Pickleball anyone?

Does anyone play pickleball? (and who in God's name came up with that name?)

I play 2-3 times a week.  The game was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island (near Seattle) by Joel Pritchard (congressman from Washington State at the time) and his neighbors. As the story goes, Pritchard and his family were spending the summer at their vacation house and the kids were complaining there was nothing to do.  He and his neighbor took their kids to a tennis court with a whiffle ball and some ping pong paddles to get them to do something other than sit around and moan. Apparently, they wanted something other than tennis because of the mixed ages. The game took off from there and now is among the fastest growing games in the U.S. There is some dispute as to the origin of the name.  Some claim the name was derived from the family dog which was named "pickles" and loved to chase the ball. Others attribute the name to a type of rowing boat called a pickle-boat which has features of several other boats.  The claim is that one of the originator's wives thought the game they had created was similar in that it combined features from tennis, ping pong, and whiffle ball and, thus, referred to the game as a "pickle boat" game.  It is deceptively simple and challenging at the same time. Easier on the knees than tennis and offers both a competitive and social experience.

norman,

Hey, thanks for the history! I didn't know any of that. Didn't know it was that old either.

I played my first game today over in Livingston at Northland Park, with the Livingston Pickleball group. Do you play there too?

I play racquetball a few times a week, so I have some racquet skills, so my first time on the court was not as embarrassing as I expected. I will be back.  Trying to get my son interested too.

And yes, definitely easier on the knees, which is key for me these days.  There's not as much running due to the small court, but the game can still get pretty fast. It was a lot of fun. I'm thinking of upgrading my racquet already (I bought the cheapest thing I could find to start.)

Any other picklers out there?

A lot of my tennis buddies play in that Livingston group. I played at High Country on Rt 10 this summer. They had a net set up inside.  It was a lot of fun.  I'll probably play this autumn.

I think there are indoor courts available in Livingston too, but I'm not sure where yet.

angelak said:

A lot of my tennis buddies play in that Livingston group. I played at High Country on Rt 10 this summer. They had a net set up inside.  It was a lot of fun.  I'll probably play this autumn.

I have older relatives who play it and love it as a great way to stay in shape while having fun!  I'm interested.

The Livingston Pickleball group meets almost every day to play. They're a nice friendly group of people - a mostly older group from what I could see. Most everyone was 50+.

They meet at Northland Park in Livingston. Here's the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/254410724930330/

If you want to just try it out, they'll lend you a racket. I'm going to try and get there Wednesday night.

Also,  they're very tolerant of beginners. I told my 3 partners (they usually play doubles) that this was my first time on a pickleball court, and they spent a few minutes with me just volleying so I could kind of get the hang of it.

nakaille said:

I have older relatives who play it and love it as a great way to stay in shape while having fun!  I'm interested.

Thanks, db!