Corte Bella Pickleball Club News

HEALTH & FITNESS Corte Bella Pickleball Club News

Mary Blome

We are 227 members strong. It’s sad to see so many members gone back to cooler climates but we still have quite a few people playing. Forty-Five members gathered at the Anacapa for a Happy Hour and to watch the Pickleball Nationals (see photos). It was very nice to be able to gather again for a social event. We are hoping to be able to hold more such events in the fall.

Meet Gary Williams, our Pickleball Club Vice President:

I retired from the construction business in 2009 after a very happy career as a carpenter in Chicago. I had always planned to leave the Chicago weather behind, and as I had an uncle in Sun Lakes in Chandler, I decided to move to Arizona.

Golf was my passion in those years. I spent the first year playing as many Valley courses as I could. The second year, I joined the Oakwood/Ironwood Golf Club. I played so much that I was benched with a pulled oblique muscle. During recovery, I remembered seeing many people playing pickleball and thought “that looks like fun.” Luckily, my neighbor took me out, and taught me how to play, and that was the start of my long love affair with pickleball. Oakwood/Ironwood in Sun Lakes (where I lived) had one PB court at that time, so a few of us formed a PB Club. We were so successful in growing our numbers that I decided to help grow the game in Sun Lakes and Chandler by becoming the USAPA ambassador for the area. I sold ZZT paddles and pickleballs at cost to new players and also gave lessons. I promoted PB to the city of Chandler and helped our Club at Oakwood grow to over 230 members. However, as PB popularity grew, so did resentment from other sports. After a number of very negative experiences dealing with these issues, I decided it was time to move on to a more inclusive community. So, in 2015, after looking at many communities, I decided to move to PebbleCreek. I enjoyed being a small fish in a Club of 1500 members and 20 pickleball courts. My commitment to PB and my love of the game led to many great friendships in that PB Club.

In 2018, I met my partner who lives here in Corte Bella. Alison has a lot of friends here who have been extremely welcoming to me, and I have grown to love Corte Bella. So much so that I have decided to sell my home in PebbleCreek and start a new life here with Alison. I was immediately welcomed by the Corte Bella PB players and look forward to becoming an integral member of the Club

Besides pickle ball, I also enjoy tinkering with my AMG43 and Mustang, time on our boat the “LUCKY US”, entertaining and travel with trips planned to Colorado, California, and the Mediterranean this year. I see so much potential for our great Corte Bella community and would like to help more as time goes on. I appreciate all the people here that have been so welcoming to me.