Players swap pick-up games for pickleball matches

When Roger McCune walked into the gymnasium at the East Lawrence Recreation Center for his weekly basketball game, he never thought he’d swap his basketball for a pickleball racquet – especially because pickleball was a sport he had never heard of before.

“I came early one time and they were making noise,” McCune says. “They invited us to play, and I got hooked from there.”

Pickleball, a mixture of tennis and badminton, is often viewed as a sport for older adults. However, the pickleball group in Lawrence has attracted players of all ages, from those in their 20s to those 60 years old and older. Evan Jorn, Lawrence ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association, says about six players who usually play basketball have joined in on the pickleball matches, including McCune, who is in his 40s.

“They are a little younger than we are and more energetic,” Jorn says. “They start challenging us more and we get better.”

Alex Ott visited the East Lawrence Recreation Center to work out in the weight room. After seeing a pickleball match, the 24-year-old, who played tennis in high school, thought playing pickleball would be a natural transition. Ott enjoys the fast-paced, competitive nature of the sport, and likes playing the game with other people, no matter their age.


“It’s more entertaining than working out by yourself,” Ott says. “It’s competitive for older people to play, too. I can probably hit the ball harder than the older players but they have a lot more skill.”

Pickleball was created in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, which is near Seattle. Co-inventors U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard, William Bell and Barney McCallum said they invented the sport to provide a fun activity that the entire family could enjoy.

Jorn’s 22-year-old nephew and his friends participate in the pickleball matches every Sunday, and other players often bring their grandchildren to the games.

“It just proves that the games still work as they were designed,” Jorn says. “We have even had teenagers in here from time to time.”

Jorn credits the popularity of the game to its social aspect. Because the size of pickleball courts are much smaller than those of tennis courts, players generally stand only 14 feet apart and are able to talk and joke with each other during the game.

“It’s a blast,” Jorn says. “People are laughing from the beginning to the end of the game.”

Jorn says another attractive element to the game is that it’s relatively easy to learn.

“Unlike tennis, you can be playing well right away,” he says. “It’s easy to keep up an exercise program if what you’re doing is having fun.”


McCune, who, like Ott, used to be a tennis player, prefers pickleball because the smaller courts mean players don’t have to waste time chasing the ball down and are instead able to keep moving. The pickleball group plays games three times a week, and McCune is usually present on all three days. In fact, he’s even chosen pickleball over basketball a few times.

“I’ve missed a few games of basketball because I’ve played this first and got my exercise in,” he says.

To find out more about pickleball options with Lawrence Parks and Recreation, visit www.lawrenceks.org/lprd.