Get ready as I serve up a blog about all things pickleball!
Where Did it Start?
I’m sure you’ve heard about the sport from the immense amount of popularity it has gained over the past years. I joined the pickleball bandwagon pretty late as I started over this past summer; however, I believe my first exposure to the sport was around 2019. For context, I used to be a camp counselor at the JCC back in my hometown. I remember seeing a lot of people playing pickleball on the community courts, but I didn’t really think anything of it other than that it looked like a sport for the elderly. Now, flash forward a couple of years to when pickleball really picked up speed. Even now, I don’t know how it got so popular, especially with people around my age. I know it’s been around for a while, but the emergence of pickleball in pop culture and just everyday life seemed so sudden and random. It was everywhere! It was in stores, on social media, on the news, etc. To be honest, I didn’t get why so many people liked it, and I didn’t really feel like finding out.
As I’ve mentioned multiple times before in other blogs, this past summer was the summer of self-discovery. I decided that I wanted to find actual hobbies that I enjoyed doing. I truly think that once I started tennis, I became a lot more interested in pickleball. At this point, the popularity of the sport was still extremely high; however, it had also been circulating culture for a minute. Determined to not let this trend slip by me, I decided to finally try it out. I bought the cheap Target pickleball paddle set and set out on the courts with some friends. The one thing I wasn’t expecting from pickleball was how addicting it is!
My Thoughts
I can confidently say that I wasn’t expecting it to be so fun! Now that I have a good amount of games under my belt, I can give some more thoughts on pickleball as a whole. First, I think the most attractive thing about it, at least for me, is the accessibility. Compared to tennis, pickleball is a lot less challenging. That doesn’t mean that pickleball isn’t challenging at all, because it definitely can be. Depending on the level of intensity you put in, it can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. From my perspective it’s easier for more people to learn and play, ultimately opening up the sport to a larger segment of the population. The court itself is on a much smaller scale than tennis, and the technicalities aren’t too significant. It’s also a lower-impact sport but is still extremely engaging. This helps it appeal to all ages. The equipment needed is overall cheap, and all you need is a couple friends and an empty court. I believe a culmination of these aspects mentioned has made pickleball so popular.
The first time I played, I had to get used to two main parts of the game: the ball and the rules. First, the ball is a wiffle ball meaning that it’s very light. I still have to make adjustments when I play because of how light the ball is. This means that hitting the ball takes more effort than you might think, especially when serving. Secondly, I had to learn the pickleball rules and terms. When I started, I wasn’t aware that there were different rules. I just assumed it was like ping pong where all you need to do is hit the ball inside of the court. Learning the different rules about the kitchen and how scoring worked took some time, but it made it even more fun.
Now, I’m a full pickleball believer and supporter. I would encourage those who haven’t given it a try yet to go play! It’s a relatively easy sport and a great way to find community. I know there’s a lot of pickleball groups that play for fun or intramural teams, so if you’re interested, you should check out some groups. Finally, if you ever need a partner, you can reach out to me and I’d love to play 🙂
