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A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..
Clear skies. Low 48F. Winds light and variable.
Mike Waters played a game of pickleball on Friday at the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park.
Mike Waters played a game of pickleball on Friday at the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park.
ATLANTIC – Pickleball, a sport that has been around since 1965, is now growing in popularity, including here in Atlantic.
The sport combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, and uses a paddle and plastic ball. It can be played indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court and slightly modified tennis net. It was invented by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCullum, who created the sport as a new activity for their children. According to USA Pickleball, they “had an old badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net. (Then) the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches.”
Former Atlantic Track Coach Bruce Henderson is active in the sport, and said he was introduced to it during a trip to Virginia with his family.
“We were taking our grandchildren to child care (in a facility with a gym and) these people were playing this ‘funny’ game,” Henderson said.
He said they were invited to play, “and we played and we liked it.”
After that, he said, they purchased the equipment and started playing in their driveway. Eventually, staff at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA and the Atlantic Park and Recreation Department started offering pickleball.
Henderson said there are pick up pickleball games at the YMCA on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. and Mondays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., meaning anyone interested can show up and play with who attends. On Sundays, Henderson said there’s a more organized group who play at the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park at 5 p.m. One court includes pickleball markings, and a net is available to use. Henderson said between the pick up games and the organized group around 20 to 25 play the sport in Atlantic.
Henderson said playing the sport is good exercise, he’s met and become friends with a lot of the people who play, and he likes that the game is similar to tennis.
“I played tennis my whole life, and finally I quit when I was about 62 because I just could not cover the court, and pickleball has some of the same fun and strategy that tennis does,” he said. “The court is smaller, and I can be competitive and not hurt myself.”
Atlantic Park Director Bryant Rasmussen said the department has pickleball equipment available to use, and he sees a lot of people playing at the tennis courts.
“There will be guys out there that will be playing three or four times a week in the morning,” he said. “It is something that is really starting to explode. It's a very popular sport and one that is accessible for many people to take advantage of, and I think that's why it's popularity is starting to grow.”
Email Jennifer Nichols at news@ant-news.com
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