Sixtysomething_S2_Ep11_Your Introduction to Pickleball

60s_S2_Ep11_Pickleball w ASegal

[00:00:00] GTS: Hi, everyone. Welcome to another episode of 60 something. The podcast where we explore the passions, challenges and joys of life after 60. Today. We're talking about something that is taken the world. Especially the over 60 crowd. And even my own home, by. Storm. Pickle ball. Who better to join me for this conversation than my husband. Aaron Segal, who is not just a fan, but a dedicated pickleball player. Aaron welcome back to the podcast. Thanks grace.

I thought I was not going to be invited back after the last podcast where I was accused of being too neurotic, telling too many jokes and using the word. more than three times. But I'm happy to be back here and talking [00:01:00] about one of my favorite. Topics. Pickle ball. And hopefully on the next podcast, I'll have a chance to talk about my other love cycling. And my love of books.

Okay. Let's start with the basics for anyone listening, who isn't quite sure what pickleball is. I'm not sure. I even know. Based on some research that I've done, pickleball is a paddle sport. That combines elements of tennis. Badminton and ping pong. It's played on a court about one third, the size of a tennis court. With a net in the middle. And do you use paddles to hit a plastic wiffle ball with holes? How did you get all this information?

My dear you've been doing some studying and I like it. But as always with you, you are spot on. It is [00:02:00] usually played. As a double sport. Uh, singles is definitely an option, but you don't see that as much. And one of the things that I love about the sport, and I think that most people do is it is so easy to learn. Not as easy to master, but as easy to learn.

And I think this is one reason. It is so wildly popular. You do not need a lot of equipment. Or really any athletic experience to start playing? Do you know how polka ball got started? Aaron. I do. Pickle ball was invented in 1965. On Bainbridge island, Washington. And a couple of dads. Uh, Joel Pritchard and bill bell, we're looking for something to entertain their kids. And they improvised using ping pong paddles and a wiffle ball on a [00:03:00] badminton court. And over time. This evolved into them adding rules and the game grew from there. And the name. Pickle ball. That's it seems a little. Random. A little random, there was some debate about how the name actually came about. Uh, one story has it that it was named after the family dog pickles, who used to chase the ball around. But another version that I heard about says was named after a pickle boat. Which is a crew team. Made up of leftovers from other boats. Well, either way it's catchy.

Yes. Memorable and for sure pickle ball is everywhere. Now, according to the sports and fitness industry association, pickleball. Is the fastest growing sport in America. With nearly 9 [00:04:00] million players as of last year. Yeah. And I'm sure that has gone up exponentially in 2024. But what's really amazing about this sport.

Grace is how. Inclusive it is you really have a melting pot. Of all different backgrounds and, uh, socio economic classes that are playing. It's certainly not just a rich man's game. Anybody can get out there. And the players range from kids to people in their eighties and beyond. I'd say a huge percentage of the players are now in their fifties and sixties. But it's become, and certainly since the pandemic particularly popular, With the, GenXers.

It's certainly one of the fastest growing amongst them. And I think it's. Been very popular with retirees. Oh yes. Because of it being low impact. And so [00:05:00] social, I read that pickle ball can improve balance agility. And even mental health because of that social aspect. It's much more than just exercise, I guess. Absolutely.

It's not only a great way to stay active and connect with people, but really. The, the social interaction that people get when they go out on that court. And they meet the same people that they may have been playing with at their local rec park. You are creating friends on the court, maybe not necessarily off the court, but on the court. And they really get to know you. And it's really become something that connects. People, and it is addictive in so many ways.

Let's break down some of the basic rules. I want our listeners to leave today feeling like they could. Walk onto a court and play a game. Yeah, the rules are pretty. [00:06:00] Straight forward. I mean the game. Itself starts with an underhand serve. And the serve has to land in the diagonal service box. And again, when they, when they go anybody that wants to take up the sport, they would go to their rec park or where they're playing. And there are normally ambassadors there that will help new people and they'll help explain the game to them. And it isn't. This thing called the double bounce rule. Right.

This is what makes it so different than tennis after the serve. The ball has to bounce once on each side, before players can hit it. In the air. No, this will keep the game much more strategic and less about just smashing the ball right away. And this really is what differentiates pickleball from [00:07:00] tennis.

And this really can be more of a soft game. The only caveat I'll add is with a lot of the newer paddle technology that has come about since 2023 and now 2024, it is becoming a faster game. But hopefully it won't ever turn into what tennis is cause that's why we love pickleball. And then there's the kitchen. I love the way they call it that yes.

The kitchen also known as the non volleys zone, which is close to the net. And basically you cannot step into the kitchen. Non Bali's zone to hit the ball unless the ball has already bounced. So it prevents people from just camping out at the net and dominating the game. Games are played to 11 points. But you have to [00:08:00] win by two and scoring. Only happens when you're serving correct in the normal play.

Correct. It will keep the game moving also makes it challenging, but we also have rally scoring, which they've adopted to help get more TV exposure. So you can figure out how long a game might last. So in rally scoring, each side can score and that goes to 21. All right. Aaron now. ' it'stime. For me to put you on the spot.

Let's talk about your personal pickleball journey. First question. How did you even get started doing this? I'm not sure. I remember. I think you might recall before the pandemic, there was a lot of articles written back then, and I had said. This sounds really interesting. I think I [00:09:00] would like it. And for your audience, I, I never really could do tennis because of the serve, but I was a very strong racketball player.

And I did that all throughout the eighties and I loved racquetball and I really thought this would appeal to me. And then right before the pandemic, I had a chance to go play at our local, uh, rec park here. And I absolutely fell in love with it.

Well, what do you love most about it? Again, I think the. The idea that you can go out there and play with all. Different. Sorts of people. A male, female, young, old, rich poor. It truly is a melting pot. And this is what makes the game. So fun. And there's a strategy to this. It's almost like playing chess.

And what move are you going to make? It's not about [00:10:00] who is the most athletic. It's who can strategize how they're going to hit the ball. And how they're going to place the ball. And that's what I love about it. Do you have a favorite pickleball story? Like, you know, something funny or a really memorable game? I think, uh, and most people who have played will have this exact same story.

When you go out there for my first time I went with. Elliot, who is my older brother. We went out to play and we went to the court and there were two men. Easily in their eighties. And they had a leg brace on their knee. So Elliott and I are like, oh, this, this is going to be easy.

I guess we're going to have to figure out. Eh, how we take it a little easy on him. And we had played for about a week. And they absolutely destroyed us. I think both games were 11. Nothing. Cause they knew how to hit the ball, [00:11:00] how to keep us back. And they were not athletic at all. They can barely move.

So after that game, I told my brother. I'm going all in. I'm going to watch every video I'm going to study this. I never ever want to have that happen to me again. And many people who get into pick a ball, they relate bad story, how they play with much older people and get beat. And that's what makes them want to learn the game. You know, it's funny.

It kind of reminds me. Um, your cycling. Story. Yes. And how you got you. Got mad at it because the people in worse shape than you were better at. Yes. Yes. Riding a bike. So I guess that's your personality? My personality. Yeah. That's what challenges you? I don't want to be beat. Okay. So. If you had to choose. Between cycling. Which is a great love of Aaron"s [00:12:00] and pickleball.

If you had to, which one would you choose? It would be tough. I think right now, I am doing more pickleball in the sense that on cycling on the weekend, I would go out and ride 60 or 70 miles as you well know on a Saturday, Sunday, and I'd spend three to four hours. Doing that. And now I'm reversing that I'm playing pickleball for two or three hours and I'm cycling for about an hour on the weekends.

I've kind of. Reversed it a bit, but still loves cycling and obviously love pickleball. Folks, if you can hear that noise. It's our dog. Dorothy's here? She wants to play. We're in my little podcast booth. We're kind of crammed in here. Me and Aaron, and it's making her crazy. She can't get in. Doesn't that like it. I just want to close the door because then she'd be scratching on the door.

So. Anyway, if you hear her grumbling. [00:13:00] Moaning and whining the. That's why. Here. Is a fun one. Yep. If you could. Play pickleball with any celebrity. Who would you, who would you pick now? You might surprise you, although it shouldn't. Andrea canning. Is she a pickleball player?

Andrea canning. The Dateline. Yes. No, I just would the play with her. I thought that'd be a joke, but okay. So anybody doesn't know in the audience, we have a tendency to watch Dateline and 48 hours.

[00:13:35] Aaron: Something else that I think if anybody does decide to take this up and they find that that passion for it, there's so much on the internet that they could get about pickleball, about how to play it. There are, as you well know, grace for my, uh, proclivities over the past [00:14:00] year of going onto YouTube. and studying video after video after video.

And it's been unbelievably helpful in terms of helping my game and my progression. So yes, could you hire a coach and could you sign up for a pickleball clinic? Absolutely. If you can afford to do that. I would advise you to do that, but you don't have to. You can learn so much about this game by going online, and the YouTube videos that are out there are very, very good.

detailed. So when somebody does start and they feel like I really like this, God, I still feel a little bit lost. They can get a lot from doing that. And the thing about Pickleball that it's so great, it's a progression. You start off at level A, you're having fun, you're having a blast, but oh, I'd like to be like maybe these other people.

And now that's level [00:15:00] B. And then B wants to be like C, but it never ends. The beauty about this sport, you'll never fully master it. And it's the journey that you take to get there. That's something quite remarkable about Pickleball. You know, also with, uh, with the YouTube element, if you're somebody like me, I am not really interested in, in playing Pickleball, but if I were, I think I would be a little hesitant to show up

[00:15:40] GTS: That first time.

and you can look on YouTube and kind of see what it is and like you can visualize it by going on YouTube and watching some pickleball videos so it can help you sharpen your skills, but it can also just [00:16:00] familiarize you in a very basic way as to what it's about.

[00:16:04] Aaron: And what's also been very remarkable about this, this sport, I think we maybe touched a little bit about how accessible it is, but you have all the generations. So this is the only sport that I can think of where we could play with our, with our kids. daughter, our sons, and then we could also play with the grandkids.

All three could go out tomorrow onto the pickleball court and play. Where else do you have that? You certainly don't have it in baseball. You don't have it in basketball. You don't have it in tennis. Everybody can come out and take part in this. And the other thing I'd like to throw out there, and I think this is important, if anybody was going out and they were playing alone.

And they felt maybe [00:17:00] uneasy and how, who am I going to play with the thing and the beauty of pickleball, unlike other sports where you need in tennis, you need a partner in baseball. You need people to go to play on the team in basketball. Here you go. You go to the court. And you basically take your paddle and you put it against a wall or the rack.

A lot of places will have a rack and then whoever gets called up, that's who you're playing with. So you'll always could be playing with different people. You don't have to worry about having a partner. And what I've noticed about it, do you have a lot of husband and wives that play? Yes, you do. But you have a lot of single people that play.

You have husbands and wives that are there but they don't want to play with each other because they don't want to fight. So it's a huge dynamic there. But anybody that was alone and worried about [00:18:00] would they fit in, this, you will fit in if you go to a pickleball court and I guarantee it after one or two games I think you will be hooked.

It's that addicting.

[00:18:13] GTS: Okay, well, I guess that wraps it up. Anything more to add. Thanks for having me back. I really, really appreciate it. And I hope if anybody in your audience does decide to take up pickleball, that they will. Find the same sort of love. And excitement. That I have found in this sport.

Aaron my sweetheart. Thank you so much for sharing your love of pickleball with us. Before we wrap up, I'm going to leave our listeners with a little encouragement. Uh, if you've been curious about pickleball, because gosh, it's in the news and. It's everywhere. Go check it out. It's easy to find beginner friendly courts, right Aaron?

[00:18:58] Aaron: Yes. And normally there'll be [00:19:00] ambassadors there to help you out and to help you get started. And most communities, these days have local. Clubs that welcome new players. And most importantly, don't be intimidated. Most pickleball players are very welcoming and they're happy to teach beginners.

[00:19:21] GTS: Here's a little pickleball joke for you, Aaron.

I love it.

What do you call a pickleball player? Who always wins. What. A big dill. I love it. I love it. Ah, thanks again, Aaron. And thank you listeners for joining us today. I hope you learned something new and are inspired to give pickleball a try. Until next time. Keep exploring, keep on moving and keep finding joy. In life after 60. I'll see you next time. On 60 [00:20:00] something.