Photos Courtesy of Karin Plotts
With a whopping 4.8 million participants worldwide, pickleball has bounced into being the fastest-growing sport in the United States. With almost a 40% growth rate over the last two years, pickleball has earned the nickname “the sport for everybody."
The paddle sport is a mix between tennis, badminton and ping-pong and was created in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. The three neighbors created the game with the hopes of keeping their children busy on a rainy day. By 1967 the first pickleball court was constructed and by 1984, the USA Pickleball Association oversaw the sport — the made-up backyard game created in small-town Washington had become a worldwide phenomenon.
Pickleball can either be played in singles or doubles. The rules remain the same for singles and doubles, but with slight differences in serving and scoring rules. One player serves the ball underhand diagonally onto the other player’s side of the court. The ball, which is a wiffle ball, is then volleyed back and forth until one player misses the ball, hits it out of bounds or into the net. The player who won the point then serves again. Each game is played to 11 points, but a player must win by at least two points to be declared the champion. There are more complex rules to the game including the rules of the “Kitchen,” how the score is announced and kept track of for more advanced players.
Pickleball has also made quite an impact in the Bryan/College Station area as the popular sport encourages the participation of anyone. The Brazos Valley Pickleball Association, or BVPA, has allowed members of the community to get out and get involved no matter how much or how little pickleball experience they have.
“Pickleball is a game where a family of four can come out and play, but the bigger attraction is anyone can come out to play at a level appropriate playtime, we have beginner, novice, intermediate and advanced groups,” USA Pickleball Bryan/College Station Ambassador Karin Plotts says. “You do not have to get a group of four together, you can just show up and enjoy some social play time. Pickleball changed my life. I went from being a couch potato to looking forward to playing three to four times a week and have made some fantastic friendships.”
Karin was the former President of the Brazos Valley Pickleball Association and has since become an ambassador for the BCS area with the USA pickleball organization, which oversees Pickleball play across the nation. Her love for the game grew after watching her 80-year-oldaunt excel in the sport after her time on the Ag Silvers basketball team, which is how the BVPA got its start. Formerly a senior women’s three-on-three basketball team, the Ag Silvers ladies decided to try their hand at pickleball in July of 2013. The game caught on seeing as the sport was less strenuous on their bodies and could be enjoyed by anyone. Most people have said that the sport of pickleball doesn’t actually feel like exercise at all!
Currently, the BVPA has 180 paying members and is continuing to grow every month with members ranging from college students to senior citizens.
“When I started, I was youngest player and I was 47,” Karin says. “Now, we have a lot of college-age kids who started playing with us. We mix games all the way from college to our older players. Our youngest player is18 and some of our best players are over 60 years old."
With the support of the community, the BVPA has been able to attract new members and grow their love for the game, Karin says and the City of Bryan has even helped to grow the sport.
“The City of Bryan has been absolutely wonderful to the pickleball community,” Karin says. “Four years ago, they converted the old inline hockey rink into four dedicated pickleball courts. We also have reserved playtimes inside the Bryan Tennis Center for us Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30p.m. and Saturday morning from9:00 a.m. to noon.
The low-impact sport has been shown to have major health benefits including better hand-eye coordination, increased movement and muscle strength, improved lung function and even improved control of blood sugar levels, Karin says. Pickleball has also been shown to improve one’s mental health.
“You’re getting a cardio workout, you’re getting outdoors, it’s also alleviating loneliness, it’s forcing you to interact and be social with people which is a big problem with our senior citizens,” Karin says. “This offers them something that they can get out and do and talk toother people. Now, you’re seeing a lot of families get into pickleball which gets them outside and gives them something to do as a family as well.”
Since the explosion of pickleball popularity, especially in the Brazos Valley, players are really beginning to understand how “the sport for everyone” earned its nickname.
“The sport really exploded during COVID because people were looking for something to do outside and something to play,” Karin says. “You don’t have to have a team and it’s super easy to pick up. It’s a great way to get outside, socialize, and meet new people, no matter how old you are. I think the reputation is ‘Oh, if that 60-year-old can do it, I can do it too’.”
With the popularity of the sport continuing to grow, so does the need for courts and spaces for playing the game.
“We want to secure more courts,” Karin says. “We have a huge shortage of courts with the amount of players that we have. We continue to attend public meetings and we continue to send emails to spread the word.”
The USA Pickleball Association is working hard to spread the word about not only the amazing benefits of pickleball but how to get involved and how communities are able to support the players of the sport. For more information about how to support local pickleball teams, visit the usapickleball.org.
