ROBSON RANCH PICKLEBALL CLUB
people ,” he says . “ It ’ s always in the top 10 or better .”
On the other end of the country , for communities like Robson Ranch , located in the southwestern Arizona desert , pickleball courts have been a standard recreational amenity for some time .
Win Oppel , Vice President of the Robson Ranch Pickleball Club , says not only did Robson have pickleball courts when he looked into the community more than four years ago , they ’ re actively discussing ongoing expansions as the community grows . “ We have pickleball courts at all of the Robson facilities in Arizona and have been discussing them during the buildout here ,” Oppel says . “ We have a membership of more than 300 and just closed on our 1,000th house , so it ’ s a pretty big draw .”
Oppel says sports like tennis are no longer bringing people to the community and , in fact , tennis courts remain all but vacant . “ The tennis courts don ’ t get any use , not like they did 10 years ago ,” he says . “ With the pickleball program , we constantly have
players out there . At night , we have lit courts and run a couples program in the evening .”
While Oppel has been a resident for more than four years , he was an avid pickleball player prior to discovering Robson . Oppel had been coming to the area in his RV with his family for five years before looking to put down roots . “ The pickleball community is fairly active in Casa Grande , and most RV parks have some sort of pickleball program going on ,” he says . “ I learned to play , and Robson ’ s courts were a big attraction for us , a big piece of our decision to move here . There are 16 courts , a dedicated program , and the management of Robson is extremely supportive of the program .”
With two in-house tournaments a year , Robson residents play amongst themselves . Other tournaments throughout the year open up to neighboring communities . “ Our Sixth Annual Pickleball Tournament drew more than 400 people — 100 from inside the community and the rest from four or five other communities in the area ,” Oppel says . “ They ’ ll play here one day and Palm Creek or Mission Royale at other times .”
The goodwill generated by local and regional interplay is giving back to the community in spades . Robson is home to two pickleball ambassadors , Mickie Storckman and Larry Kraus . Residents in the community travel to local high schools to teach pickleball lessons several times a week . There ’ s also an official outreach program in place . Oppel says every pickleball event typically has a benefit for the community involved . “ Tournaments usually are where we give back the most ,” he says . “ At Christmas , we had an in-house event where all the money raised went to the Eloy Fire District ’ s Children ’ s Christmas Fund , which gives gifts for disadvantaged children .”
As pickleball takes the country by storm , dozens of resorts and communities are jumping on the pickleball train — to the delight of their guests and residents . •
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