Pickleball in Bend has become a stunning stop for traveling teaching professionals. Widgi Creek Golf Club, which boasts one of the premier indoor pickleball facilities in the world, hosted two such professionals this month to put on a two-day Tyson McGuffin Signature PB Camp.
Kyle McKenzie and Devin Schmidt led 16 players ranging from 3.0-4.0 rating on a journey to rapid skill development. The camp spanned two days and 12 hours. Both are instructors and players from the Pacific Northwest; Kyle teaches and lives in Coeur D'alene, Idaho, while Devin hails from Edmonds Washington where he is the head pro at the Harbor Square Athletic Club.
Kyle commanded the instruction forum well with insightful material as the participants eagerly listened on. "When you train at your local club, focus on just *one* of the things we talked about over these two days." It's a good wrap-up tip. So much information was given to improve these players' games, but because it's common to get overwhelmed as students we can do better thinking of changing just one thing at at time. Trying to apply more than one concept can quickly become unproductive and downright discouraging. Kyle and Devin brought a wealth of knowledge to the McGuffin teaching program. They were able to highlight the important bits for players along with strategies to implement successfully. The changes, they said, might take a few months to sink in though.
Local Bend parents and pickleball lifestylers, Lance and Michelle Powell, brought eager attitudes to improve their games too. The camp days they called a challenging experience, but a good challenge nevertheless. Michelle is now keen to practice blocking drills when on court with a partner of equal ability. But most of all, she loves how this sport brings invaluable communication, even at home where they raise two young boys who share love of the sport. Lance's big take from the camp was differentiating between 'push'-style dinking versus the 'lift' dink while all four players engage at the kitchen line. Newly learned techniques to keep the ball lower and to keep strokes streamlined will serve his game well.
Another cheerful student, Amy Berriochoa, inspired her peers and was vocally grateful to her coaches as the day ended. When asked what her favorite part of the camp was, she said "the mini-games adapted into drills were awesome" and she'll be using them to have more fun on court practicing. We at Vivus Pickleball think she's got the right attitude - this game is supposed to be supreme fun!
Be like our pickleball icon, Ludo. Play well, play free, play disciplined, and keep your head sharp.
Clinic style camps like these have become more popular across the country and Bend has built some of the best indoor and outdoor facilities to house them. The teaching pros and out-of-town players are always in awe and comment on just how lucky folks are in Bend. A welcomed reminder as we already have a lot to offer our pickleball community, but we will rapidly need more access to the fastest growing sport your Grandma might have played!
You can get in touch with McGuffin's teaching organization at his website here:
https://tysonmcguffin.com/tm-pb-camps/
They are on instagram and Facebook too:
https://www.instagram.com/tysonmcguffinsignaturepbcamps/
https://www.facebook.com/tysonmcguffin/
Devin Schmidt's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the_schmidt_show_/
Kyle McKenzie's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kyle.mckenzie.pb/