A Game for the Generations. This is a site dedicated to providing information, pictures and amusement to Massachusetts based picklers with a primary focus on Greater Boston MA.
bostonpickleball@gmail.com
The party doesn't officially start till Bonnie A brings her design cookies. And she has done it year after year for all occasions. As always the Wakefield annual Holiday Party was enjoyed by all.
We are very fortunate to have the best indoor courts around along with the world's best cookie maker.
Many of you know Thayer Sports Center (TSC) in Braintree is a multisport complex and opened on Nov 1 offering Pickleball on Tues-Fri 8-11a and Friday evening 6-9p, NEW announcement today adding Saturday 8-11a.
See email below for details and share with your memberships.
It is wonderful for our Boston and South Shore area to have more indoor options for play pickleball with the winter upon us.
At this time TSC has 4courts with the space to expand when membership grows and the need is there!
Address for Thayer Sports Center is 1535 Washington St Braintree (not Thayer Academy’s school campus).
Attractive pricing: $20 monthly unlimited play, or $5/drop-in, bring your own balls.
If you haven’t tried a session at TSC, welcome and join our email for upcoming events!
From: Emily Smith Sent: Friday, November 15, 2019 11:33 AM:: *Added SATURDAY MORNING PICKLE BALL THAYER SPORTS CENTER*
Welcome to the Thayer Sports Center Pickleball Program! My name is Emily Smith and wanted to thank you all for coming and participating in our pickle ball program here at the Thayer Sports Center. I am reaching out to inform you all that we will be hosting pickle ball on Saturday mornings now as well! Pickle ball will be hosted from 8am till 11am Tuesdays through Saturdays and Friday nights 6pm till 9pm. Don't forget if you are interested in signing up for a pickle ball membership at the Thayer Sports Center, its only $20 a month unlimited play and Daily drop ins are $5!. Bring your own balls. Tell your friends about this awesome event and membership opportunity!
Pickleball Referees and Line Judge volunteers are integral to holding successful officiated pickleball events. The upcoming New England Slam Series of tournaments at Starland in Hanover Mass in Nov 2019 and February, September & November 2020 are the only USAPA Sanctioned events in New England. The coordinators of the Slam Series with Joe Santoro who is the USAPA referee Training Coordinator in Atlantic Region are hoping this is a great time to encourage more players to join local volunteers in these roles and build a regional network.
We want to hear from you if
*you have experience as a volunteer referee
*have attained Referee level 1 level 2 status and/or want to become certified
*if you have experience as a line judge or want to learn
*if you are interested in learning more about the game of pickleball, the rules, and want contribute to our sport by learning to become a referee and volunteer at area tournaments
We will have a “Learn to Become a Referee” training program on November 17, (see attached flier). Space is limited to 24, please RSVP if interested and we will be sending out more detailed information to the participants.
USAPA/IFP revised the Referee Handbook and Line Judge Guide in spring 2019, both are available on USAPA.com along with additional training tools, sample score cards, and the 18min Referee Quick Start Video.
Any questions, please contactreferee coordinators Kim Mitchell of Lakeville Pickleball kimberlymitchell616@gmail.com
For more information about the New England Slam Series at Starland Sportsplex in Hanover Mass, go to www.pickleballtournaments.com or contact the Tournament Directors Beverly Bartley, Tracy Kok, Kim Mitchell and Melissa Robin at www.newenglandslamseries.com . Save the dates for all : Super Slam Nov 23-24 2019, Starland Slam February 14-15 2020, Smash and Slam September 12-13 2020, and Grand Slam November 21-22 2020
**Tracy will send to Lakeville DL, coordinators of Easton & Ward Park, Ambassadors Yan Burdett and Sue Carnevale
Susan sent to coordinators of Braintree, Abington, & Weymouth Club, and ambassadors Di Dednah, Peter Sullivan, Craig Corcoran, Joe Santoro, Kathy Reidy
Some of West Peabody's finest. Special thanks to the founders Kevin Stanky, Hank McLaughlin, Rob Kennedy, John Donovan, Chuck and Mario. And the first woman Ethel
From: Peter Coleman <pcoleman@lexingtonma.gov> Date: September 9, 2019 at 4:42:20 PM EDT Subject:Advanced Beginner/Intermediate Pickleball Add-On Session - Lexington Recreation & Community Programs
Dear Participants,
This is a reminder that our fall Advanced Beginner/Intermediate Pickleball add-on session will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, September 10th. The program will take place on Tuesday nights, September 10th-December 17th from 8:00-10:00pm at the Diamond Middle School gymnasium. The gym entrance is located in the back of the school, so the best way to access the gym is by going on Adams Street, turning onto Hathaway Road, and then taking a left onto Sedge Road. The parking lot will be located on the right once you pass the baseball field. Equipment will be provided and you should bring a water bottle and a dry pair of sneakers to change into once you’re inside the school. Participants will need to be mindful to make sure that everyone has a chance to play. Thank you in advance for your assistance with this.
There are still openings available in this program, so if you know of any friends who might be interested, please pass this information along to them. People can register in person at the Community Center or online through our online registration system (https://lexrecreation.activityreg.com/selectactivity_t2.wcs?leaguesid=3740&teamsid=12211). The Community Center is open on weekdays from 8am-9pm and on Saturdays from 9am-5pm.
In the event that the program has to be cancelled due to inclement weather, we will post the information on our website (www.lexingtonma.gov/recreation)at least an hour ahead of time, so please be sure to check our website if the weather is questionable.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and we’ll see you tomorrow night!
Thanks,
Peter
Peter Coleman, CPRP, CPSI, CYSA | Assistant Director of Recreation
Town of Lexington | Recreation and Community Programs
I hope everyone has enjoyed their Summer. In the next few weeks, we will be transitioning from playing pickleball at Victory Park to inside the Recreation Center. The Fall session will run from September 17th to November 19th. We will take a break over Thanksgiving and return for the Winter session beginning December 3rd. Please remember we will not have Pickleball on November 9th during Veteran’s Day. Attached is a flyer you can share or send to other friends who might be interested in playing.
Here are just a few of Rosemary's pickleball friends. Rosemary lost her husband Keith earlier this week. There was an amazing outpouring of support as witnessed by the long lines at the Wake which included many players in our pickleball community. Keith was a highly respected man and loved by many. I'm sure that Rosemary will get continued support during these dark days ahead.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Malden Indoors Schedule
We will be running our pickleball session this fall from September 24th through December 17th at the Dome. We are going to be there 6:00PM to 8:45PM. Same fees: $3 for residents and $5 for non-residents.
Thank you and hope to see you see!
Laura Perez Malden Recreation Clerk Macdonald Stadium Clerk Malden Public Parks Clerk City of Malden 32 Pearl Street Malden, MA 02148 781-397-7168 (stadium office ) 781-771-5464 (cell ) lperez@cityofmalden.org
Monday, August 26, 2019
Braintree and Jamaica Plain players enjoyed a gathering with open play
JP honors Karen McCormack with a plaque and many thanks for all the work she has done in bringing pickleball to Boston. Thanks to Craig Corcoran for making the day special.
JP has a strong program that meets Saturdays at 9 AM, South Street courts. One court is set aside for beginners from 9-10 AM.
Detainees get ready for a pickleball match (Courtesy of Roger Bel Air)
Roger BelAir is a 72-year-old from Edmonds, Washington. In 2011, he fell in
love with a sport called pickleball.
"You know, here was a sport that was very easy to learn, it's easy on the joints, it's great exercise, it's incredibly social," Roger says. "Somebody once said it’s the most social sport since skinny dipping. And, most importantly, it’s fun."
In pickleball, teams of two stand on a miniature tennis court with oversized ping pong paddles and hit a Wiffle Ball back and forth over a net.
"Almost everybody can play this from 9 years old, up to — I've played with people over 90 years old," Roger says.
These days, Roger travels the country teaching the sport at retirement homes, high-end destination spas ... and prisons.
Cook County
Roger wasn't always focused on criminal justice reform. But one night, after watching a "60 Minutes" segmentabout Cook County Jail in Chicago, Roger got an idea.
"I thought to myself, you know, 'This would be terrific,' " Roger says. "Sport that I love — introduced inside the prison system. It would give the people an opportunity to get some exercise and also learn life skills, like learning from mistakes, thinking about consequences, being a good teammate."
Roger also adds this: "The most popular sport on the inside is basketball. But you have young aggressive men. And, as you can imagine, once they get on the court, there’s a lot of injuries. There’s some people that even want to eliminate basketball from being played on the inside."
Roger thought pickleball was the perfect alternative. So, in 2017, he decided to write a letter to Cook County — America’s largest jail — asking to teach pickleball to the detainees.
His family thought he was delusional.
"They said, 'This time you've lost it,' " Roger remembers. " ‘You've lost it before, but this time, it’s really over the top. And not only that, but you can go ahead and you can write Sheriff Dart a letter, but don’t even expect a reply.’ "
Roger wrote the letter anyways. He says Sheriff Tom Dart had never heard of pickleball.
"But over dinner that night, mentioned it to his 8-year-old daughter," Roger says. "And she says, something like, 'Oh, Dad, you’re so out of it. I'll tell you about pickleball.' "
A few weeks later, Roger was inside the walls of Cook County.
"It was the first time I've ever been in a prison, and its very unsettling," Roger says. "Prisons are very tough on the inside. It’s not a friendly environment. There’s no laughter. People are in there for serious crimes. I was particularly nervous once I stood up in front of the men and started telling them what the game was — and wasn’t getting much of a positive reaction."
Roger BelAir explains pickleball to detainees. (Courtesy of Roger BelAir)
I spoke to a 34-year-old detainee at Cook County, who is charged with murder. He told me how pickleball helps give him something to look forward to — how it takes the stress away and how it makes him want to do better.
Roger doesn't shy away from the reality that he works with violent men accused of unsettling crimes. That’s what drives his work.
"If guys don’t behave, they can’t play," Roger says. "I know one situation where one inmate screamed at another, 'I'd beat the hell out of you, but if I did, I couldn’t play pickleball.' Well, how wonderful is that?
"One inmate screamed at another, 'I'd beat the hell out of you, but if I did, I couldn’t play pickleball.' "
— Roger BelAir
"I know another situation where two guys were out on the court. They gave each other high fives and then realized that they belonged to opposite gangs."
After his success at Cook County, Roger was invited to teach pickleball at Rikers Island and Washington State Penitentiary. He’s far from a bleeding heart, but he understands the reality that 95% of inmates will be released at some point.
"They’re going to be out on our freeways, they’re going to be in our shopping malls, they’re going to be in parks where our kids are playing," Roger says. "If we can make them better people on the inside, it’s going to make it safer for all of us once they’re on the outside."
Roger plans to continue traveling the country teaching the game he loves, one correctional institution at a time.
"I don’t know how far this is going to go, but Johnny Appleseed started one with apple," Roger says. "And if I can help the world become a better place by making it safer for all of us, that’s exactly what I want to do."
Detainees at Cook County and Roger BelAir pose for a photo. (Courtesy of Roger BelAir)
