This week in Five Dink Friday:
• 🦄 Pickleball’s Hole in One — the rarest shot in the game (and yes, I nailed one)
• 🎯 Pattern Recognition = Power — three tactical plays to start running with your partner
• 👯♀️ Double Trouble — the Kawamoto twins take down #1 seeds ALW & AB
• 🔇 Quiet Pickleball? Meet the NetX — finally, balls your HOA might actually approve
• 🥊 Drilling the Body Bag?! — the drill that’ll either make you a beast or an enemy
Let’s get to it!
#1🦄 Pickleball’s Hole in One
Pickleball . . . worth extinction!
Tragedy: the unicorns never made it onto the ark.
At least we know they went down swinging. 😉
(If only floating pickleball courts had been a thing back then.)
But speaking of unicorns—did you know pickleball has its own Unicorn Shot?
👉 It’s the rarest shot in the game.
Think golf’s hole-in-one. If you get one in your lifetime, you brag forever.
Here’s how it works:
The ball lands in your kitchen with heavy spin.
It bounces back over the net onto your opponent’s side.
You reach over the net, and before the ball bounces, you smack it into the back of the net for a point (just make sure you don’t touch the net with your body or your paddle)
Shoutout to my friend Brent Wellisch, who first taught me this mythical move.
And I kid you not—the very next day, while playing together, the perfect unicorn set up appeared.
I pounced. . . .
nailed it. . .
And Brent?
He might’ve been more excited than me.
Him—because the proud teacher had just witnessed his star student hit the shot of a lifetime.
Me—because I’ve always secretly felt like a unicorn anyway. 🦄✨
So tell me:
Have you ever seen a unicorn?
Or better yet… have you hit one?
Yes, this is Brent and me earning gold in mixed 4.0. I started playing pickleball on Black Friday 2023. Brent took me under his wing and taught me how to play the game. He was—and still is—the best coach and friend a gal could ask for. And yes, we won a fierce mixed 4.0 tournament when I had only been playing for 6 months. That says a lot about his skills.
#2🎯 Play the Pattern, Win the Point
I LOVED this video from Kyle breaking down Jake’s tournament play—because I’m a sucker for strategy.
The way he grabs a marker, draws out the patterns, and does play-by-play makes it so much easier to see and understand.
What you’re about to get is my little “cheat sheet” summary of the patterns he covered in the video.
Writing these notes is how I solidify what I learn (yes, I’m that nerd who used to hand-copy Gary Halbert ads to improve my copywriting skills).
I figure if it helps me actually remember and apply stuff on court, it might help you, too.
Now, here are the three big patterns Kyle spotted (plus a bonus):
1) Triangle Effect
Core idea: When you hit a ball on an angle, the next ball tends to travel along the other side of that triangle—i.e., not back to the striker, but toward the striker’s partner lane.
What to expect:
You speed up (or dink) down the line → their counter often goes back across toward your partner/middle.
In hands battles, the default flow is A → B → toward A’s partner (completing the triangle).
Simple reads:
If your side creates the angle, the off-ball partner should shade to the “third vertex.”
Advanced wrinkle: a counter back to where it came from breaks the triangle and jams the attacker (watch the video and you’ll understand).
2) Pressure Pattern (Highest Contact Wins)
Core idea: Apply pressure by taking the ball from the highest contact point you can realistically get. Sometimes that means volleying; sometimes it means letting it bounce first.
What to expect:
Shallow, floaty balls in the kitchen often rise higher after the bounce → let it bounce, then roll it.
Higher, deeper balls give you a good volley → take it out of the air to steal time.
Knee-height volleys are a trap (you’re “reaching for trash”) → don’t force those.
Simple reads:
Ask: “Will this be higher after a bounce or lower?” Choose the option that gives you height.
3) Short-and-Out
Core idea: Short returns (especially low ones landing mid-court) bait big third-shot drives—and a lot of those drives fly long.
What to expect:
After your short return, driver’s eyes light up → many rips sail out.
If they adjust and roll softer, the ball gets easier to counter or they start dropping.
Simple reads:
First rip coming chest/shoulder-high after your short return? Let it go if it’s traveling up.
Bonus: Short-Hop the Line (Keep the Middle Poacher Honest)
Core idea: When the middle player is hunting your cross-court, you can short-hop a push up the line (hit it on the rise) behind them.
What to expect:
Not a winner—just a neutralizer that stops the poach, opens space, and can set up your partner to finish.
Simple read:
If your cross resets keep getting poached, use one quick up-the-line on the rise to shift the pattern.
🔥 Okay… now imagine if Lance and I actually started communicating these patterns instead of freelancing every rally. Right now, the only “play” we really run is a shake and bake.
But what if we had a secret sign or code word that communicated:
“Serving T—look for the wide third pop-up.”
Or, “I’m ripping down the line—be ready for the triangle.”
We’d probably start crushing people.
And the wild part?
I think the couple that beat us in the league the other night were doing this to us.
They weren’t just hitting shots—they were running plays.
So yeah… time for Lance and me to sit down, make some actual plays, and maybe start recording our matches.
Because film never lies, and watching this breakdown sure makes me want to level up.
Poll Time:
👉 Do you and your partner ever “run plays”… or just vibe it out?
#3👯 Double Trouble: Kawamoto Twins Take Down #1
Stop the presses. At the Veolia Cincinnati Showcase, the impossible happened:
Anna Leigh Waters & Anna Bright (the #1 seeds, the “untouchables”) lost.
To identical twin sisters, Jackie & Jade Kawamoto.
The Kawamotos went on to grab their first-ever Women’s Pro Doubles Gold, outlasting Tyra Black & Jorja Johnson in a 5-game nail-biter.
ALW and Bright had to settle for bronze. (Don’t feel too bad for Anna Leigh though—she still left Cincinnati with gold in Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles. Queen’s crown intact.)
🤔 Thoughts (Because You Know I Got ‘Em)
First, can we talk about how they’re identical twins—but one is left-handed and the other is right-handed? My nature vs. nurture brain needs a study on this. Longitudinal, double-blind, peer-reviewed—I don’t care. Somebody figure it out.
Second, underdogs. Why do we always root for them? I like Anna Leigh Waters. (Don’t know Bright well enough to say.) But even I found myself pulling for the Kawamotos. There’s just something irresistible about watching the giant slayed.
Third (confession time): I watch all pro matches at 2–3x speed. Way more exciting, and then when I step on the court, everything feels slower. Honestly, it makes my hands feel faster.
If I really wanted to get better, I’d probably start taking notes and looking for patterns like Kyle does… but let’s be real, I’ll only do that once I figure out how to get paid for it.Fourth, how about this for the Kawamoto twins. . . back in their tennis days, Jackie was the #1 player in the state her junior year. But when senior year rolled around, she let Jade go for the singles title instead—because Jade hadn’t had her shot yet.
That’s not just sister love. That’s Disney movie material.
🚨 Big Picture
The Kawamotos’ win isn’t just a one-off upset. It’s proof that the Women’s tour is starting to see more parity.
Top seeds can’t assume the draw is theirs anymore. The game is leveling up, and matches like this are what make the sport electric.
So yeah—if you missed this one, go back and watch. Every rally’s worth it.
#4 🔇 Quiet Pickleball? Meet the NetX QuietBall
I was pumped when the team at NetX sent me their new QuietBalls to test. These were designed in response to all the city noise-ordinance drama and the constant “pickleball is too loud” complaints.
And you guys… they’re actually quiet.
👉 In the video I filmed, they sound louder than they do in real life (maybe the echo in my sunroom? some nerdy videographer can tell me why).
But everyone who’s demoed them IRL has had the same reaction:
“Whoa, that’s way quieter.”
Durability?
Impressive.
I’ve drilled hard—drives, put-aways, wall work—and they’re holding shape.
No cracks,
no flops.
Even had Lance slamming them, and they survived.
We also played a full hour of match play, and they still look new.
NetX even offers a warranty—they claim these last longer than any traditional ball.
The only knock?
Spin feels a little different.
I thought my slice wasn’t biting as much, but everyone on the other side swore it was still spinning heavy.
So maybe it’s more perception than performance.
Biggest surprise?
When someone paired the QuietBall with an Owl paddle… silence.
Like, eerily silent.
If HOAs got a demo of that combo, half the pickleball bans would vanish overnight.
So yeah—these are fun.
Show up with a sleeve and you’re suddenly the cool kid at the courts (like bringing Oreos and Reese’s to grade school).
Check them out here → NetX Vortex quiet balls
(And yes, this is an affiliate link. I’m gonna get rich off your purchases 😂)
🎥 To see and hear the balls in action, watch my quick video review here:
#5🥊 Drilling the Body Bag?!
You all know I’m the queen of drills.
I live for finding new ones, testing them, and reporting back.
But this one stopped me mid-scroll.
Some genius on Instagram set up a B.O.B. (Body Opponent Bag — those martial arts training dummies) on the other side of the net…
…and started ripping drives straight at him.
Basically, practicing the body bag. 😂
Never have I wished harder that I hadn’t sold my own B.O.B. back in the day. This would be such a fun drill to try. (Yes, I have photo proof that B.O.B was once a valued member of the family).
Look how young my kids are in this pic? They grow up so FAST! B.O.B. was well-loved. 😄
So tell me — is this:
Brilliant training hack?
Or a surefire way to become public enemy #1 at your courts?
I’m half-tempted to bring B.O.B. back just to test it.
That’s it for this week’s Five Dink Friday.
Forward it to your partner (especially the one who never calls the score loud enough).
And if you got this second-hand, subscribe here so you don’t miss the next drop.
Until next week—dink sharper, laugh louder, and never miss your unicorn. 🦄🥒 —
—Janelle
P.S. Fall = prime pickleball season. 🍂 Soak it up before the courts freeze over (and if you live in year-round paradise, don’t rub it in). Good thing I ski… and own some indoor pickleball courts. 😉⛷️🏓