Let’s play pickleball!.................................... Judith A. Rucki

Let’s play pickleball!

It’s the country’s fastest growing sport

BY JUDITH A. RUCKI

Pickleball can contribute to weight loss. Depending on intensity, an average person can burn 500 to 700 calories, and get up to 5,000 steps in one hour.

Ask your friends what they’re doing for exercise, and you may hear they’re playing pickleball. A racket sport combining elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, pickleball’s simple rules make it easy to learn.

According to the USA Pickleball Association, the game was invented by three dads with bored kids. As for the name, one story says the wife of one of the creators called the new game pickleball because “the combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew, where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.” Another tale of provenance claims that a family dog, Pickle, often ran off with the ball. Jason Santerre, owner and founder of buffalopickleball.com, says he started pickleball in Western New York thirteen years ago, which “created a monster” that Ken Knight, Dave Miller, Erik Maeder, and Jon Brown helped grow. Grand Island’s “Pickleball Island started seven years after we started playing in Buffalo,” Santerre says of the largest indoor dedicated pickleball facility in New York State. “The place is packed.” Hamburg resident Lynette Meslinsky got interested in pickleball because her husband, Al, played, and “was always talking about how much fun it was.” Meslinsky started playing when she retired in 2016 and “never stopped. Like many pickleball players, I’m a former tennis player. It’s just so much more fun and a little easier on the body.”

“Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of pros are former tennis players,” notes Santerre, who adds that because it’s appropriate for all ages and skill levels, pickleball is a good introductory sport. “The size of court is smaller; you aren’t running as much distance. A lot of the game is played near the net. It’s easier on knees and ankles.”

While not as intense or physical as tennis, pickleball can still be challenging, fast-paced, and competitive. Two or four players—singles, doubles, or mixed doubles—use paddles to hit a perforated polymer ball over a net. A game lasts between fifteen and twenty-five minutes. Santerre says an average player’s session is two and a half hours minimum.

Pickleball activates all muscle groups because of the full body movement needed to play. It also challenges balance and agility and increases heart rate to provide a good cardiovascular workout. Depending on intensity, an average person can burn 500 to 700 calories, and get up to 5,000 steps, in one hour.

In addition to physical benefits, pickleball provides mental health boosts, because socializing is such a big part of it. On the smaller court, players are close enough to hold conversations. Plus, players say they don’t experience the frustration of other sports, which can get too competitive. “I read once that racket sports are the best exercise for senior citizens,” says Meslinsky. “The reasons were that racket sports are built-in interval exercise, include socialization, are fun, and improve agility, fitness, and balance. Pickleball does all of that.

“Most courts operate on a rotating basis,” she continues. “Paddles are lined up and, as games finish, new

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players mix in with people already on the court. A general rule is stay on if you win, but not for more than two games. After two, you would put your paddle back in the line-up. This gives people a chance to sit on the sidelines for a break and conversation. We have made so many new friends on the pickleball courts.”

Meslinsky plays two to four times a week at parks or one of five indoor venues within ten miles of her home. In winter, she plays at school gyms, Boys and Girls Clubs, churches, or the local senior center (free with a Silver Sneakers card). Outside of Hamburg and beyond Pickleball Island, courts can be found at Clarence Town Park, Glen Meadows, Havenwood Park, Kenan Center, Kiwanis Park, Lancaster Senior Citizens Center, NT Parks & Recreation, Orchard Park Community Activity Center, Paradise Park, Rally Niagara Badminton & Pickleball, South Towns Tennis Club, Third Warder’s Social Club Inc., Wheatfield Youth Center, Willow Ridge Park, Windham (next to Windham Elementary School in Orchard Park), and YMCA Buffalo Niagara.

Cheektowaga Town Park is building four new courts, and Sloan is getting two courts, says Santerre. East Aurora also has courts, and new courts are going in Delaware Park. This means Santerre can bring bigger tournaments to Buffalo, which could mean up to 3,000 players.

For more information, visit usapickleball.org. Here you can find videos on mastering the basics, tips, and strategy for the fastest growing sport in the country. “Get out there and do something,” urges Santerre. “Pickleball is cheap!” FY

Judith A. Rucki is a public relations consultant and freelance writer.

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