Why is Pickleball so Popular?
The Game
The pickleball court is a bit smaller than a tennis court. Some communities paint pickleball lines on their tennis courts – a very effective way to introduce it to a community. Others use portable nets on a basketball court or even a parking lot.
Games are normally played to eleven points with a win by two points. Whereas a tennis match may take ninety minutes, a typical pickleball game lasts fifteen or twenty minutes. At the end of the game, the protocol usually is for the four waiting players to move onto the court.
There oftentimes is a certain informality to the play. People show up as their schedules permit and then leave as needed. An agreement may be made for a certain start time when there are few players. But with the shorter game times, other commitments can prevail. Usually there is a rotation of players so one is not stuck with the same partner or the same opponents each time.
The Sense of Community
While pickleball provides great exercise, burns off calories, and provides vitamin D when played outside, the best reason for its success may be its community effect. Players who are waiting don’t just stand around, they talk. When a new game starts, those who just moved off the court also talk. Friendships develop. The next day they look forward to seeing their newly found friends.Because they are now friends, there is often a different tone on the court than tennis which can be highly competitive. Some people play pickleball to win, but most players are out for the fun. They complement one another when the opponent makes a great shot, and give grace when a ball is called out when it seemed to be in. As seniors, winning the game is good, but respect is important. Laughter is common.
In a park not too far away, two outdoor tennis courts were recently lined for pickleball. I trained thirty newbies on those courts, some for an hour and others for multiple lessons. That was in June 2020 after the state allowed COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted. In seventeen months, the number of players signed up for those two courts has grown to 165. During that time, ten more courts were added by area townships so we now have twelve.
A lady named Chris helped me with that initial effort. She and her husband live nearby. I asked her recently how many she knew prior to the lift of the COVID-19 ban. Her reply was 31. I then asked her to look at the list again, this time identifying how many she now knows. Her answer was 70. That is what pickleball does, it helps develop friendships, it helps develop community.
Chris has forty new friends; I have well over one hundred. Why? Because neighbors get to know neighbors, Republicans play with Democrats, and people of all faiths enjoy knowing each other. Rarely do they talk about politics or faith, they talk about their lives: their children or grandchildren, their broken dishwasher, their cars, their golf games, and their wonderful pets. Respect.
In my opinion, the reason for the success of pickleball is because of the people. In most communities, people often say they don’t know others on the next street. With COVID-19, many suffered greatly from loneliness. The recent events in our country have caused people to become divided. My hope is that your community and mine will catch this great opportunity to restore care, unity and dignity to one another. New friends, people respecting people.