A Great Gift for you or your
favorite pickleballer!
High quality fine jewelry designs handmade
in Sterling Silver and Gold. Necklaces,
earrings, bracelets, charms and key fobs.
I understand the desire not to play down. I’ve
played tennis for 45 years and competed at USTA
Nationals in 4.0 Singles at the ripe old age of 53. I
understand levels and the need for them for good
competition and everyone’s enjoyment.
But what I’ve learned after playing pickleball for
the past eight years is you can’t judge a player
by appearance. The rotund player across the
net can have the reflexes of a cheetah, while the
bodybuilder with rippled muscles can have the
hand-eye coordination of an elephant. You never
know until the game begins. And even if it’s a
lousy game, it’s over very quickly and weaker
players are readily exposed.
I began playing pickleball after arthritis settled
in my right wrist after Nationals, making tennis
impossible. I enjoyed the fact that the paddle was
almost weightless and I could still play a racquet
sport without pain. And the game combined my
love of tennis with ping-pong, which I played
almost nightly against my dad in our basement
when I was a teenager.
Pickleball was just starting up at my tennis club,
and I was soon playing about two to three times a
week. An added bonus—my tennis buddy Wendy,
who’d recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease, could play too. It was wonderful seeing
her across the net again.
I love the game because it’s everything tennis is
not. Rather than form, it relies mostly on reflexes.
You’re forced to play each point and then move on
to the next. You can’t beat yourself up over missed
shots, a plus for someone with a tendency to
overthink things.
But what I love most about pickleball is how
it makes me feel. I feel like a kid again on
the playground, having fun and laughing with
opponents, many of whom are now my friends. It’s
about as close to being a kid as you’re going to get
when you’re 60. It’s a great time—even when you
lose—and if you don't laugh, something’s wrong.
I thought everyone felt the same way until I met
these guys. I guess they still need to learn the
most important rule of the game. •
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