Pickleball!! Has anybody else tried it?

F

FloridaCinder

New Member
Location
Tampa FL
I hadn't heard of this game before but apparently it is very a popular. A few months ago a friend was telling me how much she loved it, then invited me to try a game. At first I laughed a little at the name and was worried that the exercise may be too strenuous but I was pleasantly surprised and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it! The game is like a mixture between tennis and table tennis but uses a wiffle ball which is much lighter and easier on the joints and moves more slowly so its easier to keep up.
I ended up enjoying it so much me and my husband got ourselves a cheap pickleball set and now play every week to keep active at a local community centre! We are still beginners but we are now hooked it is a lot of fun and many other people in our age group play at the community centre to keep fit.
Are there any other pickleballers out there?
 

It is quite popular here in Geezer Nation (aka greater Phoenix area). But I have not tried it and don't intend to. :)
 
Just including a video, because some (including me) might not know what it's all about. Looks interesting to me. I'd try it.

 
Hoot N Annie said:
It is quite popular here in Geezer Nation (aka greater Phoenix area). But I have not tried it and don't intend to. :)
Click to expand...

Yep, it's hot here too on the geezer circuit. Several years ago, I had a 72-year-old boyfriend who played it very competitively. He played on the circuit and they were out for blood. I attended a couple of tournament to cheer him on. My interest ranked it somewhere between watching paint dry and watching concrete set.
 
My hubby wants to try it. My grandson (17) plays with his P.E. teacher-who also happens to be his brother`s father in law. They are pretty competitive-and by that I mean they are out for blood in whatever they play lol. Surprisingly,we don`t have any organized pickleball here. You have to drive 45 minutes to the neighboring county to play. We are a community with lots of seniors so I`m surprised nobody has started it up here. Grandson and his teacher just tape off the gym floor to play but it would be cool to have a real court or two.
 
Thank you for the video NincyNGA, I probably should have included something like that to explain the sport.
Wow it seems a lot of people have played/heard of pickleball! Maybe I am a bit late to the party! I heard it was popular but didn’t realise how many people on here know about it.
Mrs Robinson, maybe it is something your community may add in the future if it is very popular but the idea with the tape and the gym floor seems like a clever temporary solution.
 
I never heard of Pickleball until this thread and I'm thrilled because our Community Center is only 10 minutes away and has a full-on program for this! Beautiful, large facility, tournaments, social gatherings, etc. They have everyone grouped by ages so I'd be in the 50+ group. I think I'm going to try it but just recreational...no tournament....those who are in their 50's would certainly have the edge. Sounds like fun and easy enough since it's so similarly structured to tennis which I used to play. I would have to build up my endurance first but it's great to have a short term goal to strive for...I hope it's short lol.
 
I bought an official pickle ball paddle and 8 balls after posting in this thread and have been practicing on our neighborhood tennis court which also has an official pickleball court/net (recently added and was a complete surprise). It's good exercise.

Be careful to get the right paddle (mine was $70 which was outrageous I thought...it has a graphite surface though). Some paddles you'll need to have more arm strength for and some paddles have better control...pick one that suits you best. The balls don't have as much oomph or bounce as regular tennis balls. That's another thing, if you're a previous tennis player it will be a bit of an adjustment. The plus is that you don't have to run as much when chasing after the balls because the court is smaller and the balls are a bit "dead" compared to tennis balls.
 

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