Lessons From Pickleball

This past summer, I (David) played a lot of outdoor pickleball. Several weeks ago, there was a local tournament called the Founder’s Tournament, which had 480 participants from around the world. It is called the Founder’s Tournament because the sport was created in 1965 in our community, which is Bainbridge Island, Washington.

The story of its origin involves a bored teenager who felt victimized by not being with his friends in Seattle. When his dad and his neighbor returned from a round of golf, the teenager whined about his feelings, to which the dad shared that when he was a kid and bored, they made up games. The son retorted, “So make one up!”

The two dads scrounged up a couple of ping pong paddles, along with a plastic wiffle ball, and began hitting the ball back and forth over a badminton net. They soon realized they needed to drop the badminton net down to a lower level. The result? The first game of Pickleball was born that summer afternoon here on Bainbridge Island over 50 years ago!

Back to our recent local tournament. I watched one match with great interest. It was a men’s double tournament and the winner needed to win 2 out of 3 games. The games are played to 11 points. One team was from Bainbridge, the other from a visiting community. Each had won 1 game, and in the third game, the Bainbridge team was up 9 to 0.

Then, one of the members of the visiting team turned to his partner and said, “Let’s take this 1 point at a time.” To everyone’s amazement, the visiting team won! One of the members of the visiting team turned to those of us who were watching through the fence and said in a friendly tone, “Boy, I have really learned in this game that you’ve got to be patient and take it a point at a time.”

His comment sparked some reflections about what I have learned from the origins of the game as well as being an avid pickleball player, myself. Here are some:

• See challenges as opportunities – The dad could have easily reacted to his son’s whining with some sort of reprimand. Instead, he responded as a Creator and he and his friend came up with a creative outcome—and invented the fastest growing sport in the U.S.
• Work with what you have – The dads worked with the resources that were at hand (the paddles, the ball, and the net). When playing pickleball it is important to not force things to happen. Play the ball the way it comes.
• Patience is your partner – Like the tournament player, I have learned to be patient and not rush to make a perfect shot. Taking the game “one shot at a time” is pickleball’s version of taking it a Baby Step at a time.
• Keep your eye on the ball – When I experience an “unforced error,” it is almost always because I have taken my eye off the ball and thought too much about my next shot. Staying present with the moment and playing the ball exactly as it comes to me, is a key to a successful outcome.
• Creating involves community – One of the main reasons that pickleball has exploded in popularity is that it is a game that involves a community of players. While there are certainly levels of skill and competitiveness, my experience is that most everyone laughs while getting some exercise, players encourage each other irrespective of their skill level, and compliment the “other side” when playing this sport.

Pickleball has taught me many lessons and has become a practice field for creating—and enjoyment!