(Somehow it says in my records that I didn't "publish" this for people to read. If this is wrong and you read this a couple weeks ago, ignore this blogpost)
Putting together the words pickle and ball does not seem like the right thing to do. I really, really don't like pickles, but like just about any game with "ball" in it. If you've never heard of pickleball you are about to learn.
It was created in 1965 just outside Seattle, Washington on an island. Three congressmen returned home from playing golf. Their kids were bored so they created something to entertain them. The kids got tennis paddles and a wiffleball and the net was lowered on the badminton court. The game is a combination of ping pong and tennis, but on a smaller court than a tennis court with slightly different rules and less running.
Recently my kids got me a pickleball lesson to celebrate my retirement. The idea was that since I've always enjoyed tennis, pickleball might be something I would enjoying doing now. My two daughters were here visiting and joined in on the ninety minute lesson.
It was interesting and it was fun. We learned the basics on how to play from a woman who has played for a number of years. There clearly was not as much running as I'm used to in tennis and since you were dealing with a paddle and wiffleball, you had to hit the ball harder to get it over the net and deeper into the court.
I've been switching hands and using my left hand for decades in playing tennis and the trainer suggested I not switch hands because it's difficult to do up towards the net. However, once she saw how well I did it, she told me to keep switching if I wanted to.
There are a few local places where people of all ages get together to play and all I need to do is buy a paddle and I can start playing. Since I'm just sorting out what I'm doing four days a week, I haven't committed to getting a paddle, but I think next week will be the week and then I really can say, pickleball anyone?
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