Offbeat Sunday: Thankful for Pickleball

While I am posting this a week late, the RV Picklers had an article called Top 5 Reasons We are Thankful for Pickleball that is worth sharing.

Top 5 Reasons We are Thankful for Pickleball

We truly hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. It seems only fitting that we reflect on why we are so thankful for pickleball.

We moved to The Villages because we were both avid golfers. With over 600 golf holes, The Villages really is a golfer’s paradise. But as we quickly learned, with over 200 pickleball courts it is also pickleball heaven. Over the nine years we have lived, and played, here we have decided we are thankful for pickleball because:

Thanks for a Small Court

There is the obvious reason we are happy pickleball utilizes a smaller court…we are getting older. But there are other reasons as well:

• You can practice in your garage;
• If you trash talk, your partner and opponent will hear it;
• You can set up a temporary net at many campsites;
• When a community converts tennis courts to pickleball you get three times as many places to play; and
• It makes the game more social.

We Appreciate the Social Nature of Pickleball

Perhaps because the pickleball court is small, the game is more social than many sports we have played. Some folks go out for breakfast with fellow picklers after morning play. We have been known to share a beer or two after playing in the late afternoon. Some couples meet each week for “pickleball and dine” events. As we have seen throughout the country, the communities with the best pickleball clubs are those that combine social activities with pickleball. And why not? We all know that social interaction reduces the risk of mental health issues, such as depression, as one grows older.

We are Grateful for Easy to Transport Equipment

Though we play pickleball in our home community, we never miss an opportunity to play when traveling. Since OLGA is a small RV, we are grateful that the paddle and ball don’t take up a lot of space and are lightweight. When we are in our RV, our paddles and balls are stored in collapsible ottomans that act as footrests in front of the couch. We can easily carry our paddle anywhere we go….and typically do!

Thank You Pickleball Tournaments

We both were involved in sports growing up and enjoyed the opportunity to compete. Though I played some competitive amateur golf as an adult, I missed being part of a team…you see, I played fast pitch softball until I was 35. Playing doubles and the fact that there are pickleball tournaments every weekend is one of the reasons we are thankful for pickleball.

Thankful for Pickleball Health Benefits

There is a direct correlation between heath and happiness. And the health benefits of pickleball are well documented. We’ve seen people lose the weight they have tried to shed for years. We know folks that have quit smoking so they can play pickleball longer and better. Improved balance, increased agility, lower blood pressure, improved cardiac health ….are all health benefits associated with exercise and playing pickleball regularly.

Pickleball has enabled us to meet incredible new people and make lifelong friends. Though not listed above, that is inherent in all the reasons we are thankful for pickleball. What about you?