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Pickleball

JonathanW

JonathanW

All-American
Jan 3, 2003
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Anyone here play?
Anyone been rated or have guess for their rating? I'm guessing I'm maybe a 3.5 or 3.25.
Good variety on skill levels, ages, gender.
It has become big here in the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill).
I started playing w/ my 16yo son last fall. Then this spring we started playing some doubles, and now I even go to park and play couple times a week on my own. Park is packed until closes at 10pm every night (6 courts, 24 playing, with probably that many waiting for a court, and that's just 1 park).
 
I don't personally understand the appeal but I'm glad it's getting an otherwise sedentary population up and moving.
 
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As a former tennis player with a bum shoulder, pickle ball is freaking awesome. Got my kids playing it and they love it as well.
 
My dad plays 3-4 times a week going on 3 years now. That and some simple diet changes and hes down like 80 lbs.

He has always been out and about- but riding in a golf cart a few days a week wasnt nearly as much exercise as he always claimed it was.
 
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Never even heard of it until we moved to CO 6 years ago. HUGE in CO. I play tennis and I don't get pickleball at all. Looks pretty tame/lame to me but what do I know? When my knees and shoulders give out from playing tennis, I might pick up the game as there is way less running but, for now, I'll hard pass. Although, I personally know of several 75+ YO gentlemen who still play USTA leagues 2-3X per week. So, it may be a while before I consider playing pickleball.

Word of warning: know your audience before you ask if anyone wants to play pickleball. It may not be the activity you're suggesting if in the wrong audience. :)
 
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Play a lot of tennis with my 13yo son who is a pretty good player. He and I both held out on Pickleball as it’s not the same as tennis, for old people etc.

Our club put in PB recently and after my bones ached from two straight evenings af him beating me senseless….we tried PB the next day. Blast. Have played a decent amount since. On vacation this week in Hilton Head, I’d say we’ve been 50/50.

PB is fun for a quick session and easy for people to pick up reasonably quick….I just think it’s more “game” while tennis is certainly sport. Surprisingly there are tons of kids playing while up at the pool.

But it’s a lot of fun and I get why people enjoy it.
 
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I admit I’ve played very little tennis, I’ve played more racquetball, which is more running than any racket sport, Yeah I’m older now, and not many racquetball courts available.
I like that pickleball is more fast paced than tennis, where much of a rally you may only be 12’ from opponents.
But you see a lot of younger people teens/20’s/30’s playing it too.
Tennis is mostly whoever hits it harder and keeps it in play wins (I think). Like racquetball, in pickleball power can help but finesse is more of a factor (than is probably in tennis). So yes you do see more older people playing, but the speed of the game is definitely there!
 
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I read the CJ obits this morning and a man died from a catastrophic fall while playing pickleball. Brain injury. Must have been a freak accident.
 
JonathanW said:
Some (not all) of you confirmed my impression of most tennis players being pretentious snobs.
I admit I’ve played very little tennis, I’ve played more racquetball, which is more running than any racket sport, Yeah I’m older now, and not many racquetball courts available.
I like that pickleball is more fast paced then tennis, where much of a rally you may only be 12’ from opponents.
But you see a lot of younger people teens/20’s/30’s playing it too.
Tennis is mostly whoever hits it harder and keeps it in play wins (I think). Like racquetball, in pickleball power can help but finesse is more of a factor (than is probably in tennis). So yes you do see more older people playing, but the speed of the game is definitely there!
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Wow, that came out of left field. What in this thread lead you to the conclusion some here are pretentious snobs? Your own expectation bias coming into play possibly? Been a pretty laid back thread.
 
Mdnerd said:
Wow, that came out of left field. What in this thread lead you to the conclusion some here are pretentious snobs? Your own expectation bias coming into play possibly? Been a pretty laid back thread.
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You are right.
 
UK82 said:
I read the CJ obits this morning and a man died from a catastrophic fall while playing pickleball. Brain injury. Must have been a freak accident.
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I haven’t read any research or anything but anecdotally I’ve heard several people say it’s a rather injury prone sport. Not like that, but knees, wrists, ankles etc. Only thing I could think of it’s some combination of the age of people playing and/or the off balance/a-typical body positions people aren’t used to.
 
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Get Bucket$ said:
I haven’t read any research or anything but anecdotally I’ve heard several people say it’s a rather injury prone sport. Not like that, but knees, wrists, ankles etc. Only thing I could think of it’s some combination of the age of people playing and/or the off balance/a-typical body positions people aren’t used to.
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I’m not an expert but I’m guessing some of it is lack of appropriate stretching and a lot of sudden quick twitchy movements is a part of it.
 
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Wesley91581 said:
I’m not an expert but I’m guessing some of it is lack of appropriate stretching and a lot of sudden quick twitchy movements is a part of it.
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I know I've had a good bit of wrist soreness playing 2-3 times a week. I've also had lots of ankle injuries in various sports over the years, so making sure i wear good cross training shoes w/ a good wide base.
But I've yet to see anyone get injured on the court.
 
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