Just before we moved to Missouri three years ago, we discovered a new sport called Pickleball. Last week, Parade Magazine did a whole feature on this game that has swept the country. A cross between tennis, ping-pong, and badminton, Pickleball is a sport that even unathletic “older” people like me can play!
Even while we were packing to move to Missouri, we played several times with both of our extended families in Kansas (and we discovered new muscles we didn’t know we had!)
After we moved, we played with our kids and grandkids. And I’m proud to say that these old fogies actually beat the young athletic coaches (our daughter and her husband) the first time they played. We won’t be asking for a rematch anytime soon though. They are still young and athletic and we’re three years older now! 🙂
It really is a great game for young and old! There are leagues in most towns, and many cities are turning tennis courts into pickleball courts to accommodate the demand. It’s a good trade since four pickleball courts will fit on a tennis court! Here are the basic rules in case you’re curious:
This 14-second video of Ken and his siblings playing when we were all just learning will give you the flavor of the game. (The game can be a little more cut-throat when these same people play now because everyone has improved greatly. In fact, Ken’s sister and her husband are in a league in California and have gotten really good!)
We hadn’t played for a long time, but we ran into some friends last week while we were biking and learned that they’d just discovered pickleball. So later that week, we met them early in the morning at an outdoor court and we had a blast playing again. We were pretty evenly matched, even though Ken and I ultimately lost 2 out of 3 games. We can’t wait to play again and get a chance to redeem ourselves!
Pickleball is a relatively new game, invented in my lifetime. But I have a feeling it will have some staying power. Have you played pickleball or watched it being played? Tell me about it in the comments below.
AND BEFORE YOU GO…I wanted to let you know that Yesterday’s Embers, the third and final book in the Clayburn Novels series is FREE today for ebook! You can order all three books by clicking on the image below:
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Great post! Love the pics—and all the smiles. We have yet to play pickleball but have friends who are avid fans!
♥️ We’ll have to play next time we’re together! It really is a blast and great exercise!
A couple of years ago, my downstairs neighbors (who recently moved) told me about Pickleball that they started playing during their winters in AZ. I’d never heard of it. Now my suburb converted one of the two tennis courts next-door to my church into a Pickleball court. I still haven’t played it. Maybe one day ….
It’s really fun, Pam!
At ACU, Pickleball has been a PE class for ages. I say “ages” because I took the class as a student way back in the day. My kids each took the class as well. We’ve never actually played recreationally, but my daughter has thought about joining a Pickleball rec league at A&M. I don’t think she’s followed through on that yet, but I hope she does. It’s a fun was to get exercise, especially for a girl who (like her mama) sits in front of a computer all day. Maybe Wes and I can try this one of these days. We both enjoy racket sports. You and Ken make it look like so much fun!
It’s a blast. I laughed to hear you took a class. I got an A+ in bowling my first semester of college and an A+ in jogging my second. Had to get those hard classes out of the way. 😉
I really enjoy pickle ball! A friend who is really into it (plays tournaments, etc) taught me to play. The hard part for me is finding people who just want to play instead of being super competitive about it!
Yes! We have the same issue. Once people get really good at it, they don’t really want to play with mediocre players. It’s good to find someone who is the same level you are, play with them consistently so you improve at the same rate. 🙂
Oh, pickle ball is all the rage in Seattle now too. I visited a friend over the weekend and she really tried to get me to play. We just couldn’t get to a court that wasn’t full. Next time!
I’m surprised our courts aren’t more crowded than they are. But they do get used. Probably because it’s been so hot and these courts are outside.
We played pickleball in elementary school gym class–so about 25 years ago–as well as a similar game that used scoops instead of paddles. Then we moved on to tennis in middle school and didn’t do pickleball anymore. It’s been a long time since I’ve even thought about the game!
That’s cool that you learned it in elementary school! I love that all ages can play!
My husband works at a Sun City senior community and they are BONKERS for pickleball. It’s gotten so bad the tennis players are throwing fits. Why? Because the pickleballers want even more tennis courts converted to pickleball courts! Maybe my husband and I will try it out sometime.
I wondered if some tennis players might be upset about having their courts converted. But it IS nice that ore people can play on the same square-foot place with pickleball.
In our area there are 12 pickleball courts and people play everyday! My husband is in a league and plays a couple times a week. I play sometimes but not as competitive as some of those people. I play for fun and some exercise. When we go on vacation we try to find pickleball courts and play with our kids and grandkids. My husband helped a Boy Scout build 2 courts in our town for his Eagle Scout project.
What a great Boy Scout/Eagle Scout project! That’s really cool that your husband helped with that. And I’m with you: I don’t play to be super competitive. Just to have fun. (Though I DO like to win! 😉 )