relishing pickleball..

relishing pickleball..

                     

  Prior to Covid-19, H?WUWT? had undertaken the project of finding out how retirees and working seniors spent their leisure time.  We found there are a lot of active people who enjoy a wide range of activities, including a game which is gaining in popularity called pickleball.  We will explore other findings in future posts.

   USAPickleball.org, reports pickleball was invented about 55 years ago on Bainbridge Island, which is close to Seattle.  Three dads of kids who were bored with the usual summer games are credited with creating the sport.  Joel Pritchard, who later served in Congress and as lieutenant governor of Washington was one of the fathers.

  The three had just returned from a round of golf when they found their sons sitting around doing nothing. They attempted to set up a badminton set, but no one could find the shuttlecock.  A perforated plastic ball was the perfect compromise.  The badminton net was lowered and fabricated paddles were made from plywood.

  One of the three men, Barney McCallum, started a company in the early '70s to manufacture paddles for pickleball.  Today, his son runs the company.

  According to the game's governing body, The International Federation of Pickleball, the court resembles a doubles badminton court.  

  Like its tennis cousin, pickleball can be played indoors as well as on outdoor courts.  Both types of facilities can be found in almost every city.

  H?WUWT? caught up with three POS (people over 60), Jack, Laura, and Valerie.  Each participates in pickleball as often as possible.  Plus, Ann G. is the adult coordinator for a tennis club in Kentucky and she offered her thoughts, plus some insight into the age group she sees playing the sport on a fairly regular basis. 

  Overall, it is older players on our pickleball courts, she says.  But, the other day, we had a college-age group playing.  We see that some, but it's mostly an older crowd.  

  It's one of the fastest growing sports in America now because so many older people play it, Jack G. said.  Jack owns an independent insurance agency in Kentucky and he has seven employees. 

  Laura M. has been a substitute teacher in Indiana for 30 years.  She has six grandchildren.  I played some basketball in high school, but back then, there weren't many girl type sports, she said. 

  Valerie L. is a complaint supervisor with an appliance distributor in Missouri.  It has introduced me to so many new people I would never have met.  I didn't really play competitive sports growing up.  I was a runner, she said.   

  Jack grew up playing tennis and he considers himself a competitive person.  He says, I love the competition, but as I got older, tennis starting beating me up.  I've had shoulder surgery and so have a couple friends I've run into on the court.  Pickleball is not as hard on the body.  

  Laura also has active friends who have had numerous replacement surgeries.  A couple tennis buddies have had one or both knees replaced, and still another has had a hip replaced.  The court is small, she says,  so there's not as much movement as tennis and that means less stress on our bodies.

  Ann says most people who play pickleball at her tennis club mirror Laura's thoughts and say it is less strenuous.  We've found many people say they play because it's not as hard on the body as tennis.  Plus, the smaller court means less wear and tear, too.  

  The pickleball court is one-third the size of a tennis court and is made of asphalt or concrete.  To prevent slipping and sliding, the court is covered with a silica sand.

  We started playing when a friend of mine said she and her husband were invited to a pickleball tournament at a tennis club, Valerie said.  She took me and two others to a court and showed us the basics.  

  Laura heard about pickleball from a tennis friend, who started playing the game at a community center in Indianapolis.  She then taught me and some of our mutual friends to play, Laura said.   But, I've got some other friends who don't want to play pickleball because they think it will hurt their tennis game, she added. 

   That must be a widespread thought because Jack says he has tennis cohorts who think the same way.  It may conflict with a person's tennis ability, but for me, pickleball is the only sport I  play, he said.  My tennis days are over, he added.  

  The sport has gotten pretty big where I live, said Laura.  We love it.  I play once a week and we sometimes now have four courts of doubles.  We have a system of changing partners after each game for the two hours we play, she explained.  

  Jack said he doesn't feel it takes much to learn to play.  The strategy is what's fun.  When to hit hard or soft, and where to put the ball is the challenge, he claims.  

  To me, the challenge is the quickness of play, Laura said.   

  A game typically lasts 15-20 minutes or 11 points and the winner must win by two points.  

  It's a different kind of challenge for me, said Valerie.  I'm used to dealing with disgruntled customers on the phone and knowing we're being recorded.  Pickleball gives me a chance to get rid of a lot of frustrations.  

  Laura, the mother of two daughters thinks it's a good routine on two fronts.  It's a great workout physically, but we also think it's good for our synapses.  

  

  I see both men and women play, said Jack, and I see more young people playing now than I did in the past.  

  We have a lot of laughs, and even more when we go for the obligatory beer or two at the end of the games, Laura offered.  She went on to say, The people we see play are just about 50-50, men and women and most of them are in our age group.  

  Valerie said she had been reluctant in the past to try games like pickleball.   Living in St. Louis, there's lots of professional sports to see and I've always been a spectator, but I'm glad I tried pickleball because I love it, she said. 

  Pickleball is just one sport we found POS playing.  Besides golf, tennis, handball, and badminton, we found out hiking, running, and swimming are popular too.  More on those activities in future posts.

  Coming soon, you will meet  a cheese master and hear from more Encore Performers!  Plus, we'll explore the relationship between music and cultural change.  In addition, we talked with several work-at-home parents and our unofficial findings will be forthcoming.

  By the way, there's no doubt pickleball has its challenging moments, but try going up the Gateway Arch in St. Louis if you suffer from acrophobia.  Now, that's challenging.

  Huh?  What's up with that?