The Illegal Pickleball Move That Took Me Out [pt. 1]
A sore foot, a ballerina-style pivot, and the moment it all went sideways.
This is the story of how one overly dramatic pivot took me off the pickleball court for three weeks... and nearly cost me my shot at leveling up for the second half of summer league. (CLICK HERE for Part 2)
Let’s rewind.
Three weeks ago, I woke up in Cedar Point. Elena Dinker and I were wrapping up our annual rollercoaster pilgrimage. We'd clocked over eight miles the day before. Oddly enough, my foot which had been nagging for months felt great. I even joked about how walking fixed it.
The next stop? A high-stakes real estate photo shoot for a new listing. Not just any listing. This client is also a hardcore pickleball player more on that story later, including how one on-court connection helped me land my best listing of the year.
That shoot turned into a five-hour marathon. By the time we wrapped, Elena and I were racing against freeway closures and rush hour traffic just to make it to the courts.
No warm-up. No downtime. Just five hours of driving, a full day of work, and now… game time. Elena was excited to debut the giant plush pickle she won at Cedar Point — our new mascot. I was just trying to get my shoes on fast enough to make it to the court.
That night, I was matched up with a fun crew: Sam, Rosa (who I’ve known since 101), and Bianca. Halfway through the first game, Sam sent me a nasty shot. I responded with something…unconventional.
A pirouette. A full-on, ballerina-style spin move. Not exactly sanctioned by the MPA.
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That spin lit up the outside of my left foot, exactly where it had been whispering pain for months. This time, it screamed. A 9 out of 10 on the pain scale.
Still, I limped it off. Won that 1st match with Bianca as my partner. Then played two more league games. Lost both - shocker. Zero mobility. Still in pain. And because addiction is real, I stayed for two or three more leisurely games.
Why are you walking funny? - asked Elena
The next morning, I hit urgent care. Bonus: they had X-rays on site. The nurse asked how it happened. I said “pickleball,” and of course she plays too. Her early read: not broken, but probably a severe strain.
I hadn’t had an X-ray in decades. Elena sat nearby cracking jokes about amputation and how my old foot could now be my practice partner. When the scans came back: negative. Just a bad sprain on the 5th metatarsal. They fitted me with a stiff post-op shoe and told me to get a stabilizer boot.
Two weeks off court minimum.
Here’s the kicker…I had just received a Father’s Day gift form my better half of private coaching from Blair and Morn. The plan was to use that league break to sharpen everything: footwork, shot selection, grip changes. Real one-on-one stuff. That plan was now on ice.
I’ll share what came next in Part 2 — how I rehabbed, the gear that helped, and what I learned grinding through recovery. I’ve got opinions on everything from ankle braces to why I dropped half a shoe size. That post is coming.
And yes, I’ve got the pirouette on video. That drop is coming too.
We’ll also start talking more about what I’m doing off the court — recovery, maintenance, training, and everything else I’ve added to the stack to keep improving.
This is The Dyl Pickle Drop. And this is what it looks like when a spin move takes you out — but doesn’t keep you down.