Summit County is seeing an upswing in young pickleballers, and no, we are not referring to youths that have built a fortune selling dill pickles – that’s a whole other story.
Pickleball, which combines elements of ping-pong, tennis and badminton, is the nation’s fastest growing sport and the number of people playing it (pickleballers) is steadily growing in Northeast Ohio.
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Local parks and recreation centers have adjusted to this new trend by installing pickleball courts or tennis courts that can easily be converted to pickleball courts.
One such place is Towpath Tennis Center, which recently installed six outdoor pickleball courts dedicated to the sport in addition to its four indoor pickleball courts. These new courts have more space for the socializing side of pickleball, an element that makes it stand out from similar sports like tennis, said Dallas Aleman, co-owner of Towpath Tennis Center.
“It’s been a good sport that has filled in a void during the pandemic,” Aleman said. He added that while the sport originally gained popularity with the older population, it has gradually been picked up by teenagers and those in their 20s and 30s.
“The biggest growth in pickleball right now is in that that age group and that’s going to continue to grow the sport big time,” he said. “We’re trying to do the best we can to continue to grow that culture of being welcoming, non-judgmental and that you can enjoy the sport no matter what age you are. I think (those are) the ingredients that are making this sport so viral and growing.”
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Towpath Tennis Center supplies rackets and balls that players can borrow as well as buy. People also don’t need to be members to use the center’s pickleball facilities, though they will need to pay a fee. There is also a wide range of other low cost or free pickleball courts in the area.
Where you can play pickleball in Summit County
- Waters Park (169 East Glenwood Avenue, Akron): Six pickleball courts are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. More pickleball courts will be coming to Joy Park in the future.
- Boettler Park (5300 Massillon Rd, Green): Four pickleball courts are open from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.
- Lake Anna YMCA (500 West Hopocan Ave., Barberton): After Oct. 30, they will have four pickle ball courts. Right now, three courts are open from 9:15 am to noon Mondays and Fridays and 7 a.m. to 8:30 am Saturdays. Two courts are open from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesdays.
- Lions Park (Lions Park Drive, Tallmadge): Two permanent pickleball courts and four lined tennis courts are open from dawn to dusk daily.
- Glen Meadow Park (1961 Glenwood Drive, Twinsburg): Six pickleball courts are open from dawn to dusk daily.
How to play pickleball
To play pickleball, you’ll need a few things:
- A pickleball court (20 feet by 44 feet) with a net (36 inches tall)
- A pickleball paddle for each player
- A ball designed for pickleball
According to How They Play, here are the rules of pickleball:
- Play begins when one side serves the pickleball, hitting it over the net with a paddle.
- To serve the ball, a player must keep one foot behind the back line and strike the ball with an underhand swing. The ball must clear the no-volley zone (the zone closest to the net which lacks a line dividing it in half) and land in the service court located diagonally over the net.
- Players must serve from the right-hand half of the court. Only one fault is allowed.
- If you’re playing doubles, both players get to serve once, and then the other team serves.
- Both sides must allow the pickleball to bounce once on their side before volleys (strikes before the ball bounces on your side of the court) are allowed, meaning volleys are playable after a serve and two strikes of the ball. When a player volleys the ball, they must not be within the no-volley zone within seven feet of the net.
- A player or team can only score if they served at the beginning of a point. The receiving player or team cannot score.
- If the receiving team fails to properly return the ball, whether by failing to make contact with the ball, hitting the net, hitting the ball out of bounds, attempting a volley while in the no-volley zone or attempting a volley before volleys are permitted, the serving team is awarded one point.
- If the serving team fails to properly hit the ball to the receiving team, whether by failing to make contact with the ball, hitting the net, hitting the ball out of bounds, attempting a volley while in the no-volley zone, attempting a volley before volleys are permitted or recording a double fault, the serving team does not score. The next server in the rotation then serves the ball and play continues.
- A pickleball game is played to 11 points and must be won by at least two points.
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When was pickleball invented?
Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three dads — Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum — in order to provide a fun pastime for their families, according to USA Pickleball. At the time, it was played with a wiffle ball, but today there are perforated, plastic balls made specifically for the sport.
According to Long Cove Club, there are two competing stories for the origin of the sport’s name. Pritchard’s wife, Joan, says she started to call it pickleball because “the combination of sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.”
McCallum, though, claims the game is named after the Pritchard family’s dog, Pickles, who liked to steal the ball from them while they were playing.
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.
