I’ve been playing pickleball (PB) for a couple of years now. I started after I retired. I took a short lesson series, and when we paired up, I would get contact info. for people. Finally I just asked the instructor if I could send a note out to the class asking who wanted to just hit the ball around. Then I started a group of regular players. We only have a few rules - you can’t be too competitive, you have to be “nice,” and you can’t take yourself too seriously/need to be able to laugh when mistakes are made. And we really did ask one person to leave our group because she just wasn’t nice. We are up to over a dozen players, and we play 3 times a week.
Regarding injuries, knock on wood none of our players have been seriously injured in all the times we’ve played. We all wear eyewear (I highly recommend it - you will get hit at some point). We remind each other not to go backwards to try and get balls. There are lots of ways to get injured. I think people hear so much about PB injuries these days because so many people are playing.
That’s a great idea for forming a group of regular players, thanks. Pre 2020 I was in a group text of volleyball players who could let the others know if they were planning on showing up at the drop-in gym time, and it turned into a little social group as well. Were you the “gatekeeper” in that only you could invite people to join? Or did others in the group make invitations too? I appreciate that your group had rules to keep things nice.
That’s precisely why I like it. I’m reasonably good at ping pong, and never played any other racket sports much.
As for falling, balance, coordination and strength get worse as we age. It’s something that can be staved off with practice.
Took lessons. Enjoyed that time. But to continue to play, we would need to move into the larger group. It is very social, but many are also very competitive. You take turns and play with all levels.,which was intimidating. I do not like playing any high-competitive sports or games. Or maybe that’s just my excuse.
For those who are curious about the game, here is a 2 minute video - link below to see a short video explaining Pickleball.
It’s been great to meet various PB players. First just with others in the 4 week class (and then many of us continued to meet same night). Then through the local club, the best $25 I’ve ever spent because their beginner drills classes are free… and it enabled me to met lots more players. And also through some paid classes at the fabulous indoor PB club (which allows non-members to participate, at a higher fee).
I now have 17 beginner pickleball contacts in my cellphone. I have them collected via prefix… examples: PicB Mary for regular players (sort to the top), Pickleball Megan for somebody who has exchanged numbers but is not yet a regular PB buddy.
@MaineLonghorn - Boo hiss on the rude PB players, forcing off the tennis players. Around here our tennis courts have been mostly empty, so a few have been totally converted to PB (which of course is a different kind of bad news for tennis players). I absolutely agree with you on the noise factor, especially with 6 PB courts on what used to be 2 tennis courts. I saw an article about one place requiring use of a softer/quieter ball. I think that idea might catch on.
In the beginning, there was not a whole lot of cardio exercise because…. lol, the class of beginners had a hard time keeping the ball going very long (except for short “dinks” across the net for warmup). Over time, we are getting better. Longer volleys, more hitting the ball without a bounce (allowed after the required “two bounces” on initial back/forths). Sometimes we play an “anything goes”, no scoring… double bounce ok etc - that keeps us moving more. I do have to run more in “ladder” play, if paired against a more skilled team in the beginner/advanced-beginner sessions.
One of the biggest appeals to PB is that over time you can get more skilled, compensate for declining physical stamina. There are older players who just don’t look like they’d be any good. But man, they know how to place the ball. We beginners are just trying to get to the ball and return it. The are playing offensively, aiming their balls to the best spot (which is usually down the middle of two tentative beginners)
H and I are very new to PB. We took an intro class last month with D1 and our SIL and the 4 of us have been playing once a week. Our SIL is from Connecticut and had played in gym class in high school. We are having fun and we decided after the New Year we would like to take another class to help improve. Tonight H and I are playing with a couple that are the same age as us and have been playing a bit longer. Several other friends are playing now so I can see that we may be able to get together a group of us to play.
Initially it was anyone who was on my email to the group taking lessons could come and play. We kind of “self-selected” to play with each other over time. Then people in the group had friends that were interested, so we expanded that way. Because I started the group people have always seen me as “in charge” but I try to be fair to everyone. Anyone in the group is allowed to bring guest players, but before we invite anyone new to be part of the group, we all have to “vote” yes. (I made that rule, and stick to it even when I want to invite someone). We have a very low drama group and get along well, so we are careful about expanding. For a long time we just said no new members, but now that COVID is over and people are traveling, getting sick, taking care of grandkids, etc., we are expanding again. Besides my “rules” above, we stick to people who are fairly similar in playing to where we are as a group. We don’t want brand new people and we don’t want people who are way over our skill level, especially if they are really competitive.
In our area we have an organization (costs $30ish a year to join). They have PB games all over, at different times, for varying levels. Some are only beginners, some are intermediate/advanced, some are for all levels, etc. They also sponsor different sessions, like teaching new people, doing drills and things like that. You don’t have to have your own group to play, which makes it nice.
Court shoes are an absolute must. My instructor for my Intro to Pickleball session told me not to play until I bought them, because of risk of injury.
We play on inside dedicated courts, so no ramifications to neighbors or tennis players.
My group has a lead organizer, who coordinates our court reservations and communication. We use an app where next week’s court times are posted and each member of the group can sign up for when they want to play (with a cut-off for maximum # of people.) Anyone can extend an invitation to join the group, but the new person needs to connect with the organizer to make it happen. They didn’t turn me away when I asked to join as a newbie, so I guess if a new person is comfortable jumping in, they are welcome. Not sure if we will reach a point where the group is too large; there are weeks when not everyone who wants to play can get a spot. Most of us are similar level of play; one or two have moved on because they want to be more competitive.
We play for 90 minutes, with short breaks between games. I would say it’s moderate physical exertion. Not as strenuous as running or walking fast up a hill or playing soccer and I am never breathing heavy. But, it’s ninety minutes where my body is moving in all different ways - reaching, squatting, swinging, running to chase down a ball that has gotten away from the court. Additional benefit is the opportunity to improve your reflexes. Playing pickleball is a mind/body challenge, as the game moves fast! I do feel like my reflexes have improved. And overall, I just feel better since I took up the sport. Release of endorphins probably contributes to that as well as the added exercise.
In my area, folks are starting to use Playtime app to arrange group events. So far I’ve just been a “lurker”, perusing the emails about upcoming opportunities Some events do say the accept all levels (2.0 to 5.0), but I expect it mostly draws players better than me. I’m much more comfortable going to drills and play sessions with ‘all beginners’.
Sounds very worth it!
I have played tennis for many years; several times a week. My club has a few pickleball courts but like Mainelonghorn, I just don’t like the noise.
There is a study out of the Mayo Clinic a few years back showing that tennis players, on average, live 9 years longer than participants in other activities like jogging, walking or swimming. Tennis promotes balance, hand eye coordination, exercises all muscles and is social. I don’t think Mayo studied pickleball though.
Interesting. But it does beg the question…. does playing tennis make people more fit? Or do more fit people tend to be drawn to tennis? My guess is a bit of both. The same can be said about PB, though it’s surprising to see the variety of ages, body types etc out on the courts. For me it definitely fits the “not sitting” desire, and it seems less impact than running (which I still do, though not as often).
It has been great learning something new. There are times when I am struggling to remember the score, trying to think ahead for some of the strategies (serve/stay, receive/run; hit in the middle; stay out of the PB kitchen; etc etc )…. thinking, “this has gotta be good for my brain, not just my body”.
I think it’s fair to say that tennis is a full body pretty intense workout. I think you need to be in pretty good shape for it to be a regular part of your routine.
When I was going through the orientation at the Y last month, they asked if I played pickleball.
Uh, no. It brings back the trauma of HS PE class 45 years ago. Pickleball was one of the sports p, and me and my poor eye-hand coordination failed miserably.
I dare say that I would still fail miserably at it, haha.
I was not good at any sport when I was younger, unless you count bike riding as a sport. I would say I am now a solid intermediate player. I will likely never get to an advanced level, but I don’t let that stop me from playing. The beauty of having sessions for all different levels is you can play with others sort of similar in skill to you, and it’s fun.
Yes, this is true for me. Never really athletic.
A friend suggested we take a pickleball class, and I agreed. It bacame something I liked and could see some skill progression, so I continued both playing and classes.
Our county has senior open play most days at differnt community centers, as well as some general open play. I do OK if I stick with the seniors.
Add me to the list of players. I play through a lunchtime group at work. I enjoy the social aspect of it, and the mid-day physical activity, and I appreciate how quickly one can get good enough to play. I definitely don’t play at 100% intensity, as I can see how easy it is to get hurt, but it does feel like a nice bit of cardio for me. I also play tennis, and honestly would choose to play tennis over pickleball any day of the week, but I have limited opportunities (people to play with), so pickleball it is. As to the above question, I took up tennis late in life (just four years ago), and playing it several times a week for 2 or 3 years definitely made me more fit in a way that pickleball didn’t.
I’ve always played sports (volleyball, softball, tennis, skiing) but as I’ve gotten older I’ve had to drop the more intense ones. In my middle age I was only playing tennis and I tore my Achilles. After it healed I decided to try pickle ball. What I love about pb is that it is the only sport I know of that you can dial down the intensity and still have a really fun time.