Pickleball Magazine 2019 USA National Championships WD | Page 32

nailed it when I mentioned that I wanted to work on the
‘aerobic’ health of students, faculty and the community.”
The concept of aerobics was first pioneered in the United
States by physician Kenneth H. Cooper and had been
popularized by his books the previous year.
Doris’ lifelong love of sports was fully realized as a
coach at LA Valley College. She finally retired from that
position less than 10 years ago.
Now a resident of Pacific Palisades, California, she
was first introduced to pickleball in 2010 by her good
30
friend Hilary Marold. “I went to the USAPA
Nationals in Casa Grande, Arizona, the very
first major tournament I entered, and won
the 80+ women’s singles,” says Doris. “It
was very similar to paddle tennis, so I knew
that I could excel at it pretty quickly.”
After Nationals, Roland Sunga, currently
teaching pickleball at the Larry Maxam
Recreation Center in Burbank, California,
taped out a court and put up a portable net
at a local Beach Club that Doris played at
quite often. Roland and Doris and a couple
of others would play every Wednesday, and
quickly people began taking notice. Soon,
the sport of pickleball became a favorite
of many, and Doris and Roland would be
at the forefront of the newest sport craze,
conducting clinics and staging tournaments.
Feeling right at home with a paddle in her
hands, Doris quickly became an elite player
in her age group. At the tender age of 88,
at the 2015 Nationals, she took home gold
medals in women’s singles and doubles in
80+ and a silver medal in mixed doubles
80+. Recently, at the Huntsman World
Senior Games in St. George, Utah, Doris
captured two gold medals, one of them
in mixed doubles with her playing partner,
92-year-old Army Matern.
At this year’s Margaritaville USA Pickleball
National Championships, Doris competed
in the 3.0 division, 75+, 85+ in women’s
singles and was edged out of a gold medal
by Joyce Jones, losing in the finals 11-8
and 11-2. In doubles, she brought home
another silver, teaming with Ron Schmeck.
The duo lost the gold to Elaine Brady and
Kenny Lewis. Two more silver medals for
Doris to add to her collection.
Despite battling osteoporosis and
incidences of skin cancer, Doris Castaneda
is forever rekindling that spirit of competitiveness
spawned from those early days on sand-filled hills
outside of L.A. While some girls gave up trying to buck
the system, Doris persevered and forged a lifetime of
memories on numerous athletic fields and now is having
the time of her life on the pickleball court. A lifetime that
is the envy of many, and while she is not overly fond of
her nickname, it clearly resonates throughout the world of
pickleball and is spoken in awe and reverence. •
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