It had been 12 years since Boynton Beach‘s Eileen Tuckman played a racquet sport.
But three months ago, the former racquetball champion discovered pickleball while visiting her brother in Perry, N.C. The experience for the 62-year-old was one of rejuvenation.
“I feel like I have been reborn,” said Tuckman, who won 26 national singles and doubles championships in racquetball from 1977 to 1997 before she was sidelined by a medical condition. “I can’t play (racquetball) anymore because of complications from rotator cuff surgery, but I can play this game. It is so wonderful hitting the ball and not having any pain.”
Tuckman could not believe how popular the sport is in Perry, and she fully expects the same in South Florida.
Pickleball, which is a combination of tennis, ping pong (table tennis), badminton and racquetball, is popular in different parts of the U.S. and Canada and has a varied age group, although it is predominantly played by seniors.
The sport started in Seattle in 1965 as the brainchild of Washington Congressman Joel Pritchard with some fine-tuning by businessman and neighbor Bill Bell. Pritchard, who got to know Bell as the two played tennis together, thought up the name pickleball while playing one day with his pet cocker spaniel, Pickle.
The sport is run by the USA Pickleball Association, which promotes the game, sanctions tournaments and ranks the players.
The Villages in Central Florida have more than 125 courts and more than 1,000 players, and the state’s west coast has also caught pickleball fever in a big way.
The game is played with wooden or graphite paddles and a whiffle ball. It can be played by single or doubles players.
The courts are badminton size, and the nets are 34 inches high. Four pickleball courts can be fitted into the space of one tennis court.
The smaller-sized court makes playing the game easier for seniors with mobility issues since they don’t have to run as far and as fast at they would on a tennis court. The scoring is to 11, and you can only score off your own serve.
Harriet and Josh Kalin, of Delray Beach, have a similar experience of discovering pickleball. They were visiting a friend in Delaware when they were invited to give the sport a try. They were thrilled with the fast-paced action.
“We are finding that snowbirds from (all over the country) are familiar with it,” said Harriet Kalin, 74, who tore a knee ligament playing competitive tennis. “(Pickleball is) social and it’s competitive.”
The Kalins, along with Delray Beach‘s Bill Jerome, arranged for a group of enthusiasts to play from 9 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Delray Beach Community Center.
Josh Kalin, 76, who is registered with the USA Pickleball Association as an “ambassador” for the game, said there are more than 300 such ambassadors across the United States. Greenacres’ Dick Freshley is the other ambassador for pickleball in Palm Beach County.
“We are trying to introduce it to Palm Beach County,” his wife said. “We know there are pockets of players out there, but this seems to be a good central point at this time. We are trying (to establish) multi-use pickleball courts. There is no place outside right now to go to.”
Jerome, 74, also of Delray Beach, said the sport will take off once people realize there is a local venue.
“There will be a flood of people,” Jerome said. “It is a finesse game of just placing the ball and allowing people to move around and play.”
Wellington‘s Steve Gerus started playing pickleball last July and has been hooked ever since.
“On a scale from 1 to 10, this is absolutely a 10,” said Gerus, 66. “I never played tennis, but I love every facet of this. Where I am from in Michigan, a lot of people play. When I am on the court, I try not to do stupid things like trying to hit it too hard or place it too much.”
Boynton Beach‘s Bob Musella, 64, started playing four months ago. He said he had never heard of the sport until last August.
“It’s fun,” Musella said. “It’s addictive. You get a good workout, and I have never run into anybody with a bad attitude.”
There will be upcoming instructional sessions at the Delray Beach Community Center. Call 561-499-2020 or email [email protected].
Gary Curreri can be reached at [email protected].