23
The group began to grow through others taking lessons, people
becoming intrigued when walking past the courts, and word of
mouth. Now, there are usually about 16 players who show up for
open play on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.
“I took lessons out here, and then we evolved from the lessons,”
says Donna Forsythe, 64, who drives from Ogden. “This group is very
friendly. We want to win, but we want to be friends. It’s a friendly
game, friendly competition.”
The ages vary. On a beautiful, warm Thursday morning in April,
the youngest was 37 and the oldest 80. Like Chaffins, a former bas-ketball
player, most are retirees who want to remain active.
“I used to play tennis, and I walk now,” says Mary Sneeden, who’s
69. “I dislocated both knees. This is a great sport for not getting hurt,
especially when you get older. Because of the small court, we can
reach the balls. It’s a great senior game. It’s quick and it keeps your
mind quick. The volleying is so much fun. It feels great.”
A proximity to the net, restricted flight of the hollowed ball and
relative size of the court all aid in allowing players to stay simultane-ously
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“It’s really gravitated toward the seniors because the athletic
people could no longer participate in their sport, but they can par-ticipate
in pickleball,” says Jane Klippel, a pickleball instructor at the
YMCA.
Klippel witnesses firsthand the satisfaction new players experi-ence
as they realize pickleball can fill the void in their still-athletic
hearts.
“A lot of people take it up because tennis and racquetball are
just too hard on their body,” Klippel says. “It’s a little bit slower, but
it has the same competitiveness that those sports have. Most of the
people that play would say that they’re addicted to it. It’s so fun.”
Chaffins is an evangelist for the group at Wrightsville Beach,
always trying to recruit new players. He keeps extra racquets in his
bag in case someone wants to drop in and try it.
“It doesn’t take a great deal of expertise. You don’t even have
to have played a sport before, and we’ll teach you how to play,” he
says. “Pickleball as a culture is friendliness and openness. It’s the
camaraderie, and the ability to play a team sport competitively at
an advanced age. There’s no other sport that can say that. I watch
these tennis players come out here, some of these older tennis play-ers,
and they spend more time running after the ball than they do
hitting it.”
Mike McGrath, the director of training for the Cape Fear Pickleball
Club, hosts free sessions each Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the
Greenfield Lake Park courts that are open to the public.
“Anybody who shows up, we’ll teach them how to play,” he says.
Easy to learn yet difficult to master, this habit is hard to break.
“For the two hours that I play, I’m not thinking about anything
else, you know. I’m just playing pickleball,” McGrath says. “I’m not
thinking about bills, I’m not thinking about what’s going on in the
world, I’m not thinking about what I’m going to do next, you’re just
right there playing.”
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