FROM THE USAPA
Home Court Advantage
BY STEVE ELLIOTT
My wife tells me that I ’ m “ 110 % all-in ” on everything I do … it ’ s just the way I am wired up . I do nothing casually , and pickleball is no different .
Our family has always been competitive and loves to play . Whether it ’ s volleyball , half-court basketball , Frisbee golf , or bocce ball , our backyard has been the place to be . We never dreamed that one day pickleball would be the center of our competitions .
As a former high school tennis coach , I wanted my sons to learn to play racquet sports . When they were 3 and 4 , I bought a lawn tennis set , and we would play for hours on our little court on the grass in our backyard . Fast forward 20 years ... I met a man during a business meeting in Oklahoma City wearing a shirt that said “ Pickleball . com .” I asked him the same question we are all asked — “ What in the world is pickleball ?” I never dreamed that his answer would change my life the way it has .
I immediately went home and googled “ Pickleball ,” and soon after , I purchased our first pickleball set , wooden paddles and all . We used the badminton court lines on our backyard basketball court to play the game . We played about once a month , and though it was fun , we never really learned the rules . In May , 2016 , I started hosting a weekly Pickleball Night for my co-workers as a way to build teamwork . We all learned the game together . The more we played , the more fun it got .
Being an old coach , I am a technique guy , so I started watching YouTube videos to learn strategies for the game . I learned that Broken Arrow Community Center hosted pickleball , so I went over one Friday to play . I was terrible ! But the players there were all so encouraging , and made me feel like I was welcome . I ’ ll be forever indebted to that wonderful group of people !
Back to the 110 %... In August , 2016 , for my birthday , my wife gave me a resurface of our concrete basketball court , painted with pickleball lines and blue / green surface colors . I used a local tennis court construction company that had built high school and college tennis courts and was now starting to build more and more pickleball courts . We also installed lights — the kind you ’ ll find lighting college tennis courts ( I told you I was all-in !).
Our half-court basketball court was just the right size , but left only 3 feet behind the baseline to stand . We soon started slipping and tracking dirt as we came back on the courts after retrieving balls . The only solution was to enlarge the court 3 feet on the sides , and 6 feet on the ends , and install a 6-foot fence around the court . No more chasing balls out into the yard !
Being from Oklahoma , wind is always a factor . Soon after the court was built , I ordered windscreens and installed them myself . They have been a huge help .
We had a portable net , but we could not leave it outside because of
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