because the security and safety of everyone involved is paramount. They had to look into whether paddles could be used as weapons. Everything was inspected.”
Roger passed muster and wooden paddles were shipped to the jail. Once the due diligence was completed on the front end, Roger found himself in maximum security, surrounded by inmates charged with the most brutal of crimes.
“ The inmates had a variety of backgrounds,” Rogers says,“ and every one of them was very cautious. For me, despite having a lot of pickleball training, I’ m not used to that type of environment. Everyone was a little hesitant, but there are magical qualities about pickleball and, in no time, they were dropping the barriers.”
Roger says pickleball played right into the inmates’ routines.“ There’ s a zen-like quality to pickleball when you’ re playing it,” he says.“ You can’ t think about anything else other than hitting the ball over the net. These are people who have tremendous stress in their lives— they live in anxiety, but once on the court, you could see the stress melt away, and they became incredibly joyful.”
Roger’ s instruction was every day for a week. The schedule coincided with the daily recreational time of the inmates. The structure of their daily lives, he says, is important for keeping order in the jail.
At the end of his week, the administration was extremely supportive of the game. The superintendent was playing against the inmates, morale was up, and the exercise helped foster an environment that was less adversarial.
While he hasn’ t been back to Chicago yet, Roger says he’ s setting his sights on Washington state to teach at four sites in that correctional system. The vetting game is on once again, but Roger is optimistic things will proceed to plan once again.
“ Johnny Appleseed started with one apple, so I’ m trying to be patient,” he says. Roger’ s hope is that he
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Everyone was a little hesitant, but there are magical qualities about pickleball and, in no time, they were dropping the barriers.”
can help make the country a little bit safer by helping to reform inmates so that they can better cope with the stresses of life once they’ re released.
“ I read an awful lot— two to three hours a day. And the fact is, the U. S. has five percent of the world’ s population, yet 22 percent of the world’ s incarcerated people,” he says.“ Ninety-eight percent will be released back into society, in our malls and our parks. If we can make them better people on the inside, it will be safer for all of us on the outside. It just connected with me— here’ s an opportunity. Here’ s an individual really trying to work on challenges they have with mental illness( which afflicts a third of all inmates), plus they’ ve committed horrible crimes. Why not use pickleball as a metaphor for learning life skills, playing by the rules, and being a good teammate.”
Roger says he doesn’ t go in preaching but lets the game speak for itself. Pickleball, he says, is a game of finesse, not power. And, like society, there’ s a proper way to reach your goal. While Roger is extending his reach to more correctional facilities nationwide, he says anyone can do their part to enact change in their neighborhoods.
“ To be a great teacher takes two things— know more than your students, and be willing to share your passion with others. I encourage people to not consider their skill level but to consider their willingness to teach— at a senior center, a youth camp, whatever. For me, I prefer working with the toughest cases, guys I can help the most. It’ s nice to teach at a high-end resort, but it’ s a different kind of nice when I’ m in this type of environment.” •
MAY / JUNE 2018 | MAGAZINE 21