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Eden Prairie Senior Center offers new sport to try

By Karla Wennerstrom

It’s been around since the ’60s, but ask most people if they’ve heard of pickleball, and you’ll get a confused look.

Well, first of all, it does not involve any pickles.

The name, according to the USA Pickleball Association’s www.usapa.org, comes from a cocker spaniel named Pickles, who was the dog of the man who helped invent the sport.

“Whenever a ball would come his way, he would take the ball and run off with it, because you see, it was Pickles’ ball. And that is how the game got its name,” the site states.

The creation of the sport is credited to Joel Pritchard, a Washington congressman, and Bill Bell, a businessman. Barney McCallum helped them create the rules.

They wanted a game the whole family could play.

Local seniors pick it up

The first thing you notice as you approach Pioneer Park behind the Eden Prairie Senior Center is the sound. This is not the usual pop of a tennis game.

Then you see that the group is using blue lines on the court, in a slightly smaller formation than the standard tennis court, the size of a badminton court.

Then, of course, comes the trash talking.

“Trash talking is part of it,” says Jerry Maas, who helps organize pickleball in Eden Prairie.

He’s one of the local seniors who persuaded the city to paint the tennis courts in Pioneer Park for pickleball use.

The net is lowered to 34 inches as well for the game. There are specific pieces of equipment and rules.

Serves must be underhand, according to the rules page. The ball must hit once on each side before it can be volleyed (hit without letting it bounce). A “non-volley zone” is seven feet on either side of the net. This is also known as the “kitchen.” Serves must go beyond the kitchen. You only score when serving and play to 11 points.
Players last Tuesday included Maas, his wife Carol, Orv Askeland, Shirley Jacobs and Bob and Judy Weeks.

Three of the pickleball players learned the game while visiting Florida. The other three learned it in Arizona. The group also plays in Bloomington twice a week.

“Beginners are welcome,” Maas said. “All you need is a pair of tennis shoes.”

A reporter attempting the game found it fun and easy to pick up – as long as the veterans were willing to explain the rules a few times.
Carol said the game is “very, very popular in retirement communities.”

And, added Jacobs, “Pickleball players are just nice folks.”
The USAPA estimates that more than 40,000 people worldwide are addicted to pickleball.

Pickleball participation
A group meets from 9-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from June to September in Pioneer Park, behind the Eden Prairie Senior Center, 8950 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie. You can bring your own equipment, or use the group’s. No experience necessary. Just wear comfortable clothing and white-soled tennis shoes. All ages welcome. For information, call 952-918-0500 (Jerry Maas) or 952-279-8050 (Senior Center).

Some highlights in pickleball history
1967 – The first permanent pickleball court was constructed in Joel Pritchard’s backyard in Seattle, Wash., during the winter of 1967.
1975 – The National Observer published an article about pickleball followed by a 1976 article in Tennis magazine about “America’s newest racquet sport.”
1984 – USAPA “was organized to perpetuate the growth and advancement of pickleball on a national level.” The first rulebook was published in March, 1984.
1990 – By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 states.
2008 – There are now 420 places to play in North American as listed on the USAPA website. This represents 43 States and 4 Canadian Provinces and about 1500 individual courts. This does not take into account those places that are adding courts or the many courts at private homes.
Source: www.usapa.org.