Pickleball Rocks at the Grand Canyon State Games

My brother Zack and I just returned from playing in the Grand Canyon State Games  in Sun City Arizona.  Wow, what an awesome experience!  We left on Wednesday afternoon from Indianapolis and flew directly to Phoenix.  When we got off the plane we couldn’t believe that this was Arizona.  It was raining and a cold 44 degrees!  We didn’t leave Indiana for this!  We drove over to Happy Trails where, thanks to midwest pickleball legend Don Walker, we would be staying for the rest of the week and got settled in.

 

Thursday was Age Group doubles.  Zack and I played in the 19+ age division.  Our first match was against the eventual champions, Aspen Kern and Chris Miller.  It was a fun match to play but lets just say we were no match for them.  After the first match we settled down and ended up getting the bronze medal.  Not bad for two guys from Indiana who haven’t played outdoors in a few months!

Grand Canyon State Games Pickleball

 

That night we celebrated by hanging out with one of our old roommates from college, Justin Masterson, who now pitches for the Cleveland Indians.  He is down in Arizona for spring training with the team.  It was great to catch up and hear some stories about being a major league baseball player.  Wishing him a great year with the Tribe.

 

Friday morning was the start of Mixed Doubles age groups.  Zack and I didn’t bring our partners (our wives) on this trip so we hung out at the Pickleball Rocks booth all day and watched some great pickleball.  After almost five hours of playing mixed doubles, a group of players invited Zack and I to play over at Happy Trails later that night.  When we showed up we couldn’t believe all the players that showed up to play.  It felt like the All Star game of pickleball.  There were too many great players to name but National Champions Steve Wong, Mark Friedenberg, and Enrique Ruiz were just a few of the players we got to play with and against.

 

After a great night of hanging out with the worlds best pickleball players, we had to get ready for the Men’s skill level tournament.  Zack and I were playing in the 4.5 skill level tournament.  We started off a little shaky, winning a close one 11-8, 11-8.  That would turn out to be the closest match we would have all day.  From there it was one of those magical days.  We finally started to pull everything together.  We went on to take the gold medal without dropping a game.  I think it is the best that Zack and I have ever played together.  The only thing that would have made it better was having our family out there to watch us.  Thanks Dad for sending us out for this one.

Josh Zack  at the 2013 Grand Canyon State Games1

 

After receiving our medals and taking some pictures, we were off to celebrate.   So how do you celebrate in Arizona after being at a pickleball tourney for seven hours?  Right! You go play more pickleball!   We grabbed a quick bite to eat with our good friend Stephanie Lane and headed back over to Happy Trails to play even more!  Our good friend and noted pickleball coach, Prem Carnot said that when you are in Pickleball Heaven you might as well play pickleball!

 

Arizona is truly pickleball heaven.  We met a lot of great people and got to play a ton of pickleball.  Hopefully this tournament becomes a yearly trip for us.  Maybe next time we will take the Rocket with us!

Thanks again Dad!   Pickleball Rocks!

Giving Back to Pickleball

As we all know, Pickleball Rocks.
But some people may not know how much pickleball means to us personally.
The Grubbs family has always been a sports family. 
For years, tennis was our sport. My wife Karen and I both played tennis recreationally while our two boys were small.  Later I played USTA tournaments, rising as high as a 4.5 rating before retiring to watch sons Josh and Zack play in college.  For the next 5 years, Karen and I rarely missed a college match.
Tennis gave us a reason to be together on a regular basis.  And we enjoyed every minute of those times.
When the boys college tennis careers ended, pickleball suddenly came into our lives through an introduction by some good friends.
We immediately knew we had found our new family sport.
Soon we joined the USAPA and began playing and spreading the good word of pickleball through a simple website called AllAboutPickleball.com.
Tournaments became, and continue today to be, a full family road trip with many times Karen and me and both sons and their wives playing with 2 grandsons in tow.
Team Pickleball Rocks
Pickleball gives us our reason to get together on a regular basis, so the good times are still in full force and we love every minute of it.
From our meager beginning, All About Pickleball has grown into a full family affair with several businesses now, including PickleballRocks.com, our national pickleball blogging news website, PickleballVideoNetwork.com where we bring you the very best in high interest, fun and educational pickleball videos, and our latest, PickleballShopping.com with the very best selection of cool “Pickleball Rocks” logo dri-fit shirts for ladies and gents, hats, coolers, cooling towels, and other assorted pickleball gifts.
Yes, pickleball has been very good to us and we are truly thankful for pickleball and everyone who promotes it.
Recently our family had our yearly planning and goal setting meeting to discuss what our plans are for pickleball this year.   Someone, and I don’t remember who, came up with the idea of somehow giving back because pickleball has been so very good to our family.
So the decision has been made that for this year, from every sale we make from any of our pickleball related businesses, we will donate one dollar of that sale to the USAPA to help grow the sport of pickleball.
 pickleball rocks dri fit shirts
We wish we could do more because the sport has certainly been a blessing to the Grubbs family.
But for this year, the one dollar donation will be our policy.  We want to thank everyone in advance who makes any purchase, big or small, from us.   That includes pickleball paddles, our very popular “Pickleball Rocks” dri fit shirts, portable chairs, cooling towels, etc.
Yes, anything you buy from us will put a dollar in the pot to help grow pickleball.   In doing so, you too will be giving back to our great sport.
pickleball rocks stuff
We hope you have a blessed 2013 filled with love, good health and lots of pickleball.
– Rocket and the whole Grubbs Family
Click here to visit PICKLEBALL SHOPPING.com

Upcoming Pickleball Tournaments

  • Second Annual Englewood Pickleball Tournament
    Englewood, FL
    Mar 29 2013
  • Camp Non Stop – Austin Pickleball Movement
    Austin, TX
    Mar 30-Mar 31 2013  Deadline: Mar 18
  • 2013 Southern Utah Pickleball Shootout
    St. George, UT
    Apr 4-Apr 6 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4) Pending
  • East Naples Skill Level Tournament
    Naples, Fl
    Apr 5-Apr 7 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4)
  • 2013 Texas State Senior Games
    San Antonio, TX
    Apr 5-Apr 7 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3) Pending
  • Henrico Spring Pickleball Tournament
    Henrico, VA
    Apr 5-Apr 6 2013  Deadline: Mar 29
  • Good Life Games/Pinellas Senior Games
    Clearwater, FL
    Apr 6 2013
  • Hillsborough County Indoor Pickleball Championships
    Tampa, FL
    Apr 11-Apr 12 2013
  • 1st Annual Western Slope Regional Tournament
    Grand Junction, CO
    Apr 13 2013
  • Fusion Sport Center 1st Annual Spring Swing Open Tournament
    Loves Park, IL
    Apr 13-Apr 14 2013  Deadline: Mar 30
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4)
  • SunRiver St. George 6th Annual Spring Pickleball Tournament 
    St. George, UT
    Apr 18-Apr 20 2013  Deadline: Apr 8
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3)
  • Dula Gym Indoor Pickleball Tournament
    Las Vegas, NV
    Apr 19 2013
  • Cherokee County GA. Senior Games
    Lake Arrowhead, GA
    Apr 19 2013
  • City Of Las Cruces Pickleball Doubles Tournament
    Las Cruces, NM
    Apr 20-Apr 21 2013
  • 2013 Mesquite Senior Games
    Sun City Mesquite, NV
    Apr 22-Apr 24 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4)
  • Timberhill Spring Fling
    Corvallis, OR
    Apr 26-Apr 28 2013  Deadline: Apr 20
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4)
  • Hot Springs Open Class Tournament
    Hot Springs, AR
    Apr 26-Apr 28 2013  Deadline: Apr 12
  • Garnet Valley Gherkins Pickleball Tournament
    Glen Mills, PA
    Apr 26-Apr 28 2013
  • Hilton Head Island Rec Center Tournament
    Hilton Head Island, SC
    Apr 26-Apr 27 2013  Deadline: Apr 16
  • Manheim Township Pickleball Tournament
    Lancaster, PA
    Apr 28 2013  Deadline: Apr 22
  • 1st Annual Western Slope Regional Tournament
    Montrose, CO
    May 4 2013
  • Walla Walla YMCA Pickleball Tournament
    Walla Walla, WA
    May 4-May 5 2013  Deadline: Apr 20
  • Virginia Senior Games Pickleball Tournament
    Newport News, VA
    May 16-May 17 2013
  • 2013 Central Ohio Senior Games
    Westerville, OH
    May 17-May 18 2013  Deadline: May 8
  • 2013 Greater Terre Haute Open Skill Tournament
    Terre Haute, IN
    May 17-May 19 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3)
  • 1st Annual Western Slope Regional Tournament
    Delta, CO
    May 18 2013
  • Pickleball Palooza Tournament
    Kennewick, WA
    May 18-May 20 2013  Deadline: May 14
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4) Pending
  • SeaTac Pickleball Tournament
    SeaTac, WA
    May 18-May 19 2013  Deadline: May 15
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3) Pending
  • 2nd Annual Mix It Up In May Doubles Outdoor Skill Level Tournament
    Howell, MI
    May 18-May 19 2013
  • Iowa Senior Challenge
    Des Moines, IA
    May 19 2013
  • Connecticut Masters Games Pickleball Tournament
    Ridgefield, CT
    May 22-May 23 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 4)
  • CA Senior Tournament Of Pasadena In Oceanside
    Oceanside, CA
    May 24-May 27 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3) Pending
  • Brigham City Memorial Tournament
    Brigham City, UT
    May 25-May 27 2013
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3) Pending
  • Hot Springs Village Pickleball Celebration
    Hot Springs Village, AR
    May 25-May 26 2013
  • 4th Annual Thousand Trails Memorial Day Weekend Pickleball Tournament
    Gloucester, VA
    May 26 2013
  • Extreme Pickleball Tournament
    Hurricane, UT
    May 30-Jun 1 2013  Deadline: May 23
  • Sonoma Wine Country Senior Games
    Santa Rosa, CA
    May 31-Jun 2 2013
  • 2013 USAPA Mid-South Regional Tournament
    Mandeville, LA
    May 31-Jun 2 2013  Deadline: May 14
    USAPA Sanctioned (Tier 3)