Pickleball - A Delightful Obsession

With so much to say this week about Climate Change (100 nations at COP 26 vowing to cut methane emissions sharply) and education (public comment period on teaching social studies ending on 12 November), I’ll ponder pickleball.

A lifelong basketball addict grown old, I play pickleball frequently. So do about four million people in the U.S., and many elsewhere. It’s our nation’s fastest-growing sport. One Hollywood producer won’t vacation anywhere that lacks pickleball courts, per a Vanity Fair piece, “How Pickleball Won over Everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to your Grandparents.” (I know folks in their eighties who routinely beat folks half their age.) National TV caught relief pitchers playing in the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen; and pickleball addicts include Russell Wilson, DiCaprio, George and Amal Clooney, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Phil Mickelson.

The City has turned Apodaca Park tennis courts into eight pickleball courts, newly refinished. During construction, when we played at Lions Park, I often looked from our two tennis courts (eight pickleball courts, with sometimes two dozen people on them, 16 playing, others waiting) at the other ten courts (boasting six or eight tennis players, perhaps).

We also have the Organ Mountains Pickleball Club; and an excellent pickleball instructor, John Allevi, has relocated here. Clinics for beginners and intermediates are offered Thursdays at 6 p.m., for a nominal charge. (For info, Google “Organ Mountains Pickleball.”) Early in 2022, Allevi, who’s certified by three different entities, will instruct public school phys-ed teachers on teaching pickleball to kids. Local players he coaches recently took first place in an Albuquerque tournament.

A family invented pickleball on Bainbridge Island during the summer of 1965, answering a teenager’s complaint regarding boredom. The court is about 1/3 the size of a tennis court. Easier on the legs. Mostly people play doubles, though some of us play singles too. The hard plastic ball has holes in it, like a wiffleball, but doesn’t behave like a wiffleball. The paddles are solid, the size of a smallish racquetball racquet.

Folks play daily at Apodaca and Meerscheidt, and elsewhere in and around Las Cruces. It’s a quick, competitive sport, providing vigorous exercise and lots of laughs. There’s little arguing, as long as we stay off politics while waiting to play.

Pickleball is healthy outdoor exercise; it’s cheap and fun; no long runs or physical contact with opponents; and although it’s easy to learn, you can keep improving your skills for a very long time. As Allevi points out, the whole family can play.

The only downside is whatever’s left undone while I play for hours. Or ego damage when I play badly. “I know exactly what to do and how to do it, so how did I just #@&%*©$ screw up again?”

We have a welcoming pickleball community, too. People help and instruct each other. Some local tournaments have raised money for charities, notably Mission 22. There have also been special events for July 4^th and Halloween. This Halloween, one player wore a wedding dress of which and had to hold up the rain as she ran and hit the ball. (She and her partner still whipped my butt.)

Pickleball is an increasingly important part of quality of life, for residents and visitors.

Join us! Relax while improving cognition, then return to the problems of climate change and education refreshed and strengthened.

In these times, it can’t hurt to bring people together in a non-divisive way.

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[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 7 November 2021, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week on KRWG (90.7 FM) and KTAL-LP. (101.5 FM – http://www.lccommunityradio.org/), and will presently be available on demand on KRWG’s site.]

from the Oct. 30th "Ghoul Duel"

[Fellow pickleball enthusiasts should enjoy the recent Vanity Fair article mentioned in the column. They’ll nod understandingly when various famous people describe their addiction to the sport.

Newbies should take a look at the local club’s website, https://organmountainspickleballclub.com/; you can also check out the group on its facebook page; and the U.S. Pickleball Association (https://usapickleball.org/)

is a great resource. As mentioned, John Allevi’s a great teacher here; and there are many on-line videos to help with specific aspects of your game.

Locally, folks play daily at Apodaca Park and Meerscheidt Rec Center, mostly mornings. (Indoor games require masks, at this point.) The free clinics (well, clinics with a very nominal fee) are a great resource, reached through Organ Mountains Pickleball. Equipment you can borrow at Meerscheidt; and local sports stores, the USAPA, and Allevi also have equipment for sale. If you have questions, ask me – or, probably better, ask OMPC.]

 

 [This image shows folks playing at Lions, and the tennis net in the center will give folks a sense of the relative sizes of the courts, since there are two pickleball courts on each side of the net.  At least the player in foreground has his eye on the ball.]

 [All pictures ripped off from Organ Mountains Pickleball Club]

And these two killer octogenarians will kick most readers' butts in this sport:

Doug Bogart

Michiko