Off Topic Discussions

[Key-J]

So, as some of you might remember from the 2022 Holiday Gift thread, my wife ended up unexpectedly getting me a Pickleball set for Christmas. She knows I love Tennis, so she thought this would be a great option for me to play in the wintertime.

Well, last week I finally did the thing:

I have to say, as much as I didn't want to. I had a lot of fun playing it. The sport was really easy to pick up, and the night before I went to play I just watched a youtube video on "How to play pickleball"

Since it is the "fastest growing sport in North America" I was wondering if anyone else here had played it?

My favourite part of the night was after the first game we played, my partner and I won. A player from the other side asked how long everyone had been playing, the average answer was about a year. When it got to my turn to respond I said: "About however long this match lasted". 🤣

[Wally_AMD]

I'm going to need your wife to shoot a highlight reel of your greatest plays. I really want to try pickleball, but I don't have a partner and feel shy going up to a court alone and trying to play with randoms when I've never played before. 

Might try to find some kind of beginner league around me.

[Key-J]

Hahahahah, no one would want to see that!

That is actually what I did, I signed up for my City's rec league - sort of a sign-up / drop-in friendlies. So I was paired with random people and we rotated out every match. I picked a beginner league too.

[johnnyenglish]

I can't believe I'm actually knowing this for the first time. 😲

Looks cool, I've played tennis when I was younger, at those school competitions they had back then. Badminton and table tennis.

[Key-J]

I'm playing again tonight. I would actually compare it to being very similar to Table Tennis, just on a larger scale.

[Axxemann]

So is it like a mashup between ping pong, tennis, badminton and something else? I was only moderately decent at badminton. I found tennis to be too hard to get good ball control on, same with ping pong. This was back as a teenager, and I hadn't quite fully grasped the mantra of "Power is nothing without control."

[Key-J]

Yeah I would say Ping Pong and Tennis together make this game.

[Axxemann]

Gotcha. I was only moderately decent at badminton because I could keep my opponent buried deep in the back of their court and just keep smashing the shuttle at their feet. I was particularly nasty at volleyball for similar reasons. But I dropped all the sports that involved a ball and net when I discovered Rugby in 10th grade. Perfect place for me to channel my aggression 😄

[Sam_AMD]

I'm a huge tennis fan. I played it in college for a couple of years and used to play every Saturday morning with a friend of mine. He moved to Miami, and I stopped playing. Darn! 

I've been thinking about Pickleball for a while as it is becoming increasingly popular here, but I just haven't had the time. What's the scoring system like? And do you play it with regular tennis balls?

[Key-J]

These are the Pickleball balls:

They are similar to a Wiffle Ball if you have ever held one of those.

There are two versions, an outside version that is slightly harder with smaller holes and an indoor version that is slightly softer with larger holes.

I have to admit I have been having fun playing Pickleball! The scoring system sounds complicated, but it is easy really.

It is made of 3 numbers.

X - Y - Z

X Being the current serving team's score

Y Being the opposing team's score

Z Being the current server. (1 or 2)

So if we were leading 5 - 4 and I was the second person on our team to serve, the score would be 5 - 4 - 2

If the opposite team was leading 7 - 3 and you as the first server on our team were serving it would be 3 - 7 - 1

You have to win by 2 points, but the standard set lasts to 11 points. You can only score a point when your side is serving. 

If I ever make it down to Texas we can always try to hit either the Tennis or Pickleball court!

[rico1]

That’s awesome! It’s great to hear you enjoyed your first Pickleball experience. It’s such a fun and accessible sport, isn’t it? Your story about how long you’ve been playing made me laugh – it's always satisfying to surprise people with beginner’s luck!

I’ve been playing for a while now, and I love how quickly you can improve. Do you think you’ll keep playing? Any plans to join a local league or play more regularly?