INSTRUCTION
The Power of Wassup
Hands down , my favorite part of pickleball is arriving for the day , looking around to see which friends are on the courts , and loudly exclaiming “ Wassup ?!” to as many of them as possible . Yup , I ’ m a walking , turn-of-the-century Budweiser commercial .
For me , the power of Wassup saved my life in the pandemic . I ’ ve heard many people say the same thing , that pickleball has saved their lives — in one way or another — and I don ’ t think saying so is extreme . I think it ’ s very real .
Scott Stover is the cousin of one of the inventors of the sport , Barney McCallum . Scott is also the first men ’ s doubles champion ever , and he now owns the house where the first court was built , and still stands to this day ! When I asked Scott what he thought about how the sport
Scott Stover is the cousin of one of the inventors of the sport , Barney McCallum . has blown up , he told me he was “ amused .”
“ I ’ m happy 99 percent of the pickleball being played is on a recreational level for fun ,” he said . In other words , Scott is gung-ho for pickleball being played for community ’ s sake , and a little skeptical of all the movers and shakers pushing in on the scene . For evidence , read the recent feature in Sports Illustrated on pickleball . Such drama !
I ’ ve had my own dramatic moments on the court . I was playing in a league once , and it wasn ’ t going too well for me — or my paddle , which I smashed on a fence . When I got home , I was like , “ Wassup with that , dude ?” I ’ ll tell you what ’ s up . I didn ’ t get my way ; I didn ’ t win , so I acted out like a child . I later went back and apologized to my partner like an adult .
Recently I was visiting some courts in California when I witnessed two players on the verge of punching out one very keyed-up player . Their pickleball ambassador had to step in between them . After I played against the guy , and he literally tried to bean me on every hit , some locals came over and apologized for him . I felt for them , that they had to deal with this behavior on a regular basis .
By Rick Cipes
So , what can we do about it ? Number one , we must keep ourselves in check . I can give you a head start : When we act out , it ’ s always because we didn ’ t get our way , in one fashion or another . It ’ s also because many of us are not good losers and often take the game far too seriously . And , because pickleball is such a fast-moving sport , our rational mind is completely left out of the equation . That leaves room for all our “ stuff ” to surface before we can put a lid on it .
Scott explained to me that the founding fathers of pickleball invented the sport with a particular ethos in mind , and that ’ s an ethos rooted in community and fun . Let ’ s try to keep that in mind , as we carry the game we love forward — with a large dose of “ Wassup ?” •
Rick Cipes has written for more than 40 publications , including the L . A . Times and ESPN Magazine . Join his Facebook group , the Inner Game of Pickleball , or check out his brand of fun pickleball clothing at
innergameofpickleball . com .