7 minute read
Play More Paddle: Men’s Division 2 & 3 Paddle Champions
By Alexandra Craft, Director of Membership & Communications
Four years ago, Jim Prey invited Roger Kelly to try a new sport: Paddle Tennis. Roger was immediately hooked. “I joined BCC for golf, but the highlight for my membership now is being part of the paddle team,” Roger Kelly proudly shared. “I love playing paddle. It’s so much fun.” A quick learner and a natural talent, Kelly immediately started as a Division 2 player. “The thing about paddle is you get better really quickly, it’s not as frustrating as golf,” Kelly shared enthusiastically.
As the name suggests, Paddle Tennis is an adaptation of tennis. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller and the net is lower. Rather than a strung racquet, players use a solid paddle and a depressurized ball. Because of the smaller court size, play is rapid and often reaction-based, with a strong emphasis on net play.
BCC's Men’s Division 2 paddle team win the Interclub Championship on our Roland Park Paddle Courts—February 18, 2020
BCC's Men’s Division 3 paddle team win the Interclub Championship at L'Hirondelle— February 27, 2020
Because of the pace of play, and a unique scoring system that results in longer matches than alternative racquet sports, paddle is a mentally challenging game of strategy. “When you’re playing paddle you step on the court and two hours later you step off and you have not thought about anything else other than hitting that next shot and strategizing with your partner,” said Kelly. A tennis rally is a quick burst with time to reset in between, the walk between holes in golf allows for reprieve, and Kelly is quick to point out that in that time it is easy for work, bills, and outside distractions to creep in, but for him— paddle is different.
Bryan Del Monte added “besides all of the camaraderie, it is also a sport that requires different thinking with the angles and the pace. It isn’t one- or two-dimensional... which makes it an interesting challenge.” With a sport where the whole court is not necessarily in play, but the walls are, Del Monte (who has been in the game for two and a half years) points out that paddle really is four-dimensional, bringing more excitement to the sport as well as added opportunities for new and engaging challenges.
In paddle the game doesn’t stop until someone makes a mistake, and in a sport where 94% of the mistakes made are by the last person to play the ball, it is no wonder that for all its similarities, paddle is a much different sport than tennis. “Tennis is a game of winners, paddle is a game of mistakes,” explained Tyler Feeley. Feeley, who began his paddle journey only five short years ago, has risen to become one of the top players at BCC and has been eager to grow the game as a Division 1 and Division 2 player himself.
The paddle players at local clubs are made up of a network of individuals with varying interests and skill levels, and BCC’s paddle community has grown rapidly. Played in the winter, the game allows athletes to build relationships and stay active even through snow, rain, and inclement weather. For many, it’s a great way to continue getting outside during the colder months following the golf season. “As soon as golf is over, we are so excited for paddle. I never thought I would have liked something as much as golf,” stated Feeley. The paddle season lasts 20 weeks, and players compete in a series of matches that culminate in a playoff determining a season champion.
The momentum of paddle and its growth over the past few years at BCC is truly a result of years of recruiting, encouraging, and engaging new participants in the game. “You get a few of the right people that get hooked on the game, and they get more people hooked on the game, and it just grows,” said Feeley enthusiastically. The growth the game has seen over the past five years has allowed the divisions to become more competitive and that momentum has kept building to create the BCC champions we celebrate today.
Only eight out of 16 area teams make it into the club playoffs each year, and in 2019, both BCC’s Division 2 and Division 3 Men’s teams played their best paddle ever down the stretch. The Division 3 team, led by Jack Keenan, saw their first playoff victory. “The Division 3 team this season absolutely dominated everybody. Through the championships they dominated the regular season and then absolutely dominated the playoffs. They didn’t lose a single match,” Feeley shared proudly. With 60 members coming out to watch the 2019 Paddle Championships as spectators, the energy was felt by all involved. “It is pretty cool to see the support that everyone is giving each of the other teams as one club supporting each other.” said Feeley.
Additionally, there has also been one significant change to the paddle program in the last two years: Mark Parsons. Parsons, the #1 paddle player in the country, has been coming to BCC for the past two years to teach clinics to our paddle teams across divisions. “The Parsons Clinics took the middle of the road average (to above average) players and made them really good. I got exponentially better as a result of that clinic,” said Del Monte. In Parsons' clinics he focuses on what he calls “transitional shifting” which divides the court into panels with players shifting as a team as the ball transitions into different panels during play. In “transitional shifting” players base their movements on where the ball is, not who hits the ball, giving them a competitive edge over their opponents.
There is no mistaking that the introduction of the Parsons Clinics seemed to have had a direct correlation with Division 2 and Division 3 victories. “Having Parsons come out and do the clinics pushed us over the edge,” stated Kelly. In 2018, the year BCC introduced the Parsons Clinics to the paddle program, the Division 2 team made it to the playoffs and the team came close to victory in the finals. The following year, after an additional clinic with Parsons, the Men’s Division 2 Paddle team came back to claim their first victory in the Club Championships. Similarly, Parsons' impact on the Division 3 team was evident in their victory as well and BCC welcomed two champion teams into our ranks.
Jim Prey, and the men who came before him over the past decade, have been able to grow paddle at BCC to where it is today through their tenacity and enthusiasm for the game. Paddle at BCC has grown so expansively that we’ve nearly outgrown our facilities and BCC has been challenged to keep up with the demand. “It’s gotten so big that we’ve had a hard time getting this other tier of players even into paddle, which is the crossroads we are at right now with the facility not being big enough,” stated Feeley. With a Division 3 team that performs more like most club’s Division 2 teams, finding space on the calendar for beginners has proven to be an unexpected but exciting obstacle for our paddle enthusiasts.
It is incredible to see how much growth has happened in paddle in such a short amount of time, and with only two courts. The future of paddle is bright, and leaders in the paddle community are working with BCC staff to ensure there’s ample room for growth. “Now that we finally have the best Pros in the country, once the facilities meet the demand, the potential for growth in paddle at BCC is endless,” stated Director of Racquets Jarrett Chirico. Since Jarrett’s arrival two years ago there has been a significant push to improve the paddle facilities that has led to new lights and resurfacing for our paddle courts, as well as new furniture for our Paddle Hut to enhance our member’s playing and viewing experiences.
Two years ago we were unable to fill a Division 3 team and our Division 2 team was mixed with players from Division 1, but now all paddle teams at BCC have a waitlist for participation. As we look to grow our facilities with BCC’s Lifestyle Facility Master Plan we will be able to add more teams, programs, and events and the potential for growth in paddle at BCC will be limitless. Once our facilities meet the demand for the sport, there is no end to how paddle can grow and increase engagement across athletics at BCC.
We have an amazing opportunity to continue to grow our programs right here at BCC. If the demand for more paddle keeps increasing, the facilities will be soon to follow with members from all athletic disciplines eager to stay active through the winter months with a sport that is as fun as it is challenging. Through education, engagement, and commitment, we will continue to see sustained growth for our paddle program. And if you are looking for camaraderie and to build new relationships at the club, make sure you come down and support our paddle players in the coming seasons. Finally, in the famous words of Jim Prey, “Play more paddle!” ◆
