With so much to be said this week about climate change (100 nations at COP 26 vowing to drastically reduce methane emissions) and education (public comment deadline on social studies ends Nov. 12), I’ll be thinking about Pickleball.
As a lifelong basketball addict who has grown old, I play pickleball a lot. This is what about four million people do in the United States and many elsewhere. It is the fastest growing sport in our country. A Hollywood producer isn’t going to vacation anywhere without pickleball courts, according to a Vanity Fair article, “How Pickleball Won Everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Your Grandparents” (I know people in their eighties who routinely hit people who are half her age.) National TV saw pitchers of relief playing in the Chicago Cubs bullpen; Pickleball addicts include Russell Wilson, DiCaprio, George and Amal Clooney, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Phil Mickelson.
The city has turned the tennis courts in Apodaca Park into eight pickleball courts that have been newly renovated. During construction, when we played in Lions Park, I often looked from our two tennis courts (eight pickleball courts, sometimes with two dozen people on it, 16 playing, others waiting) to the other 10 courts (with six or eight tennis players, possibly ).
We also have the Organ Mountains Pickleball Club; and an excellent pickleball instructor, John Allevi, has moved here. Courses for beginners and advanced learners are offered on Thursdays at 6 p.m. for a small fee. (For information, go to Google “Organ Mountains Pickleball”.) In early 2022, Allevi, which is certified by three different institutions, will instruct public schools to teach pickleball. Local players he coaches recently took first place in a tournament in Albuquerque.
In the summer of 1965, a family invented pickleball on Bainbridge Island to answer a teenager’s complaint about boredom. The court is about 1/3 the size of a tennis court. Lighter on the legs. Most people play doubles, although some of us also play singles. The hard plastic ball has holes like a wiffle ball, but does not behave like a wiffle ball. The paddles are solid, the size of a smaller racquetball racket.
People play daily in Apodaca and Meerscheidt and elsewhere in and around Las Cruces. It’s a fast-paced, competitive sport that involves vigorous exercise and lots of laughter. There’s little to argue about as long as we stay away from politics while we wait to play.
Pickleball is a healthy outdoor exercise; it’s cheap and fun; no long runs or physical contact with opponents; and although it is easy to learn, there is still a very long way to go to improve your skills. As Allevi points out, the whole family can play.
The only downside is what is still missing while I play for hours. Or ego damage when I play badly. “I know exactly what to do and how to do it, so how did I just screw it up again # @ &% * © $?”
We also have a welcoming pickleball community. People help and teach one another. Several local tournaments have raised money for charities, particularly Mission 22. There were also special events for July 4th and Halloween. This Halloween, a player wore a wedding dress and had to keep the rain out while she ran and hit the ball. (She and her partner were still whipping my bum.)
Pickleball is an increasingly important part of the quality of life for residents and visitors.
Join us! Relax as you improve cognition, then return refreshed and invigorated to the problems of climate change and education.
In these times, it can’t hurt to bring people together in a non-divisive way.
Peter Goodman, a Las Cruces resident, writes, photographs, and occasionally practices as a lawyer. His blog at http://soledadcanyon.blogspot.com/ has more information on this column.
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