This week in Five Dink Friday😀

👵 Breaking News — pickleball’s latest scandal 😂
🐍 The Reverse Snake — I need this shot immediately
🥊 Elite Training — apparently, I’m not committed enough
🀄 Mahjong Mania — have you caught the bug yet?
⚔️ Counter Masterclass — coming next week

Let’s get to it!

You work on your third shot drops.
Your resets.
Your kitchen confidence.

But when’s the last time you worked on your roof? 😏

Summer is here; now’s the perfect time to inspect the one thing protecting everything underneath it.

Because just like pickleball…

Small mistakes become expensive ones fast.

A tiny leak today can become a five-figure headache tomorrow.

That’s where Lance — the local legend comes in.

He’s not just good on the roof… rumor has it he’s got a DUPR in the 4s and knows how to finish points at the kitchen too.

He’ll get up there so you don’t have to, and check for:

• Missing shingles
• Pipe sealing issues
• Flashing repairs
• Ventilation problems
• Winter damage
• Sneaky leaks before they attack your wallet

If everything looks good? Peace of mind.
If something needs attention? You’ll know before it gets ugly.

No ladders.
No guesswork.
No YouTube roofing disasters.

👉 Utah readers: Schedule your FREE roof inspection by calling 801- at eagleridgepros.com

I got a kick out of this one 😂

One of the dangers of playing with the same people…

they start learning your tendencies.

They know your favorite serve.

They know your favorite speedup.

They know when you’re about to lob.

Which is why I immediately saved this reel from Zane Navratil.

He’s showing what the comments are calling:

🐍 The Reverse Snake

(although I’m partial to The InZane Flick)

The shot starts as a normal forehand cross-court dink.

Everything about it says:

👉 crosscourt dink incoming

And then at the very last second…

you flip to a backhand flick and send it:
• through the middle
• down the line
• or wherever your unsuspecting victim least expects it

The whole thing works because you’ve spent the previous rallies teaching your opponent what to expect.

Then you break the pattern.

And naturally…

I need to drill this 😏

Every once in a while, I see a training video that makes me question my commitment to improvement.

This was one of those videos 😂

Check out this guy:

He’s balancing on a BOSU ball.

Wearing a boxing glove.

Surrounded by pickleballs hanging from strings.

And somehow hitting all of them like he’s preparing for the Pickleball Olympics, a heavyweight title fight, and a ninja obstacle course simultaneously.

I have absolutely no idea what this drill is training.

Hand-eye coordination?

Balance?

Reaction time?

Mental toughness?

The ability to survive a tornado made entirely of pickleballs?

No clue.

But I do know this:

The man is DIALED IN.

And honestly, for someone his age, this seems a lot better than sitting in a rest home.

Plus…

it actually looks kind of fun.

Would I do it?

Absolutely!

Okay, serious question…

Has anyone else noticed that mahjong is absolutely exploding right now?

For years we’ve been hearing that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America.

And now suddenly…

all my pickleball friends are playing mahjong 😂

I’m getting invited to mahjong nights.

My friends are hosting mahjong parties.

Yesterday I was invited to show up early for pickleball…

to get a few rounds of mahjong in before pickleball.

I played for the first time a few weeks ago…

And thanks to what I’m choosing to call pure talent (and definitely not beginner’s luck)…

I played two games.

I won two games.

And I’m considering retirement while I’m still undefeated 😏

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check it out:

Apparently, people are now combining pickleball tournaments and mahjong marathons into one glorious event.

They have some commonalities:

Both games are strategic.

Both require patience.

Both reward pattern recognition.

Both are highly addictive.

Plus, Alzheimer’s runs in my family, so it’s a worthy investment for my brain.

But I can promise you this much…

If it comes down to choosing between pickleball and mahjong?

I’m choosing pickleball.

Every.

Single.

Time.

DOT. BAM. 🎤

Have you caught the mahjong bug yet?

And if you had to choose…

🀄 Mahjong or 🥒 Pickleball

Which one wins?

I have a problem.

And over the past two weeks, it has become an obsession 😂

I can hold my own in a fast-hands battle.

I can read speedups.

I can anticipate pretty well.

I can counter.

But here’s what keeps happening…

I counter.

They counter.

I counter.

They counter.

And eventually somebody gets the ball DOWN and wins the exchange.

And I’m only winning that battle about 50% of the time.

Which has led me down a very deep rabbit hole.

Because I don’t just want fast hands anymore.

I want downward hands 😎

So this week, I started reaching out to some of the best pickleball coaches I know:

🎯 Callie Jo Smith
🎯 Frank Solano
🎯 Chris Harridine

and even Reddit pickleball nerds…

Basically, anyone who might know the secret sauce behind getting counters to dip down instead of staying flat.

The good news?

Callie confirmed that YES…

getting those chest-high counters to travel downward is absolutely trainable.

and I’ve convinced Callie, Frank, and Chris to create tutorials for me so that I can share the secrets with you. I’ve also got an open Reddit thread bringing in tricks of the trade.

So get excited for next Friday…

I’ll report back with everything I learn and share a masterclass in counters.

Because if we can be the DOWNER on our counters, we will be the winners!

If this week’s edition made you:

• want to add the InZane Flick to your arsenal
• consider balancing on a BOSU ball while swatting hanging pickleballs
• or start obsessing over how to finally get your counters DOWN

…then my work here is done 😏

If this landed in your inbox via a friend, hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next drop:

Until next time…

Stay sneaky.
Keep improving.
And never let your opponents get too comfortable.

Because the moment they think they know what’s coming…

that’s when you invite them to a game of majhong. ;)

See you on the courts.

— Janelle 🏓✨

🥒 P.S. — 🚢 The Great Mexican Adventure: Love Boat Edition 😂

We made it back!

Nine of us (kids + significant others) spent the week cruising, zip-lining, horseback riding, ATV-ing, eating way too much food, and generally causing a reasonable amount of vacation chaos.

And yes…

pickleball happened. 😏

We managed to sneak in some games on Catalina Island, in Long Beach, and even played aboard the cruise ship.

The competition wasn’t exactly PPA-level, but that’s okay.

On our sea days, we got creative and built a makeshift net out of deck furniture so we could practice volleys and keep the addiction alive.

All in all, it was an incredible trip and a great reminder that one of my favorite things about pickleball is that you can play it almost anywhere in the world.

Which got me wondering…

🌎 Where are YOU playing pickleball next?

Reply and let me know.

I’m always looking for my next pickleball adventure.