FROM THE USAPA
Pickleball Growth in Lincoln
BY MARK NELSON
It’ s great to see something flourish and grow quickly... unless, of course, it’ s that weed in my backyard. Pickleball has seen explosive growth in Lincoln, Nebraska, especially since the addition of six new dedicated courts by the city. In 2015, we had a couple of tennis courts and saw 10-20 people / day for a couple of hours. With the new courts, we now see full courts much of the day. Every day I see new players wanting to learn pickleball.
With any rapid growth, there can be growing pains associated with those changes. I am passionate about this great game and want to help continue its growth. Pickleball is personal to me. It gave me direction, friendship, and hope during a low point in my life. While that time has passed, my desire to improve at the game, the friendships it has created, and the health benefits continue.
Across the nation, that growth creates many of the same pain points. There are times I need reminding of what makes this game great, and how I was able to improve. What makes this sport great is the inclusiveness of the game and its players. The first day I came to the courts, I felt welcome and was asked to join in. They all forgave me when I was always in the kitchen or forgot to come to the kitchen. Everyone said hi; people asked what I do or about my family. I immediately felt a connection to the sport.
While this is easy to do with a small group, it’ s important to maintain as the sport grows. I chose to become an Ambassador to help grow the game. And while I have a box of business cards that say“ Ambassador,” we all have that role. It’ s important that we all greet people, welcome them to the game, and help them get started. That person you welcomed may be searching for something to make their life better – just like I was.
I also know that I spent countless hours on the court; early on I wasn’ t great competition for the better players. But those players worked with me, provided coaching, gave me tips to work on, and continued to help me improve. They could have sought greater competition, but they stuck with me. As we grow in numbers and experience, the experience gap will also grow. We all succeed when everyone advances.
Open play is a great time to work with talent in the rough, to help them work on the finer points of pickleball. It’ s also a great time to just have fun and meet new people. I would ask that when you’ re playing with and against a stronger player, hit the ball to that person. We’ ve all experienced open play where the stronger player never sees the ball. And while my desire to win causes me to do this at times, I have to remind myself that playing against the stronger player may lose points, but it will help me win skills I couldn’ t otherwise get. Our goal should be to have fun, get exercise, and develop skills – winning comes when we succeed at those.
I do hope this provokes reflection as we continue to see this great sport grow in Lincoln and around the country. Help others improve or ask stronger players to work with you. Don’ t hit away from the stronger player as these games don’ t count; only the experience does. And finally, everyone is an ambassador of this game— help keep this sport great.
Pickleball Rocks!!! •
14 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG. COM