Sarah Karl – In Motion Special
It is a paddle sport that is a combination between tennis and ping-pong and has been around for half a century, but pickleball is just recently gaining interest among young adults in Volusia County. Due to the fitness benefits and community the sport provides, pickleball’s popularity is increasing.
Despite the name of the sport, there are actually no pickles involved whatsoever. For the sport, players will need a Wiffle Ball and a wooden paddle, although there are official ‘pickleball’ paddles a player can buy, and a net. At community pickleball courts nets are provided. Pickleball is the perfect Florida sport because it can be played outdoors or indoors during inclement weather.
Proof as to its popularity was reported last December when The City Commission voted on economic incentives for a proposed recreational sports facility at Hollyland Park that some say could become the “Wimbledon of Pickleball.” An Ormond Beach couple has offered to donate $3 million to build the planned 24-court complex at the city’s Hollyland Park.
In May, city officials were joined by the project’s financial backers and about 100 pickleball fanatics to turn the first dirt for a 24-court complex that will become the second largest in the state as early as 2020.
Basically, pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a Wiffle Ball, over a net. You can play singles, doubles or mixed doubles.
There are many areas around Volusia County where pickleball games are held, among them tournaments at Daytona Beach Shores, Holly Hilly YMCA, Earl Brown Park and Victoria Park Commons in DeLand and Nova Community Center in Ormond.
Victoria Park, a residential community in south DeLand, is one of the many pickleball groups in Volusia County which are integrating young adults into its ranks. This group there has participants ranging in ages from 14 to 80 years old and is very welcoming to beginners.
Seventh grader Mia Zepeda, 14, has been playing pickleball for about a year now. She says the members of the Victoria Park pickle-ball community have been helpful in teaching her how to play.
“I’m pretty active but I enjoy the sport because it’s something to do and gets me out of the house,” she says.
Samson Crandall, a 19-year-old incoming student at Daytona State college, said he started pickleball a few months ago and really enjoys it. “Even though it’s not a very hard sport to play, it still wears me out and makes me feel like I am getting exercise,” says Crandall.
There are many more young adults like Crandall and Zepeda who have made friends through the sport and found a hobby that they enjoy. Older members who have been playing for a while have noticed a younger crowd getting in on the action. Player Tom Williams, who has actually played in the senior (55+ tournaments) and has been playing for about four years, says he has seen an increase in younger participants. Williams learned through his local community center.
“Physically the sport has helped me get in better shape, it helps with my balance and isn’t too strenuous on my body,” he says.
The sport began, according to United States Of America Pickleball Association, in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Wash. Two of the founders, Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell, came home and found that their families had nothing to do because of the gloomy day. Because neither Bell or Pritchard owned a full set of rackets, they began to improvise with ping pong paddles and a Wiffle Ball.
YouTube features a video on the history of Pickleball from one of the game’s founders, Barney McCallum. Titled “The Origins of Pickleball: How It All Began,” it can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kPJDi4LF1o&t=129s.