Tournament Schedule

From fellow Ambassador Dave Brower from Westeros

To many of us, tournaments are a fun aspect to the sport.  Here is a list of New England events that you might enjoy.

5/21-22                 Connecticut Masters Games                       New Britain

6/17-19                 Vermont Senior Games                                Shelburne

6/23-26                 USAPA Atlantic Regional                               Portland            

8/5-7                     New Hampshire Masters Games              Plaistow

8/13-14                 Maine Senior Games                                      Portland

8/19-21                 Massachusetts Senior Games                    Shrewsbury

9/17-18 (tent.)  Ocean State Games                                        Lincoln

If you are interested in signing up, do an online search of the game title and you will get more information.

Play smarter, not harder

Dave Brower

USAPA Metrowest MA Ambassador

daveb@marksmoving.com

508-922-7831

Bar Harbor Pickleball

Most of us start playing pickleball for exercise and to get out of the house. In the end we find so much more. We make friends; dozens and dozens of them. And they are everywhere. 

If you needed any more reason to visit Acadia National Park I have one. This past weekend Marjorie and I made 5 more friends while playing pickleball in Bar Harbor Maine. They were strong players and wonderful people. Stop in and play at the YMCA whenever in the area. You will be well received.

(l-r) Roger, Doug, Peter, Marjorie, Wint, Doug, Becky

Snowbird Return

The Snowbirds are starting to return

John and Rosemary from Florida

The West Peabody Players

 and

The Rest of Us

West Roxbury

• Crunch time on the pickleball court in West Roxbury

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Tinna Moy, right, of Newton, and Ed Waterfall, of West Roxbury, play a pick-up game of pickleball at the Roche Family Community Center in West Roxbury, Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Wicked Local staff photo / Kate Flock
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• By Victoria Groves
  Transcript@wickedlocal.com

  
  Posted Apr. 1, 2016 at 7:00 AM 
  
  ROSLINDALE

  If you haven’t heard of a sport called pickleball, you’ve got some catching up to do. One of the fastest growing athletic games in the nation, it’s a paddle sport that has been described as a cross between tennis, badminton and ping-pong, that appeals to all age levels. And it’s gaining fans in West Roxbury.

  Since it began in 1965 outside of Seattle, it’s swept all 50 states. There’s even a housing development in Florida that boasts 187 courts. Played both indoors and outdoors on a badminton-sized court and with a slightly modified tennis net, it’s lauded as a game of strategy and positioning where youth and speed aren’t necessarily the keys to victory. It’s also an inexpensive sport that can be picked up easily, something that many seniors view as a way to get active without overtaxing their bodies.

  Peter Sullivan, of Winchester, is a pickleball enthusiast who works with the USA Pickleball Association as an ambassador. After talking to Boston’s Parks and Recreation Department, the Parkway seemed like the perfect place to introduce the game. About two months ago, the Roche Community Center began offering pick-up pickleball games on two courts, and the rest is history. The center provides the paddles and balls and members just need to bring sneakers, water and an interest in learning a new pastime.

  “If you have hand-eye coordination, you’ll pick it right up,” Sullivan said. “It’s competitive but friendly … we enjoy each other’s company but we also enjoy competing.”

  While anyone can play, the sport has become increasingly popular with retirees as well as in middle school and high school physical education classes.

  “I’ve met so many people who are so excited that there’s a competitive game for them to play at 60, 70, 80 years of age,” Sullivan said. “If you thought your athletic career was over now that you’re older, it’s not.”

  When playing pickleball, each person uses a pickleball paddle, which is smaller than a tennis racquet but larger than a ping-pong paddle. Originally, paddles were made only from wood, but are now available in lightweight composite materials, including aluminum and graphite. The ball itself is light and resembles a wiffleball, with different models intended for indoor and outdoor play. It travels at about a third of the speed of a tennis ball, allowing for longer volleys.

  Ed Waterfall, of West Roxbury, and his wife Lorry Ahmann, have both been playing for about three years and have become regulars at the Roche Center courts on Wednesdays. “I don’t like to get on a machine at the gym to exercise … it’s boring,” said Waterfall. “It’s an easy sport to pick up and we hope that it really takes off here.”

Picklers at Play

The Winchester Group

Chris, Gail, Tullie, Dan, Terry, Joan, Marjorie

The Magee's from Burlington

http://www.usapa.org/what-is-pickleball-learn-how-to-play-from-the-pros/

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