Pickler of Distinction

Janice Walsh

Finding a place to play pickleball isn't always easy but once you find one and then go on to create a pickleball community, you have achieved something very special. Together with Bobby Lewis, Janice has successfully formed a fun loving and skilled group of picklers in Braintree. She is one of the first calls whenever anyone is interested in adding pickleball to their town on the South Shore. By the strength of her personality and commitment to pickleball, Janice has brought fun to well over a hundred players and counting. 

Where did you first hear of pickleball?

When I was a kid growing up in Somerville in the 60's, I used to play a game called Paddle Tennis at the local playground.  It was competitive, we played other playgrounds in Somerville for trophies and medals.  Then when I retired and was visiting The Villages in Florida, I saw people playing a game that looked very much like the game I used to play as a child in Somerville.  And I said to myself, "I can do that!"  So, I joined a beginners group of pickleball players in the Villages, I took a few lessons, and I was hooked.

When I returned to Braintree, MA after my vacation, I looked everywhere to find someplace on the South Shore to play pickleball.  I couldn't find any local pickleball, so I played tennis instead.  Then one day while I was playing tennis with some friends on the tennis courts behind Daughraty Gym in Braintree, I saw a few people setting up a net and marking the basketball court with tape.  I ran over and said "Are you setting up for pickleball?"  Bob Lewis, the organizer, said "Yes, you want to play?"  I said "I'm in!!!"

Where do you play?

I have been playing at the Daughraty Gym in Braintree ever since that day in August, 2014.  We play six months outdoors, and six months indoors.  We have grown from that small original group of about 8, to a very consistent group of about 60 who play every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM

What do you like most about pickleball?

I truly enjoy the social aspect of pickleball.  I have met so many great people and have made so many new friends through pickleball.  We were all strangers to each other a year and a half ago, now we have created a weekly mah jong group from our pickleball players, and some of us have started going to the Rockland Senior Center to take Ballroom Dancing lessons.  Everyone is very friendly and enjoy each others comradery.

But what I really like the best about pickleball is that every day that I get up to go play pickleball, I feel like that 12 year old kid who couldn't wait to get to the park to play her favorite game.  Pickleball make me feel like a kid again.

What was your favorite vacation?Three years ago, my husband, Tom and I went to Ireland.  We visited his cousins in Galway whoI had never met and we visited my relatives in Dingle, Kerry.   My father's cousin showed us where my grandfather was born and raised and where my grandmother and all her relatives used to live.  It was a wonderful trip to find our roots.  And so much fun.

My favorite movie:  

The Deer Hunter with Robert De Niro