by [email protected] | Mar 7, 2013 | Rockets Ramblings
It has been a great couple of weeks of Pickleball for the Grubbs family. Zack and I just returned from The Grand Canyon State Games in Sun City, Arizona where we returned with a gold medal in the 4.5 men’s doubles. We met a lot of great people in Arizona and are already planning our trip back next year. For that particular trip we had to leave Rocket at home. Someone had to take care of the office while we were gone! J
Needless to say, Rocket was ready to get back on the courts and play in a tournament. Rocket had received a call from our good Georgia friend Steve Dunn, asking if we would like to come down and play in the Cleveland Classic in Cleveland Tennessee. After getting home and unpacking we almost immediately get a text from Rocket asking “Who wants to go to Tennessee?!!!”
So we packed back up and headed to Tennessee. Packing up and heading to Tennessee is not as easy as it used to be. My wife Abby and I have two sons, Brandon (3 years old) and Jordan (6 months old). Boy do those two little squirts take up a lot of room! Also making the trip even crazier is that Cleveland, Tennessee is 9 hours from our home in Indiana! This would be the farthest we have ever driven with both boys. Packing up and driving 9 hours for a Pickleball tournament! My grandma always says, “You guys must have Pickleballs in your brain!” Is that a bad thing?
We left Thursday night and made a quick pit stop in Lexington to catch a couple hours of sleep. Thank you to one of my old USTA tennis buddies, Casey Hutchings and his wife, for giving us a place to stay. Friday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the tournament site at Lee University. When we arrived, Rocket and GG (Grandma Grubbs) were already at the courts. We unpacked and warmed up a little before the tourney started. Friday was all singles. This was the first year for this tournament so there weren’t a ton of players in each division. The Grubbs clan came out of Friday with three gold medals! Rocket won his age division, Abby won the women’s division, and I won my age division. A great start to the tourney!
Saturday was a full day of mixed doubles. Abby and I were the only ones playing on this day from the Grubbs family. Rocket made a 5 hour drive up to Louisville, Kentucky to hold a beginners Pickleball clinic with my brother Zack and his wife Amy. They had about 25 new Pickleball players come out and learn about this great game.
Abby and I started off a little sluggish losing our first round match. Then, we rebounded to win the losers bracket and get another chance at the team that put us into the losers bracket. We played really well and beat them in 2 games, which meant we had to play them one final game to 15. WINNER TAKES ALL!
We came out a little flat (NO, ACTUALLY WE CAME OUT A LOT FLAT) and got down 0-8. Not exactly the start we were looking for. We switched sides. And then that is when Abby took over. It was the best I have ever seen her play! We went on to win the match 15-8! I don’t think Abby drove all that way with the kids for a silver medal! A great finish to the second day of the tourney.
On Sunday, the last and final day of the tournament, Rocket and Steve Dunn took the courts and brought home a gold medal!
I had the opportunity to play with Jimmie Williamson from Georgia. 
We literally met five minutes before the tournament started that day. We went over a couple things and headed out to the courts. It’s always fun meeting new people and playing with someone new at these tournaments. Jimmie and I played so well together that we ended up taking the gold against some really good players from Nashville.
And just FYI, the hospitality room made a great camp for the two boys and GG to hang out. Plus it was fully stocked with fresh apples, oranges and bowls full of Kristin Beasley’s homemade Almond Granola.
We have met so many great people through the wonderful sport of Pickleball. Both Abby and I played college sports and Pickleball gives us the opportunity to still be active and competitive, something we both enjoy! This also allows us to make many family memories and watch the boys grow up around the Pickleball courts. Our son Brandon couldn’t fall asleep Saturday night because he kept saying, “I want to go to the Pickleball Tournament.” We explained to him that we were going back in the morning and he was excited!
It was finally time to pack up the UHaul (or what seemed like a UHaul) and head back home. We decided to drive to Brookville and stay the night and then head back to Fort Wayne first thing Monday morning. The kids were great in the car and we couldn’t have asked for a better tournament, better people, a great place to stay
(SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR WEEKEND HOSTS, STEVE AND PAT DUNN), 
and most of all, more memories as a family.
As Always Pickleball Rocks!
See you on the courts,
Josh
by [email protected] | Feb 26, 2013 | Rockets Ramblings
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!
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.
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!
by [email protected] | Feb 7, 2013 | Rockets Ramblings
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.
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.
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.
We hope you have a blessed 2013 filled with love, good health and lots of pickleball.
– Rocket and the whole Grubbs Family
by [email protected] | Jan 10, 2013 | Rockets Ramblings
Just a quick word of welcome to our newest members of our Facebook Pickleball Nation. Please keep us posted on your pickleball progress and adventures.
Welcome Newest Pickleball Nation Members:
Joe LaSpina, Michelle Napoletano, Barbara Newman Bonsignore and Paul Medici.
by [email protected] | Dec 11, 2012 | Rockets Ramblings
The press release went out today.
We are proud to announce our new sponsorship of Prem Carnot and PickleballHelp.com.
Prem, like ourselves, is passionate about the game of pickleball. He has been a fanatical player and tournament winner for years. Lately, Prem has been passing on his experience and vast knowledge of the game to others, through live lessons and clinics in the San Diego area.
Now he has taken his unique ability to help others with their game to a new level with the launching of PickleballHelp.com.
As everyone knows, our mission at PickleballRocks.com and AllAboutPickleball.com is to grow the sport of pickleball in any way we can. Obviously if players feel like they are continually improving, they will be even more inclined to stick with it and of course tell others. This ability to help players get better is what Prem Carnot brings to the national pickleball community.
PickleballHelp.com allows any player, anywhere, to be able to get top level help, advice and guidance from one of the most recognizable names in the sport. Prem Carnot and his wife Wendy have played all over the country and tirelessly promote pickleball everywhere they go.
Besides our long time USAPA sponsorship, this is our most exciting sponsorship ever. At Pickleball Rocks, we recognized, as with any sport, it can be frustrating when you try to play but things don’t go your way. Prem Carnot is going to help eliminate that frustration for both new and old pickleball players. Like every good teaching pro, Prem has the ability to look at your game and help make you better in a hurry.
We love Prem’s passion for the game and are happy to promote and recommend Prem Carnot’s pickleball coaching to everyone.
In return Prem and PickleballHelp.com will be a new promotional outlet for pickleball paddles, shirts, jackets and gifts from our sister company PickleballChristmas.com”
To learn more about receiving personalized pickleball coaching and help, visit Prem at PickleballHelp.com
And as alway, PICKLEBALL ROCKS!
-Rocket
by [email protected] | Dec 1, 2012 | Rockets Ramblings
I know that is a sad title to a blog post. And yes, my birthday is celebrated every year around Thanksgiving so they always make sure I get a huge, delicious meal. And yes, Christmas is coming and I do understand and promote the real reason for the season. So you would think this would be a special time of the year.
But NO, it is a time of sadness. The court chairs look lonely. The pickleball courts here in the midwest are empty. 
The wonderful, daily sound of pickleballs popping off the paddles is gone. It is getting dark so early that most guys and gals can’t get to the courts after work. It is getting so cold (today was a nice exception) that bulky coats are quickly becoming an outdoor necessity.
And the real problem is we can’t find an indoor place to play this time of year. We live in Indiana where of course basketball is king. Every boy and girl from the 5th grade through high school is practicing and playing basketball daily. The gyms are all occupied seemingly 24 hours a day from now until towards the end of January.
Then things will look brighter. We will be able to secure some indoor time, hopefully at our local high school where there is room in the practice gym for 4 temporary pickleball courts.
Can’t wait. Just have to hang in there. Life will be better soon. 🙂
Tell us where you are playing indoors this winter?
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