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42 | LIFE IN SOLERA | DECEMBER 2024 | The weather is finally cooling off, which makes it easier to play Pickleball because you don't sweat as much. Since it is cooler, we will be starting at 8 am Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. If you're thinking about playing pickleball, come watch a few games. If we get you excited to play, we will lend you a paddle. Please wear appropriate shoes (court shoes), which do not include running shoes. Learning the rules can be challenging especially the kitchen, serving and keeping score. We are a very friendly group and will be more than happy to help you learn the rules and skills needed to be successful in our game. One of those friendly people is Richard Chabolla who recently explained to me how he came to Solera and started playing pickleball. "Well, I'm not really retired as I am still pastoring at New Day Christian Fellowship in Riverside. Before ministry, I worked in the grocery industry mostly for the Campbell Soup company. Then I was president of a merchandise company. I moved to Solera in September 2019, and have been playing pickleball for two years. The competition with this group has gotten better especially in the last few months. Beginning players should get a good feel for the rules first and then come join us. YouTube is a good place to get some court technique and basic instructions. Always try to play with better players who are willing to teach you. Play as much as you can to learn the game. Remembering how to keep score is important but so is learning to stay out of the kitchen. A player can only step into the kitchen once the ball bounces on your side. If you hit the ball in the air and step on the kitchen line or in the kitchen, that is a foul." Last week we talked about serving etiquette. Now I would like to talk about the correct way to serve. There are two ways to serve, dropping the ball and hitting it in the air and bouncing the ball and hitting it. In both cases you need to keep the top of your paddle below your wrist when swinging, (see picture of Richard below) and you must swing in an upward motion. When hitting the ball on a serve, it must be below your waist. The ball must be released with no extra force or spin applied to it. Please come join us and if you have any questions you can call Sandy Stearn at (717) 542-0481 or George Dietz at (614) 940-9506. Remember NO BALL IS WORTH THE FALL! PICKLEBALL PADDLERS A group of dedicated pickleball players Richard Chabolla Richard Chabolla and Cindy Bice