My friend Rob and I were locked in yet another marathon singles tennis match in the summer heat. I won the first two sets. He won the next two. The match was now creeping up on two hours and I was getting seriously tired.
Rob is 14 years younger than me and had never beaten me. Always a battle. Always fun. Maybe it was fun since I never lost. It was time to start the fifth set.
He is one of those players who never had a lesson and makes up for a certain lack of polish by never giving up on a point. And that makes for some long points and longer games.
I’ve been a competitive tennis player for most of my life. Originally a doubles specialist, at the urging of a number of players I got serious about singles about 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, my main tennis doubles partner, Kevin, took up this game called pickleball and tried to get me to go along. But my ego said, “Hey, I’m still very competitive in tennis leagues and that pickleball thing is really for a crowd where the demographics are, shall we say, not mine.”
Earlier in the summer, I lost to a much younger guy who, frankly, was in better shape and always a better player but one I managed to always beat in the past. I was better tactically but losing to him finally was not a surprise. This Rob match, however, meant my undefeated streak and my ego were at risk.
Kevin’s harassment about pickleball never relented but my ego wasn’t ready. Until now.
The changing of the season meant it was time to move indoors. A different friend heard me grousing about various sports related things and he (probably tired of listening to my whining) invited me into a church-related pickleball group and, impulsively, I agreed.
I didn’t have a paddle, didn’t know the rules, and almost backed out at the last second. But I was committed to him and thought, well, how bad can it be?
Showing up a few minutes late, I thought I would just come in and dominate so I didn’t bother to stretch, was handed an extra paddle and assigned to a court with the best player there who patiently explained the basic rules to me and the two other beginners playing with us. That only took about three minutes.
I did not dominate. But it did not seem to matter. I was having fun, getting a good, steady workout and, oh yeah, I was making new friends. Pickleball is a social game. Fun and laughs are guaranteed.
I then had to get my own paddle and the cost was very reasonable. There are tons of websites and every sporting goods store worth visiting has them. Get one weighing less than eight ounces to get started. A paddle and a decent pair of tennis (not running) shoes is all you need.
If you know these five basic rules, you know 90% of what you need to know:
1) The server hits into the opposite box where you have to let it bounce but then he (or she) has to let your return bounce too (the two-bounce rule.)
2) The box closest to the net is called the kitchen and you can’t hit the ball in the air while you are touching any part of it (the non-volley zone rule.)
3) Mostly a doubles game, if you serve a fault (ball not in the correct box) or the receivers win the point, your serve passes to your partner. If you and your partner fail to win the point in their serve, the serve goes to the other team.
4) You only win points on your team’s serve and you keep serving until you lose.
5) The score is announced as serving team score, receiving team score, and which server is serving (1 or 2.)
I didn’t think anything much would surprise me about racquet sports, including pickleball, but I was surprised by several things.
1) I was surprised how easy the game was to learn and how complicated it was to master. By the way, while I have improved, I’m far from mastery level.
2) I was surprised that complete non-athletes, non-racquet sports people, and even those with serious mobility challenges could function and function well at pickleball.
3) I was surprised at how hooked I got and how easy it was to get hooked.
4) I was surprised how much fun I could have and still be competitive. Men, women, young and experienced all play on the same courts and all have fun.
Rob and I are still friends. Kevin and I are now trying a few pickleball tournaments as I have to feed my competitive beast, and so far, we have been competitive but not winning anything. And we are having fun. For me, that is the most important thing.
Maybe you guessed how that marathon singles match turned out. Rob got me in that fifth set. That night after losing to Rob I was nursing my bruised ego and struggling with my usual nasty leg cramps. Playing two hours, outdoors, in the heat always meant leg cramps despite lots of water and none of my favourite beverage.
I still play tennis but pickleball will keep me competing for quite a few years. And I make new friends playing all the time and many of them have never competed in anything athletic in their lives. Women’s doubles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles are all played. Singles, too. I am just glad I found pickleball or maybe pickleball found me.
You too can have fun at pickleball. BC has a growing population of players in more and more locations. Check out https://www.pickleballbc.ca/where-to-play.html for a huge list of playing options. If you travel to a warmer climate, be sure to take your paddle as pickleball is all the rage there, too.
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