One of four pickleball courts at Mountain Run Lake Park (lake in the background).

At this point - where I live anyway - most people have now heard of the game of pickleball.  But just a couple of years ago, I would say most people had no idea what pickleball was.  It’s actually pretty amazing that the sport has taken off and grown at the rate that it has.  In case you don’t know, pickleball is played with a ball that is basically a wiffle ball, and racquets that to me seem like glorified, and slightly oversized ping pong paddles.  It is played on a court that is 44 feet long by 20 feet wide with a net in the middle, similar to a miniature tennis court.  My math tells me that it is a little more than half the size of a regulation tennis court. 

I have no idea how it got so popular so fast, but it truly is a game that most anyone could pick up quickly.  It is so much easier than tennis, and I think the fact that a person can become at least an adequate player with just a little bit of practice is what makes it so popular.  It is the opposite of golf in that respect, I can tell you that much.  Many older people like it, but it’s great fun for literally any age group.  Regardless of the reasons, it is a fact that pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport.  There is even a Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and twelve Major League Pickleball (MLP) teams, with expansion to 16 teams in the works.

So how did I come to discover pickleball, and more to the point, why am I writing about it on Pencil Storm you might ask?  Doesn’t JCE write pretty much exclusively about rock and roll?  Yes, that is true. (One blog about the 2019 Washington Nationals out of 65 posted blogs in my Pencil Storm career is my only other blog totally unrelated to music until now.)  The answer is that I work in local government, and in my community, pickleball started small, with tape on gymnasium floors or chalk on asphalt driveways with portable nets, but it took off.  It became one of the programs most requested to our local parks & rec department. 

A pickleball club formed, and its membership grew.  In an effort to meet demand and provide amenities for our citizens, we began to explore the possibility of constructing some public courts.  They say the wheels of government turn slowly, and often that is the case, but for this effort, I think that we moved at relative lightning speed. On October 22nd, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the opening of four brand new, public pickleball courts at Mountain Run Lake Park (VA).  The initial games were played following the customary speeches that are a part of such events.  I was happy to participate despite never having so much as held a pickleball racquet.

JCE giving pickleball a try on opening day.

Following my opening day ceremonial game of pickleball, I waited just one day before purchasing a pair of racquets and some balls for my wife and I.  I fully expect the game to be addictive.  The rules are easy to learn.  There are many similarities to tennis and ping pong, but the one rule that makes it a bit different is related to the first seven feet on each side of the net.  This area is called the kitchen.  You can step into the kitchen to hit a ball that has bounced once, but you cannot set foot in the kitchen to volley (hit the ball before it bounces).

Pickleball court dimensions and layout.

Is pickleball big in Columbus, Ohio, where Pencil Storm is based?  I don’t know.  The aforementioned MLP held a three-day event there in October, so maybe.  To get a feel for what it looks like, check out this highlight reel:

You have to try it, you really do.  

JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital.  He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C.  He has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter.  He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house.  Oh, and he has an ever-growing collection of about 150 vintage skateboards.