Pickleball Discovery
MikePfirrman
Posts: 3,307 Member
The wife and I are moving next year to an active adult (over 55) community near Tucson. They have a lot of Pickleball courts there and (albeit years ago) I used to play some tennis, so we thought it might be fun.
Instead of waiting till we get there to learn, we recently joined a "Pickleball Club". A guy that married a woman from around here in Southern Ohio (both their spouses had passed) from AZ found some tennis courts not being used and talked the city into converting them to Pickleball courts. Now, a few years later, they have 500 active members in the local club.
We played Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday (on top of working out). Man, I'm sore, but it was fun. Picking it up somewhat quickly. What I'm stunned about it how well some of the older players play. They are no joke!
The guy that founded the club is 86, I think, and he's like a living legend in the Pickleball community and still really pretty good too! One guy last night was 84, I think. We played with a guy that was 72 that plays up to 10 times a week (he plays morning and night in AZ during the Winter months).
Hey, I'll play Pickleball if I can be as active as some of these folks!
Instead of waiting till we get there to learn, we recently joined a "Pickleball Club". A guy that married a woman from around here in Southern Ohio (both their spouses had passed) from AZ found some tennis courts not being used and talked the city into converting them to Pickleball courts. Now, a few years later, they have 500 active members in the local club.
We played Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday (on top of working out). Man, I'm sore, but it was fun. Picking it up somewhat quickly. What I'm stunned about it how well some of the older players play. They are no joke!
The guy that founded the club is 86, I think, and he's like a living legend in the Pickleball community and still really pretty good too! One guy last night was 84, I think. We played with a guy that was 72 that plays up to 10 times a week (he plays morning and night in AZ during the Winter months).
Hey, I'll play Pickleball if I can be as active as some of these folks!
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We have a very active Pickleball group at my gym (you have to be 50 to be a member). They've been trying to get me to join. Maybe soon.
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That is awesome! Keeping active is great for improving the quality of life as age slows us down. Love it!1
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We have a very active Pickleball group at my gym (you have to be 50 to be a member). They've been trying to get me to join. Maybe soon.
You should try it at least. My wife has loved it. I'm actually a bit surprised how much, but it shouldn't shock me as she's very competitive. We played a game last night against each other and she's been dying to beat me. She finally did (in doubles with her partner) and she was fist pumping and hooting like Tiger Woods. It was quite funny and adorable at the same time. Even though I'm competitive too, I couldn't help smiling at her reactions. She grew up really working class parents (that both worked long hours) and she never got to play organized sports growing up, though she's really athletic. So having something that she loves and we can enjoy together is a huge plus.2 -
It is quite popular at the retirement community my mom lives in, too. I never heard of it before. I hope you enjoy your community as much as she does hers.0
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nikkib0103 wrote: »It is quite popular at the retirement community my mom lives in, too. I never heard of it before. I hope you enjoy your community as much as she does hers.
Thanks Nikki. We've actually been having a blast. Played over 2 hours yesterday. We had some bad luck with weather this week where my wife's availability matched the same days as the rain but got to get in an hour of practice on Thursday evening and two hours of play yesterday. The local club has been fantastic. They have a FB Group and all we had to do (since most don't play Sunday AM) was put a post up and two guys came and played several games with us. The one guy used to be a tennis instructor so was really helpful. It's a simple game in theory, harder to pick up and apply. A lot like Ping Pong in many ways. Whole idea is not to give your opponent, essentially, a chance to "kill" it on you and drill a blazing shot at your feet. Very quick paced. I'm amazed at the reaction times of some of these older folks.
What comes to mind is that we're playing a physical game that's similar to some "brain training" apps that have you follow a ball on a computer, except we're moving too. I'm sure it's great for the mind as well as the body. Glad your Mom enjoys the community she's in.1 -
It sounds like a fun game as well as challenging.1
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Well, I got to play Pickleball last night with Bill, the 86 year old member of our Pickleball club. He carried me in doubles! He started playing at 83! He's pretty incredible. Bill won't take it easy on you at all they told us and he didn't. Pretty incredible that a guy who is 83 decides to take up Pickleball.2
