In a pickle: Streetsboro embraces popularity of pickleball with new courts
Streetsboro is the latest community to embrace the the increasingly popular sport of pickleball, a cross between ping pong and tennis.
"Pickleball's the fastest growing sport for [ages] 55 and up in the nation right now," said Greg Mytinger, Streetsboro's Parks and Recreation Director.
While previously working for Canton's park and recreation department, Mytinger — who describes the sport as a cross between ping pong and tennis — said that city added four pickleball courts that proved to be wildly popular
Based on his past experience, the decision to add some courts at 8970 Kirby Lane in Streetsboro's City Park seemed like good sense. The existing tennis courts were modified so they can accommodate both sports.
On Wednesday, a demonstration of the sports was held on the city's new courts. Attendees were given a crash course on rules and technique by two guests intimately familiar with the game.
What is pickleball?
Pickleball is a sport played with what look like oversized table tennis paddles and lime green balls resembling wiffle balls. The court is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide, roughly the size of a badminton court. The play style is similar in nature to tennis with distinctly different rules. Like tennis, it can be played indoors or outdoors.
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Early Wednesday evening, Mytinger was at the courts to set up a pop-up canopy and folding tables stocked with paper plates and condiments. Complimentary hot dogs and pickles were on the menu.
Rebecca Moore was manning the grill. Her organization, Foundation Health Solutions, for whom she's the regional marketer, was providing the refreshments.
The instructors for the evening were Ralph Richard, owner of a pickleball outfitter in Chagrin Falls called Pickleball Trading Post, and Rick Dula, owner and head instructor at North Coast Pickleball in Lyndhurst and USA Pickleball ambassador.
Richard, who's been playing for six years after being exposed to the game at his local YMCA, confirmed the increasing ubiquity of the sport. Where ever he goes, he seems to be able to find someone to play with.
"For example," Richard said, "I was just down in Chapel Hill, North Carolina — our daughter, her family just moved there. I had nothing to do on Monday, I googled 'local pickleball,' found the courts, went over, played about a half a dozen games and I didn't know a soul. People are very welcoming."
He speculated that the sport is growing in popularity for two reasons.
The first is that the country's aging population. As pickleball isn't overly strenuous, it's a popular game for those who might not be as spry as they used to be.
The second reason is the higher profile of the sport, which now features professionals.
The social aspect of the game is something else Richard extolls.
"We're seeing a lot of mixed doubles. In other words, husband and wife, men and women mixing to play. You have an opportunity to develop other friendships," he said.
Dula agreed.
"The nice thing about pickleball, to me, it's got three main tenets," Dula said. "One, it's a very social activity—very, very social; two, you get good exercise, you get as much exercise as you want, cardio included; and three, if you have a little bit of competitive juice in your blood, you can meet all those needs."
During Wednesday's event, Mytinger cut the ribbon at the gate to the fenced in courts after a three count from the crowd. Afterward, Dula stepped in front of the crowd to offer an introduction to the sport.
Dula invited any of the roughly 35 gathered people on to the court to learn the basics.
"We'll go through some of our basic strokes, the serve, dink, forehands and backhands," said Dula. Also covered during the lesson were basic rules and safety advice — wear good shoes and safety glasses.
About 15 of the assembled crowd got onto the court to take an active part in the demonstration.
The split into two groups across two courts, one led by Dula, the other by Richard. For a little over an hour, participants learned how to play. Some took to the game naturally, while others struggled slightly, but everyone seemed to improve over the course of the evening.
From the outset, Dula motivated his students. Success was met with praise for a job well done, and failure with encouragement to try again.
The weather was clear, but a strong wind rushed through the park all day making the balls harder to control. Despite the gusts, the burgeoning pickleballers managed to whip up a few good volleys between themselves.
As the fun was wrapping up, Mytinger said he'd like to see a recreational morning pickleball league form around the new courts.
"I hope that we have so many people out here we have to start scheduling times," he said.
John Steigerwald thought that the event was a good introduction to the sport. He began practicing two or three weeks ago, but hasn't played more than that. Steigerwald, an athlete himself who's nursing a ruptured quad from hiking, figures he'll keep up with the sport.
Kathleen Cassie used the event as a way to return to pickleball after many years away from the game.
"I'm glad they offer this," Cassie said, "because we all need something to do, get us out of the house." She said she's encouraging her friends to play so they can add it to their repertoire of activities.
"We play cornhole over here on Fridays—it's like, okay ladies, we're moving around because from cornhole, we're coming over [to the pickleball courts], and then we'll go play pinochle."
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Streetsboro opens new pickleball courts at community park
