Pickleball

It’s lots of fun, competitive as you want and a good way to sneak in activity without dreading exercise

Story and photos Rules are simple if not a little quirky. By David Moore (Hint don’t get caught in the kitchen.)

LControversy might crop up over a call on et’s clear this up first. The game of the court, but no one usually gets too heated pickleball has nothing whatsoever to do about it. The biggest controversy may be with pickles – the question well, at least not of whether when you spell pickleball is “pickles” with a played first and lower case “p.” foremost for fun,

More on the a competitive name later. rush, or as a

So … what is sneaky way pickleball? to be active

It’s a game without dreading concocted exercise. with elements And though of tennis, pickleball was badminton, invented for and racquetball and loved by kids, ping-pong with those pesky older a twist of Wiffle folks are the ones ball tossed you’ll probably in for good see enjoying measure. You themselves on play it indoors or outdoors on a Luis Lopez follows through with form the courts in Cullman. badminton-sized developed over a lifetime of sports. You can play court using a singles, but most modified tennis people enjoy net over which you swat a plastic ball with doubles for the social aspects of the game. holes in it using what appear to be oversized, But because of the coronavirus, Cullman squared-away ping-pong paddles. Park, Recreation and Sports Tourism had

to cancel indoor pickleball at the Donald E. Green Active Adult Center. Since May, however, the group of 15 or so local players have resumed play Tuesday and Thursday evenings at neighboring Ingle Park where Park and Rec built four outside courts.

As a note, while pickleball itself is not contagious, it is apparently quite addictive.

Dan and Becky Stevens were among Cullman’s first pickleball players. In February 2019 they responded to an announcement that Stephanie Neal, director of the active adult center, placed in the Cullman Shoppers’ Guide that the center planned to open an indoor court.

Becky, who was a Gregory growing up in Gold Ridge, retired five years ago from East Elementary. Dan, a specialist with Alabama Health Guidance Medicare Insurance, moved to Cullman in 1990. When they met, tennis was one of their commonalities.

They had friends in Phoenix, Ariz., who were playing pickleball a decade ago, but

Dan Stevens lunges for a point-saving shot as his wife and pickleball partner Becky watches.

the Stevenses had never tried it themselves. But they were curious and showed up at the center with tennis friends Rita and Dr. John Nelson in tow.

“We invited them because we didn’t know if anyone else would show up,” Becky recalls.

They were not alone.

Luis Lopez and his friend Don Watts were in the gym, saw the Stevenses and joined them, as did Larry Hullett.

Games on.

Larry soon started bringing his wife, Serena, who in turn invited her sister, Minnie Heaton.

“When they all started playing, the center added more courts,” Becky says.

By virtue of her dedication, Becky became ad hoc organizer of the loose group of regular, semi-regular players in Cullman.

“She was that way with tennis,” Dan says. “She sends out a text prior every day we play to get a count on players so they know how many nets to put up.”

Fourteen players, he adds, is about the most that show up.

As far as he knows, Luis Lopez and his buddy Don Watts started pickleball in Cullman.

“We learned the rules and basics from the internet,” Luis says. They talked to Stephanie Neal who agreed to purchase a net and other equipment and run an announcement in the Shoppers’ Guide.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Luis attended college in New York and lived in Georgia 38 years before moving to Cullman. His active life includes a stint as an AA third baseman, tennis for years and formerly running six miles a day. He still hits the treadmill.

“This is active and fun,” Luis , 74, says of pickleball. “It’s good for you … keeps you younger.”

Ricky Lee, who heard about pickleball on the Rick and Bubba radio show also saw a notice in the Shoppers’ Guide last September and decided to try it out.

“I thought I could play against the old people and just mop the floor with them,” the 66-year-old laughs. “I found out I’m ‘old people,’ too. When I first started I would be so out of breath I couldn’t hardly go.”

“He’s still out of breath,” Luis quips.

“It’s worked wonders for me,” Ricky laughs. “I’m nowhere near the best here, but I bet I have as much fun as anyone. I wish more people would get involved so we could have more play.”

At age 60, Rodney Whittle’s the youngster of the pickleball group. An allaround athlete in high school, he actually played open-league pickleball while at the University of North Alabama.

He later golfed, played tennis and ran as long as his knees held out. Then his wife read an announcement about pickleball in the paper, suggested Rodney try, and he started last fall.

“I get picked on here as the baby,” he

grins. “I’m used to that. I have two older brothers, and that made me more competitive.

He’s unsure if competition on the court eclipses the fun of playing.

“I like them both, but it is pretty competitive,” Rodney says. “And I like the comradery. We have a pretty good group of people.”

According to various sources, Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three dads who would ferry their families from Seattle to spend weekends at second homes on nearby Bainbridge Island.

One typically wet day the kids got bored and started complaining about nothing to do. Joel Pritchard, a congressman from Washington, and Bill Bell, a successful businessman, took action. Scrounging around, they found an old badminton net, a rough set of ping-pong paddles and a Wiffle ball.

Thus armed, the dads took the kids outside to an aging, asphalt badminton court and said to swat the ball around. Competition, naturally, led to keeping score, which necessitated rules.

Barney McCallum joined the fun the following weekend.

“I’m down there playing this … thing,” he recalls on YouTube. “This is on a Saturday. Then the next day I couldn’t get out of bed fast enough to go down there and play.”

The new game took on a world of its own as they tried scoring methods of other sports, including tennis. Rules were developed on an as-needed basis. For instance, another dad, Dick Brown, was a tall guy who too easily racked up points by charging the net and spiking the ball.

So the “kitchen” line was invented. Dick – and everyone else – had to stay behind it.

Barney quickly realized ping-pong paddles were too small and broke too easily, so he cut out a pattern and cut out larger, but simple paddles from plywood.

Though the game was meant for all ages, it wasn’t long before the parents’ enthusiasm monopolized it. Pickleball, they found, was fun exercise, and they could be as competitive as they wanted.

After the Seattle families deserted Bainbridge Island that fall, Barney discovered the 20-foot width of his street worked great for length of the court, and so pickleball took to the streets.

Barney and Joel’s wife, Joan, have differing stories as to the origins of the game’s name.

Pickleball started in Cullman County long before it reached Cullman. Sharon Drake, serving above, taught and coached at Fairview for 36 years and annually attended state PE conferences where coaches were introduced to new equipment and ideas. It was probably at the 1999 conference that she learned about pickleball and ordered equipment for four courts that could be set up in the gym. So, through 2007, mostly fourth and fifth graders enjoyed two-week sessions of pickleball. “But I didn’t actually start playing until March of last year when the announcement ran in the Shoppers’ Guide,” she laughs. “I thought I could play tennis when I retired, but I found out after two days on the tennis court that pickleball is what I enjoy and can do … when it comes to having fun.” Ricky Lee wears a T-shirt bearing “his” rules for pickleball.

Joan was a competitive rower on a crew boat in college. “Pickle boat” is an obscure term from the sport.

In choosing rowing teams, the best oarsmen were picked first. The leftover, mismatched rowers crewed the socalled pickle boat. With the new game’s mismatched mix of sports, Joan thought pickleball was an appropriate name.

Barney contends the game was named after the Pritchards’ cockapoo puppy, Pickles, who was fond of chasing and running off with the plastic ball. He remembers everyone sitting around the Pritchards’ cabin applauding and toasting the name.

The doggie origin makes for a cuter story and is certainly less arcane, but the Pritchards note they didn’t get Pickles until two years after the game was invented. Then again, maybe the name of the game was that long in coming.

Either way, pickleball has grown and is now played by more than 2.5 million people and through the USA Pickleball Association, leagues and tournaments are set up for amateurs and pros, and the sport continues to grow.

So, pickleball ... fun, competitive rush, or a good way to stay active? Larry Hullett, left, returns a shot while his doubles partner Rodney Whittle is already anticipating the return volley. The winner is the first to reach 11 points. If the game is tied at 10, it’s takes a 2-point led to win. One of the trickier rules of pickleball involves the “kitchen,” a no-volley zone extending seven feet from the net and from sideline to sideline. If your foot crosses the kitchen line while you’re hitting the ball, it’s a fault.

“It’s all three of them,” insists Becky. “Dan and I wanted to get the exercise. It’s definitely fun. And we love to see the people we play with. Those are the three things we were hoping for when we started playing pickleball.”

Pickleball is played starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at Ingle Park. After the Donald E. Green center reopens (which is unknown because of Covid-19), play is expected to resume there at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. For more info, call the center: 256-734- 4803.

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