Springtime calls for fresh air, flowers and festive celebrations, and our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors certainly know how to do that! March indeed roared in like a lion and left us ready to embrace this new season of Spring!
April brings us our traditional holidays of Passover and Easter as well as Earth Day. But did you know that April is also officially National Pickleball Month? As if avid “picklers” need another excuse to hit the courts, players are encouraged to introduce newcomers to the game by sharing their experiences and advice this month.
Pickleball may be a new trend here on the East Coast, but we can trace its history back to 1965 when three friends founded it on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. These three dads, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, created the game to entertain their kids during the summer using a badminton net that was set lower to the ground, a wiffle ball and improvised paddles made of plywood.
Beginning in a grassroots way, pickleball started to grow in the Pacific Northwest and has more recently grown in popularity throughout the entire nation. Today, there are over 4.8 million participants nationwide, and the sport is still growing! In fact, USA Pickleball, the National Governing Body for the sport, established National Pickleball Month in April 2018 to connect players and introduce it to new audiences by highlighting its fun and healthy qualities for players of all ages and abilities.
If you have never played or watched a game of pickleball, think that Wiffle ball meets Ping Pong meets tennis. Play happens on a court similar to that of a tennis court. Those who are new to the game can head over to a court to watch first, check out some instructional videos online, and then grab some friends and give it a try. Some of the basics of the game are that you can play singles or doubles, the ball needs to bounce once per side after the serve and the score goes up to eleven points. But the most fun part of pickleball is getting to know all the terms like Dilliball, Dink, Falafel, Kitchen, Poach, Volley Llama and OPA!
Local resident Carol Busch began playing pickleball eight years ago. “I first became aware of the sport when I was rehabbing from a serious injury,” Carol explained. “I would walk around the track that overlooked the courts at my gym. I had no idea what pickleball was, but it looked interesting and similar to tennis.” Eventually, Carol got up and had the courage to go downstairs to get a closer look. Soon after, she joined a beginner program.
After nine months and steady improvement, Carol decided to volunteer for the next year and a half to teach the better beginner pickleball players how to improve their game and be able to transition up to the Intermediate Plus level. “Personally, I don’t care if I win or lose, but the sport can absolutely be very competitive,” Carol said. “I must warn you, though, once you start playing, you won’t want to stop!”
Carol loves that there are more and more places to play pickleball around here. “My favorite place to play, however, is in Naples, Florida,” she said. “They have gorgeous courts with lights, and everyone who plays knows their level, making for some great competition.” When Carol found out that April was National Pickleball Month, she booked her flight. “I’m going to celebrate in Naples for an entire week!”
USA Pickleball announced plans to celebrate people, places and events across the sport using weekly themes during the month of April that focused on different topics. April 1-8 – Why We Love Pickleball, April 9-15 – Up Your Game, April 16-22 – Member Appreciation and April 23-30 – What’s
Next/Looking Ahead.
Whether you’re an avid fan, a newcomer, a seasoned professional or relatively new to the sport, anyone and everyone is invited to join in on the fun by celebrating and participating in National Pickleball Month. The idea is to have fun and get more family and friends involved. When you do, use #NationalPickleballMonth when sharing photos and videos on your social media.