Pickleball’s popularity soars across Suncoast

BY SYLVIA WHITMAN

Pickleball’s origin story speaks to the sport’s accessibility and inclusiveness. In the summer of 1965, three dads near Seattle, Washington, invented the game for their bored kids – a mashup of pingpong, tennis and wiffle ball on a badminton court. Since no one anticipated the sport’s stunning trajectory years later, its early history remains fuzzy. No condiments were involved: The game is named for either a ball-chasing dog or a ragtag crew boat, according to USA Pickleball, its governing body. Over the years, the sport radiated across North America, and then the world. Apparel and equipment suppliers followed. In 2005, USA Pickleball incorporated, sanctioning official rules and tournaments. In 2016, Naples – yes, our Naples, just down the coast –hosted the first US Open Pickleball Championships, now an annual event there.

By 2021, 4.8 million Americans were playing pickleball, making it the fastest-growing sport in the country. And the numbers continue to climb across the country and on the Suncoast. Traver West of superstore PickleballCentral.com, ticks off the game’s virtues: inexpensive, easy to learn, coed and multigenerational, and less physically taxing than other racket sports because of the smaller parameters of play.

Looking for a court?

You could follow the distinctive thwack of paddle on ball to one of Sarasota County’s more than 70 public outdoor courts. The Legacy Trail – an off-road path that runs from downtown Sarasota to Venice – is adjacent to the county’s newest pickleball venue, a dozen lighted courts at the Pompano Trailhead. For a map of outdoor courts and a list of seven airconditioned indoor facilities with pickleball courts open October through May, check the Sarasota County Parks and Recreation website. (https://www.scgov.net/ government/parks-recreation-and-natural-resources/ things-to-do/activities/pickleball).

And those are just the public venues. Many residential communities across the Suncoast have added pickleball to their amenities. The Pickleball Club of Lakewood Ranch boasts 12 indoor courts, two covered outdoor courts and a pair of bocce courts. According to founder and CEO Brian McCarthy, the private club aims to build community as well as offer “a host of member amenities,” from a pro shop, locker rooms and café to “lessons, clinics, leagues, and specialty classes” for all levels of players, kids included.

Looking for information,

lessons and equipment?

Sarasota’s pickler pioneers laid the groundwork for the area’s current boom. Terry Ryan, aka Pickleball Terry, runs Sarasota Pickleball Organization LLC (https:// sarasotapickleball.com/home/). An official USA Pickleball ambassador, competitive player and certified coach, Ryan teaches clinics, organizes tournaments and broadcasts all things pickleball through her meme-happy weekly email blasts. Want to know what is open when? Subscribe.

A onetime property manager in Manhattan, Ryan discovered the game while working out at the Potter Park Y (now CORE SRQ). She spotted “people in the gym getting this plastic ball over the net and all having a great time,” asked what they were playing and they handed her a paddle. “That was it. I was hooked.”

Ryan said pickleball has a reputation as a senior sport, “but now the younger people are catching up.” According to USA Pickleball, in 2021 79% of casual players were 54 or younger, and players under 24 made up the fastestgrowing bracket. “What’s great is you put a 30-year-old and a 60-year-old on the same court, and they can easily play together,” says Ryan. “Same for men and women.”

Another player on the local scene, the Sarasota Pickleball Club (https://sarasotapickleballclub.com/) has lobbied long and hard for dedicated public pickleball courts – with permanent nets and clear lines that do not crisscross with lines on basketball, volleyball and tennis courts. The Pompano Trailhead complex, located a couple of miles east of downtown Sarasota, represents a victory.

The club also works to grow the player base. Club President Tom Everitt took up pickleball at the Sarasota YMCA as a snowbird. When he moved here for good, he joined a local cadre in launching the club in 2017. Nothing against private clubs, Everitt said, but he promotes the public option because he believes it will eventually draw younger and more diverse players to the sport.

When the Church of the Palms on Bee Ridge Road opened a new gymnasium, SPC pitched pickleball as a regular activity. Thanks to enthusiastic player-volunteers, the church has become a hub for beginner lessons and open play for beginner, intermediate and advanced players.

Picklers need gear. When Joe Capuano retired from a career as an NFL merchandise distributor, he took up pickleball—and soon discovered that retirement bored him and almost no one was selling pickleball equipment from a brick-and-mortar shop. Three weeks later, he opened Pickleball Sarasota (https://pickleballsarasota.com/), one of just a handful of dedicated pickleball stores in Florida. Not sure which paddle to buy? Talk to whoever is on the floor. In keeping with the sport’s easygoing vibe, Pickleball Sarasota invites you check out a free loaner and try it for a few days.

Pickleball Terry mentions a traveling nurse who plays wherever she is working: “She has instant friends, a social life and a sense of community.” Ryan credits pickleball’s “wonderful social aspect” for its wildfire spread. “You don’t have to get three other people to play with; you can just drop in and pick up a game.” Are you free? Jump in!

1250 SEA PLUME WAY SARASOTA