Pickleball: Funny name, serious fun

Jan Merwin used to play tennis. Then she got older and her knees went bad -- bad enough that doctors have recommended that both knees be replaced.

But the urge to compete hasn't gone away, which is why the 63-year-old from Maple Grove drove to Bloomington last week to meet other enthusiasts for two hours of pickleball.

Wearing a salt-stained visor and sunglasses, she smacked a perforated yellow plastic ball back and forth across a net with a wooden paddle, leaping and reaching and jumping in spirited doubles games that left her glistening with sweat when she sat down.

"I don't have the mobility that I used to," she said. "If I play hard, it hurts, and if I don't play hard, it hurts, so I play hard. My doctor says it's good for me. And I love it."

Pickleball is the new game of choice for many seniors who've brought it back to Minnesota from the warmer climes where they winter.

Merwin now meets other pickleball enthusiasts once a week at the Highland Hills tennis courts for two hours of doubles play.

About 50 players, many of them seniors who picked up the game during winter visits to Arizona and Florida, belong to a loose network of pickleball addicts who float between courts in Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie and Lakeville for doubles games five days a week.

According to the USA Pickleball Association, pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. In Minnesota, courts are scattered from New Hope and Plymouth to St. Cloud and Willmar.

Players are evangelistic in their promotion of the game, which is played on a small court similar to a badminton court. Players hit bullet volleys and soft lobs over a low net with what look like oversized Ping-Pong paddles. Serves must be underhand. Play tends to be nonstop, but depending on the players games can be leisurely or intense.

Mike Jennings, a retired Bloomington police officer, sneered when he first saw a pickleball game a few years ago, calling it "a game for sissies." Now, at 60, the Lakeville resident is a ranked doubles player in his age bracket. But one of the things he loves about pickleball is that skilled players can play with kids or rookies and still have fun.

"You can play with a [less skilled] player and instead of angling for lines and corners, you go for shots that challenge them," he said. "In an hour's time you can learn the game and play with someone who has much more experience and still have a ball.

"It's speed and strategy, and it's easy on the joints."

Humble beginnings

Pickleball was founded in Washington state in 1965 almost by accident, according to the national association's website. The game was improvised on a home badminton court by two men looking to entertain their bored families.

They created four wooden paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball and invented rules over the summer, keeping in mind that the game was meant to be played by young and old alike. The name was borrowed from a dog named Pickles who ran off with the ball whenever he could. Thus, "Pickle's ball."

The game today is a big favorite in retirement communities. One complex in Florida has more than 100 courts devoted to pickleball. But in the Twin Cities, no location has more than two pickleball courts, meaning that the informal group that rotates through locations in the western and southern suburbs usually has eight people playing while another eight or 12 or 15 sit in chairs on the sidelines and talk as they wait for their game.

What Jim Klaseus of Bloomington and his friend Don Buenz of Edina would really like is to get a location with six or eight courts where tournaments could be held.

A few years ago, pickleball courts were so scarce in the Twin Cities that Klaseus created makeshift courts by drawing chalk lines on outdoor tennis courts. Then Bloomington agreed to repair and restripe one of its tennis courts at Highland Hills for both tennis and pickleball. Eventually, the companion court there also was repaired for dual use.

This summer, Edina reserved courts at Garden Park for pickleball one morning a week, and Lakeville and Eden Prairie also have courts.

Anywhere from a dozen to 20 players show up each day, with a few players playing every day and others, like Merwin, playing just one day a week.

Bill Bloudek, 84, of Waconia plays every day, driving 29 miles each way to compete at Highland Hills. "It's fun, it's good people, and it's exercise," he said.

Most of the players who circulate among the south metro games didn't know one another until they met at the courts. They welcome newcomers who want to try the game. Games generally are played from 9 to 11 a.m.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, players meet at the Highland Hills courts on Edgewood Road just south of W. 98th Street in Bloomington. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they play in Eden Prairie on courts behind the Senior Center at 8950 Eden Prairie Road. And on Fridays, they compete at Garden Park in Edina and at Dodd Trail Park in Lakeville.

Children as young as 9 have learned the game by playing with the group this summer, Klaseus said. And it's not uncommon in Arizona or Florida to encounter players who are over 90, he said.

"I know one guy who was in the Normandy invasion [in World War II] who shook General Eisenhower's hand," he said. "People want to be active."

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380