Pickleball no longer just “the game your grandparents play”

Pickleball no longer just “the game your grandparents play”

By Fran Thompson
With help from Gulf Shores Tourism, the City of Gulf Shores will spend $350,000 to build dedicated pickleball courts at Gulf Shores Sportsplex. And that’s good news to Eddie McDonald, president of the Bama Beach Pickleball Club. (You can find a local game at playbyplay.org).
“We are very excited about the courts that are going to be built,’’ McDonald said. “Even though we have some places to play in the area, we have no dedicated, public courts in South Baldwin County.’’
Gulf Shores has invited the Bama Beach Pickleball Club (BBPC) to help plan the facility.
“To have public, dedicated, courts with lights in our community will be fantastic and will also help grow the sport here,’’ McDonald added. “It will also get the attention of people who live in nearby communities who do not have access to public facilities.’’
Although neither Baldwin County nor any of its other municipalities have committed to building pickleball specific courts, it is only a matter of time until they do, according to local players who can produce data that proves pickleball attracts tourists and new residents while providing outlets to a growing number of local citizens who play almost daily.
“We’ve found that many vacationers, summer and winter, search for areas where pickleball is actively played and come to those spots,’’ said Sam Shite of BBPC. “We attract many people here just because of pickleball. Gulf Shores is aware of that.’’
A round-robin tourney earlier this month at the Foley Event Center drew 126 players, including 75 from outside of Alabama. Billed as the Rock ‘n Roll Invitational, the tourney was more about fun than competition. No winners were crowned, and a constant stream of oldies but goodies blared through the FEC’s speakers, giving new meaning to the term break dancing.
More than half of the 126 participants rented accommodations to be here. And as many as 400 mostly out-of-town players have participated in sanctioned regional tourneys on the 12 courts at the Foley Event Center.
OWA has put on the backburner a plan to build 16 covered courts on property they own adjacent to the Event Center, and Foley City Council has at least addressed investing in additional covered courts to attract additional tourneys.
Apparently, there is something addicting about the distinct pop of a perforated plastic ball hitting the sweet spot in the center of a paddle.
“One thing I’ve learned about the game is that many seniors really get hooked and cannot play enough,’’ Shite said.
Pickleball is still considered by some to be the sport of grandparents, but it is also gaining in popularity among middle aged folks and athletes who no longer view it as a major step down from doubles tennis.
Shite says pingpong is the sport’s closest cousin.
There is even talk about pickleball at the Olympics. The number of countries that are part of the International Pickleball Federation, 37, has more than doubled in the past 18 months. The number required to have federations to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee is 70. If pickleball grows during the next two years at its current pace, it will reach that number before the 2024 Olympic Games.
According to the Sport and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball participation grew by a whopping 21 percent last year.
No longer the “Fastest Growing Sport Nobody Ever Heard Of,’’ pickleball has had an incredible 650 percent increase in players from 2013-2019.
Described as a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, the sport can be played by singles or in pairs, either indoors or outside. Like most racquet sports, the idea is to get the ball over the net and prevent your opponent from hitting it back.
New players can learn the basic rules quickly in a single session. No special apparel is needed. Equipment is inexpensive. And it can become a fast-paced, competitive game for experienced players.
As Shite mentioned, the game has developed a passionate following due to its friendly, social nature, and its multi-generational appeal. It is particularly popular in school P.E. programs (which the BBPC supports) and in adult living communities.
The kitchen refers to the no-volley zone and dinking is a soft shot that sends an opposing player scrambling towards the net.
Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum are credited with inventing the game to entertain bored children using whatever equipment they could find in 1965 during a summer vacation on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The first official pickleball tournament was held in 1975.
According to McCallum, the game was officially named after the Pritchards’ dog Pickles, who would chase the ball and run off with it.
The sport’s attraction is its egalitarian nature. Unlike tennis or golf, you can get on a pickleball court and within an hour or so play well enough not to embarrasss yourself, especially since it is usually very easy to find someone of the same skill level at open play days at South Baldwin facilities such as churches, recreation centers and RV parks.
Plus, pickleball players love to meet other pickleball players and often serve as ambassadors for the sport, helping raise awareness or organizing tourneys.
“It is amazing right now. There is a tournament within 150 miles just about every week,’’ Shite said.
While pickleball is growing fast, its 4.1 million players are still a fraction of the 21.5 million who play tennis. The growth among the 68 plus million people that identify as Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2015) is driving pickleball’s growth in America.
The sport is governed by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPickleball.org), which maintains the rules, promotes the sport, sanctions tournaments, and provides player rankings. USA Pickleball lists places to play all over the country on its dedicated website, places2play.org. According to SFIA, approximately 67 new pickleball locations are added to the list every month.
The first national championship was held in 2009 in Buckeye, Arizona. Over 400 players participated in divisions for all ages.
By 2019, the Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden drew more than 2,000 registered players who competed for $80,000 in prize money, the largest cash purse in the history of the sport at that time. The national tourney is back at Indian Wells this year from November 6-13.
McDonald, the beloved local head honcho, is relentless in his promotion of the sport. A former educator and coach, the 60 year old picked up the sport during a post retirement year spent in Montana. His partner in the 4.0 division is a local teenager he taught to play. He and his wife, Jean, both play every day, mostly indoors at the Church of Christ in Gulf Shores, where two sessions are held daily during snowbird season.
By charging a very reasonable $3 per session per player, the church earns as much as $10,000 per month from players utilizing its courts.
“My job is to promote the sport and find places for people to play,’’ McDonald said.
The SFIA reported in 2020 that there were 4.2 million pickleball players in the US, with just over 60 percent of them being men. The average age for all players is 38.
America’s 4.2 million pickleballers represent only 1.38 percent of the population, but it is no longer a niche sport. USA Pickleball was among those sponsoring the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series at the Michigan International Speedway that was broadcast on FOX Sports. Broadcaster Chris Myers mentioned during the telecast that he was an avid pickleball player.
The 300 plus member Bama Beach Club has been around about five years and its members pay $20 a year dues, which allows them to participate in nationally sanctioned tourneys.
Before that, there was the Coastal Alabama Pickleball Club, which was founded in 2015 by Bob Webb, who had played table tennis at a high level in San Diego before moving to South Baldwin County.
“I loved the game, but there was no place to play except for one little court on County Rd. 4,’’ Webb said. “There were not many people at first and then the snowbirds arrived and we got up to 70 or 80.’’
Webb spent many hours failing to convince Foley City Council to donate land for courts adjacent to

the Farmer’s Market. But he was able to convince then Foley Sports Tourism Director Don Staley to paint pickleball stripes on the floor of the Foley Event Center, which eventually led to regional tourneys at the site.
He started the casual Coastal Alabama Pickleball Assn. and it grew to more than 700 members, who had only to send Webb their email address in order to join.
Webb had architectural plans and investors lined to build a 16 court outdoor stadium that included a bar and grill and the possibility of expanding to 32 courts.
“I knew the sport was exploding around the country, but I couldn’t get anybody to bite,’’ said Webb, who eventually sent his plans to a fellow pickleball ambassador who worked in tourism for the City of Opelika, where the courts were built and huge tourneys are now held monthly.
The McDonalds would not have moved to Gulf Shores if there was not already an active pickleball scene here and Webb, also an official pickleball ambassador, assured him there was. Little did he know at the time that he would contract a muscle disorder and soon be confined to a wheelchair.
Luckily, McDonald was willing to take on a leadership position.
“At the time I did not think I had long to live and I needed someone to replace me,’’ Webb said. “Eddie stepped up and he has just done a marvelous job. He is the perfect person to perpetuate the sport of pickleball in the area. He loves it on the basic level of just loving to play. And he was able to bring a six state regional here in the second year he had the club going. I take my hat off to him.’’
“I wanted it to be free to join,’’ Webb said. “We had a club tourney once a year with doubles and mixed doubles. That went on for about three years and then I turned it over to Eddie.’’

Webb said to his knowledge, one of his club’s original members, Gene Bieber, built the first pickleball court in South Baldwin by stripping an RV parking lot. Bieber dropped dead at 84 years old while putting on his sneakers to meet friends for round-robin games at a church on County Rd. 4. Webb said he played with Bieber a couple days prior and he was on fire.
“It was the Sunday before he died and I had never seen him play so well,’’ Webb said. “He was 84, but he could play the game and he hated to lose. That last game was probably the best I’ve ever seen him play in the three years I had known him. He was a fine gentlemen.
Webb said Bieber’s wife would drop him off right at the door of the church where they played, as he could not walk very well. The other players would make sure there was a plush chair for her to sit on while cheering her husband on.
He said his best memory of Bieber and possibly his involvement in the sport was the time they paired the 84 year old with an eight year old for match play.
“He was a little lefthander and he could play with the best of them. We paired him with Gene as partners and they just mopping everybody up. It was great.’’
Webb said more than playing he misses more than playing the sport is being around other players.
“Rather than get upset when they have to wait until they can play, pickleball players just sit down and get to know one another. It’s heartwarming to see how people smile and mingle and get to know each other.
Shite agrees wholeheartedly. “There is a social aspect to it. We have a good time,’’ he said.
Eddie and Joan McDonald would not have even moved to Gulf Shores if there was not already an active pickleball scene here. And he is always ready to spread the gospel.
“We tell people, if they want to play, we have paddles. We have balls. Jut show up and start playing,’’ he said.
“There is not the learning curve there is in tennis or other sports. It’s easy to learn. And it’s addictive. It really is,’’ added Shite. “There is not a lot of running. It’s a sport where you can put an eight year old and an 88 year old out there and it can be competitive.’’
All my friends in the area originated from pickleball,’’ Webb said. “It’s such a social sport and one that anybody can play.’’
the Farmer’s Market off of County Rd 20, a stone’s throw from the Foley Event Center.
But he was able to convince then Foley Sports Tourism Director Don Staley to paint pickleball stripes on the floor of the Foley Event Center, which eventually led to regional tourneys at the site.
Webb started the casual Coastal Alabama Pickleball Assn. in 2015 and it grew to more than 700 members, who had only to send Webb their email address in order to join.
“I wanted it to be free to join,’’ Webb said. “We had a club tourney once a year with doubles and mixed doubles. That went on for about three years and then I turned it over to Eddie.’’
Webb drafted architectural plans and lined up investors to build a 16 court covered outdoor stadium type facility that included a bar and grill and the possibility of expanding to 32 courts.
“I knew the sport was exploding around the country, but I couldn’t get anybody to bite,’’ said Webb, who eventually sent his plans to a fellow pickleball ambassador who worked in tourism for the City of Opelika, where the courts were built and huge tourneys are now held monthly.
The McDonalds would not have moved to Gulf Shores if there was not already an active pickleball scene.
Eddie McDonald called Webb, also an official pickleball ambassador, who assured him South Baldwin was home to a thriving pickleball community.
Little did Webb know at the time that he would contract a muscle disorder and soon be confined to a wheelchair, ending his pickleball career.
Luckily for local players, McDonald was willing to take on a leadership position.
“At the time I did not think I had long to live and I needed someone to replace me,’’ Webb said. “Eddie stepped up and he has just done a marvelous job. He is the perfect person to perpetuate the sport of pickleball in the area. He loves it on the basic level of just loving to play.
“And he was able to bring a six state regional here in the second year he had the club going. I take my hat off to him,’’ he added.
Webb said to his knowledge, one of his club’s original members, Gene Bieber, built the first pickleball court in South Baldwin by painting stripes on an RV parking lot.
Bieber dropped dead at 84 years old while putting on his sneakers to meet friends for round-robin games at a church on County Rd. 4. Webb said he played with Bieber a couple days prior and he was on fire.
“It was the Sunday before he died and I had never seen him play so well,’’ Webb said. “He was 84, but he could play the game and he hated to lose. That last game was probably the best I’ve ever seen him play in the three years I had known him. He was a fine gentleman.’’
Webb said Bieber’s wife would drop him off right at the door of the church where they played, as he could not walk very well.
The other players would make sure there was a plush chair for her to sit on while cheering for her husband.
He said his best memory of Bieber and possibly his time spent playing the sport was the time they paired the 84 year old with an eight year old boy for match play.
“He was a little lefthander and he could play with the best of them. We paired him with Gene as partners and they were just mopping everybody up. It was great,’’ he said.
More than playing the sport, Webb misses being around other players.
“Rather than get upset when they have to wait until they can play, pickleball players just sit down and get to know one another,’’ he said. “It’s heartwarming to see how people smile and mingle.’’
You could make a point that playing pickleball is as much about lifestyle as it is about sport.
Shite agrees wholeheartedly. “There is definitely a social aspect to it. We have a good time,’’ he said.
“There is not the learning curve there is in tennis or other sports. It’s easy to learn. And it’s addictive. It really is,’’ added Shite. “There is not a lot of running. It’s a sport where you can put an eight year old and an 88 year old out there and it can be competitive.’’
“All my friends in the area originated from pickleball,’’ Webb said. “It’s such a social sport and one that anybody can play.’’
McDonald is always ready to spread the gospel.
“We tell people, if they want to play, we have paddles. We have balls. Just show up and start playing,’’ he said