Does Anyone Here Play Pickleball?

[Jim G.]

I recently started playing with some "older" people & it turns out it's pretty fun.

I play tennis at a park nearby & some days when I don't have a game set up I'll take a hopper of balls down & practice my serves. I go early in the morning to try & get finished before it gets too hot.

There is a group of seniors that play pickleball on M-W-F. They usually start showing up about the time I'm finishing. Normally enough of them come to have games on both courts & I've always been nice & let them have the court.

A couple times last year & a few times this year a couple of them have asked me if they could hit balls with me when they didn't have enough for both courts. One or two have even been bringing their own tennis rackets in case I was there.

A few weeks ago they were short handed & asked me if I would play with them. One lady had an extra paddle so I said I would. They're a real friendly ( & chatty ) group & I had fun so when I got home I looked for an inexpensive paddle on Amazon & ordered one to keep in my bag.

So lately I've been going a little later to practice my serves so I can get a little workout before they get there & then I'll play 4 or 5 games with them. I'm 68, but I'm the youngest & most fit by far, so I do have to back off a bit to keep it competitive, but it's been a lot of fun.

It's also something else I can do with other people & still be distanced.

[leftieNanner]

1. It's very popular in our area

We had two tennis courts in the city park and they were just recently converted into 8 pickleball courts instead. Resurfaced and put in permanent nets.

I was never a good tennis player (bad eyesight) but I think I could probably play pickleball.

Enjoy!

[Jim G.]

2. They Just Have The Lines Painted On The Courts In Blue

That was the most difficult thing for me at first playing the right lines. I've been trying to stay inside the white ones for too many years.

[leftieNanner]

3. I keep going into the kitchen

but there are no snacks!

[Jilly_in_VA]

4. Seems like

a tennis equivalent of wiffleball. Or something like that anyway. I first heard about it this year. Not something to my liking but I guess it's growing in popularity.

[Jim G.]

5. I First Saw People Playing It In PA

About 6 or 7 years ago when I'd take my Granddaughter to a park in Lancaster, but they were younger more competitive players. That was also the first place I saw frisbee golf.

I also used to play a similar "game" when my boys were in high school - a drill called "short tennis" played in the service boxes to work on net skills.

[Submariner]

6. HOA's Take Heed: Pickleball Creates a Real Racket at South Florida Community

The war is on in Florida.

April 22, 2019
by Roberto C. Blanch

A recent report by Channel 7 News (WSVN-Fox) in South Florida shined a spotlight on a new trend that is beginning to cause noise disruptions at some of the area’s condominium communities. It is called pickleball, and the sport is becoming especially popular for 55-and-older retirement communities. While the decision of the association’s board to accommodate the sport seems innocent, it appears to have triggered some unintended consequences that other community associations should bear in mind.

First created in 1965, pickleball is a paddle sport for all ages and skill levels that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It is played both as singles and doubles on a badminton-size court using a slightly modified tennis net, paddles and a plastic ball with holes.

snip>

Linda Waldman, the owner of a unit near the courts, states: “It’s a very noisy game, unfortunately . . . there is a ‘pong’ not also from the racket, but also when it hits the ground. Ponging and screaming. It’s a very enthusiastic game. The people love it.”

She and her husband say that they hear the noise from their condo starting daily at 8 a.m., and those who use the pool also complain about the noise as a type of “Chinese water torture.”

https://www.floridahoalawyerblog.com/associations-take-heed-pickleball-creates-a-real-racket-at-south-florida-community/

[likesmountains 52]

7. That happened at my neighborhood tennis court. Pickleball players started

playing and the neighbors complained about the noise. Now, the tennis courts are closed to the public. I guess the Parks and Rec Dept. couldn't just ban the pickleball players so now no one can use them.
I tried it out for a few weeks, but found that even at the beginners time slots, players were pretty competitive and not that patient with us true beginners.