guessed that the ball could be spinning upwards of 150 rotations-per-SECOND, you would be correct! As if this were not challenging enough, depending on the direction of your opponent's arm stroke, that spin can come at you in numerous directions. An upward arm swing that strikes the ball towards the top will cause a counterclockwise direction of the ball, commonly called a top spin (or loop). A downward stroke that tends to strike the ball near the middle or bottom will move it clockwise, normally called underspin (or chop). And of course you could be facing what is called a "tomahawk" stroke (or a slice), where the ball could be struck on either side causing it to move somewhat like a Frisbee. Of course, the direction of the spin based on arm stroke is only half the story. If you're the poor defender on the other side of the table who has a fraction of a moment to determine how to return a ball that could be coming at you at 150 rotations per second in any direction, maybe it's time to take up cornhole. Of course, if all of this sounds challenging or impossible, it is neither. Like any other sport, improvement in table tennis comes with much practice, and talking to your fellow pongers about how they approach spin or any other aspect of the game. If you would like some feedback from a bunch of retirees who love the sport, feel free to stop by The Courts Multipurpose Room at 10:30 am on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and jump on a table. You'll be spinning in no time! ~ Bob Rubenstein, brube88@gmail.com Spin 'N Slam Table Tennis Pickleball Pool Party