By Irene Fraties

This December issue of the newsletter is not only the last of the year 2011, but my last as editor. I've enjoyed getting to meet a number of you through the stories you've sent and in face to face meetings at a number of tournaments over the last two years.  Your kind words along the way have always been music to my ears.  Knowing that you enjoy receiving and reading this newsletter has been the best payback I could get for my efforts.

And thanks for all your contributions to the content of this newsletter.  Your stories about introducing pickleball and starting programs where there were none before are motivational.  Your stories about how you raise funds when no public funds are available are inspirational.  Your stories that talk about players ranging in age from young kids to 90 year olds are affirming.  And your stories about the fun and fellowship that people always enjoy when they're playing make me smile.  I'm leaving this position with renewed belief in the strength of the membership to accomplish challenging goals and in the tremendous potential for growth in this sport.

In this issue I'll introduce you to the new e-newsletter staff.  The three folks named here will be the prime members of the committee, but several of you have already expressed interest in being ongoing contributors, what we might call regional or special interest reporters.   That's great! Keep those ideas and stories coming!

You'll meet a second new member of the Board of Directors in this issue - the new Director of the Ambassador Program.   Our thanks to Doc Rampacek, the outgoing Director, for his service in that capacity.  And welcome to our newest volunteer on the Board, Christie Borne.

Just one more note of highlights in this issue.  In the spirit of keeping you informed about some of the work our Board members do, we have an article from David Jordan on some key activities of the Marketing and Sales Chair.  And thanks to Earl Hill, we have some fascinating accomplishments from the Ambassador Program.  And as an end of year reminder, the Jordans reiterate for us why we should encourage all our pickleball-playing friends to become members of the USAPA.

As always, we also have your stories, from the wonderful programs with youth that have been put into place in Ogden, Utah to an incredible 90-year old who still plays pickleball. Hope you enjoy the issue.

Keep pickling on!

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The USAPA Board would like to welcome the new USAPA e-newsletter committee.  Publisher will be Jennifer Lucore from Oceanside, California; Editors will be Linda and Lynn Laymon.

Jennifer has owned her own company, Upstream Marketing, since 2002, specializing in helping medium size businesses and individual owners with all their marketing needs.  She has over 21 years of experience creating and managing strategic marketing tools.

She is both a competitive tennis player at the national level and a competitive pickleball player, having won three medals in the Open division of the just completed USAPA National Pickleball Tournament.  She learned about pickleball from playing with her parents - Bev and Bob Youngren.

As the Publisher, Jen will be responsible for the overall layout, coordination, graphic design and delivery of the newsletter.

After 20-year corporate careers Lynn and Linda Laymon seized the buyout opportunity, sold their worldly possessions and headed for the Caribbean and later Hawaii to teach scuba diving.  Twenty-five years later they earn a living contributing to scuba diving, RV and restaurant publications.  Since 1991 hundreds of their monthly articles and photographs have appeared in magazines worldwide.

Combined with 14 years of casual and tournament pickleball play, their journalism backgrounds make Lynn and Linda perfectly suited to take on the task of USAPA newsletter editors.

Currently Lynn and Linda spend the winter months at Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, Arizona and the remainder of the year traveling in their motor coach to pickleball tournament venues across America.  The Laymons will be responsible for collecting and editing all the articles for the newsletter.  They will appreciate your continuing to submit your news, views and ideas  to them via the USAPA Contacts page.

The Board is pleased to have these new volunteers share their talents with our membership.

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Christie Borne is a USPTA certified wheelchair and able-bodied teaching professional who has been creating quality grass-roots family tennis programs since 1996.  She has thirty-five years of broad-based tennis experience encompassing competitive tennis tournament play, seminar speaking, private/public school system instruction focusing on professionalism, teamwork, character, and sportsmanship with quality programming for adults and children.

She has been published in multiple issues of ADDvantage Magazine, and was runner-up for a National Tennis Industry Award.   Christie created Call T' Court Tennis which takes tennis into neighborhood cul-de-sacs, and co-authored The Opportunity to Go to the Next Level, an after-school USTA tennis manual for coaches.

Although Christie doesn't like pickles, especially the sweet ones, she has changed her sport to the "real" dill - pickleball!  While jogging the track above the three empty gymnasiums at the Cypress Creek Family YMCA in Houston, Texas, she envisioned utilizing the space with this new game she knew very little about.  After speaking with Jim Bauser, ambassador from Houston, and Bob Halpin from Arizona, she caught the craze for pickleball.  Her knowledge and skills in tennis have given her the tools to implement beginning-to-advanced pickleball lessons.

After all these years, her vision still remains - developing each player's skills to their highest potential, motivating and challenging players through quality match play and lessons, and initiating and establishing new pickleball facilities around the city.

Great to have you on board, Christie!

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Submitted by Earl Hill, Assistant Director of the USAPA Ambassador Program

The common theme in all Regions this year was introducing our great game to Middle School/Junior High and High School Students.

The most significant success in this focus on youth drive has been in Ogden UT, where Ambassadors John and Karen Gullo, supported by Tim Finger of St. George UT, have worked with the Ogden School District to make pickleball a mandatory part of their P.E. program for their six high/junior high schools.  In addition, the Ogden YMCA will conduct pickleball activities in four after-school programs. The result of these efforts will expose our great game to over 8,000 students in the current school year!  (Editor's Note: See the article below "Kids Are Playing in Ogden, Utah" for more detail on this story.)

In all Regions, more and more pickleball venues have been added.  Along with establishing these new venues, our Ambassadors and their associates conduct Beginner clinics to introduce new players to pickleball every day.

Here are a few more highlights from the year:

- Eleven tournaments/activities in the Atlantic South Region raised funds to benefit elderly/special needs groups and other charities.
- A pickleball themed cruise from NYC to Bermuda, organized by CA clubs, attracted 60 Players from 16 states.  Activities included every-day play, a tournament, and a clinic conducted for students from several school districts.
- Players Jeff Baker and Justin Lawrence, employees of the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center (Florida), played pickleball for 24 hours straight, establishing a record for longest continuous play in the Guinness Book of Records!
- Players in Surprise AZ, when told by the City Council they had to contribute $25,000 to cover the cost of converting two tennis courts to eight pickleball courts, formed an Association and - within 90 days - raised $20,000!

Which Region has the most significant number of members, Ambassadors and venues?  One first thinks of the states of Arizona, Florida or Washington.  Wrong!  We are proud to announce that the Great Lakes Region, primarily Michigan, is home to 517 USAPA members, 123 Ambassadors and 329 courts!

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By David Jordan, USAPA Marketing and Sales Chair

Marketing is the arm of the USAPA that is responsible for informational material developed to help promote the sport and give local ambassadors the information they need to properly introduce and develop the game in their area.  This includes, but is not limited to, brochures, DVDs (both an adult and youth version), rule books, and banners.

Our budget for this year was just under $5,000. Since most of the material we develop is sent out at no charge to the individual or ambassadors, our monies are supplied from the general budget. See pie chart in the August e-newsletter financial information in this PDF file.

Since January of 2011, Marketing has provided the following:

- Brochures:  We distributed over 4,000.
- Adult DVDs:  We distributed around 170.
- Youth DVDs:  We ordered 500 and distributed around 50. (This program just started in May 2011.)
- Banners:  We ordered 40 and distributed around 30.

We also set up a booth at the National Senior Games in Houston, TX for two weeks where we had two courts available for play and introduced the game to over 700 new players.

USAPA booths were also set up by us at seven different tournaments across the country.  We try to get the broadest geographical coverage we can with our personal involvement at tournaments.

If we can help you with any promotional material please let us know by contacting me at davidjordan55@msn.com.

Happy Holidays

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Submitted by John Gullo, USAPA Ambassador for Northern Utah

John Gullo, ambassador for Northern Utah announced some great news recently.  The mayor of Ogden and the Superintendent of Ogden Schools have collaborated and, with funding from the American Dream Foundation, will implement pickleball as a mandatory PE program in all Ogden Schools, 5th through 12th grade.

But it doesn't stop there.  Ogden City Recreation will form Club Pickleball for youth in the city and run tournaments for all youth.

But it doesn't stop there.  After school programs will also begin at the same time in 4 YMCAs, 3 Boys & Girls Clubs and Youth Impact program.

A total of 17 programs will be active this year.   The schools and programs are being supplied 4 USAPA nets, 45 paddles and 45 balls per program.  The Ogden Pickleball Association has developed a PE training program/lesson plan and, in association with ADF and Tim Finger from Pickleball Now, the group has developed a video for PE teachers to train with.  The program begins this November.  In early October Dennis Forbes and Tim Finger ran a training program for all PE Teachers and after school mentors.

Terry Corbrige, Ogden Pickleball Association Trainer, stated that club members will be assisting PE Teachers with instruction at the schools and after school programs.  This is in addition to what has been already started with special needs students in Ogden.  By the end of the school year we hope to have over 8,000 students playing the game.

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By Bill Booth, USAPA President

Thank you! More than 2100 of you have already completed the pickleball research survey. We truly appreciate your collaboration in this project.

If you have not yet been able to participate, you still can. Simply click on this link [Note: survey was closed two weeks after publication of the newsletter]. It takes about 15 minutes.

The Results: We're learning a great deal from the survey responses about your motivation for participating in pickleball, your competitive behavior, and your views of pickleball. Once the survey is finished and we have analyzed the results, we will be sharing the findings with you. We will also publish our response to many of the comments and suggestions.

We are grateful to CUNEF University and Dr. Michael Hess, professor of sport marketing and management, for designing and sponsoring the survey at no cost to the USAPA.

Submitted by Rock Kane

Editor's Note: Dino is Rock Kane's father. Rock and husband Pat are long time pickleballers themselves and regulars on the pickleball tournament circuit. Don't we all hope that we can emulate Dino and continue to enjoy playing pickleball at 90 years of age??!!

Dad started playing pickleball in Bellevue, Washington around 23 years ago, when it was starting to become semi-popular.   He thought it was a great sport for him.   He was 67 at that time.  He played in some tournaments then too.

Dino's Mom and Dad came over from Italy, before Dad was born, so Dad grew up in Seattle speaking only Italian until he went to grade school......then to Franklin High where he met Mom, who also is Italian.

After school he went into the Navy in WWII.  When he came back home, he worked at Borracchini's Bakery in Seattle with his younger brothers, who are now in their late 80's.  At one time I remember my Dad working two jobs to make life easier for us, but he still took us camping and hiking every weekend while we were growing up...even into our teens....so he was never at a loss for energy and living life.

He has always had fun playing with my husband Pat and Mark Friedenberg.  He still has a great shot down the line that gets them every time.  Approximately 5 years ago, I talked him into coming down for the ASO (Arizona Senior Olympics) tournament.  He won Gold!!!!

Dino had a knee replacement last year and was mad because he couldn't play for awhile...go figure!!

He still cooks Italian every day and will have several people over at a time and make them dinner.  He keeps up the house and helps my Mom, Teresa....who is a wonderful woman in her own right.  She also will be turning 90 in February.

There is so much more to the story, but it's not over yet to tell it.  We're hoping for more years of love and fun for Dad and Mom.   I believe their secret to life has always been a great sense of humor.....the ability to laugh at life thru some pretty dark times.

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Submitted by Fred Stratton

Editor's note: Pickleball players come in many flavors. Some people are fierce competitors who love tournaments and some just want to have fun and fellowship in a friendly, social game where rules are not so important.  Here's an example of the latter who came up with way to address the issue of too many players for available courts.

Allen Guidry is one of the pioneers of pickleball in the Lafayette, LA area.  This sport has continued to grow in popularity over the years.  Because of the growing number of players in our area and the limited number of courts available, we are having trouble getting enough playing time.

The problem is common when pickleball is first introduced and the inevitable spurt of growth outpaces facilities.  Allen Guidry was the person with a novel solution to our problem.

To get more people involved in playing the game more quickly, Allen devised a new concept using two teams of three players.  That enabled us to support eighteen players on three courts instead of just twelve.  We play with three people on each side; two people up front and one covering the back section of the court.  However this alignment of the three players is not mandatory.   The team decides how to position the three players.

We use rally scoring to twenty-one points, so a point is scored at every fault, regardless of which team is serving.  This also helps to make the games move along more quickly.  After a fault, all players on each side rotate clockwise.  This rotation means that any player will always serve to the same person on the other team.  When the serving team faults, that side yields the serve to the other team after the rotation of the players.

Also unique about this game is that we find that different rated players can all play on one team and possibly still win a game against a stronger team.  But more important than winning is the good fellowship that occurs. Win or lose we have fun.

In September Allen, with the help of P.J. Boudreaux and others, put on a tournament using this format.  We played round robins of 2 games to 15, using rally scoring.  The tournament was a success, even though no medals or ribbons were given to the winners.  The atmosphere was electric with fun and excitement; a memory not easily forgotten.

Thanks to Allen Guidry, our mentor and coach, for his creative approach to solving our court shortage problem in a positive, fun way.  While he still, at 78 years of age, spends his time and energy teaching us skills and strategy so that we play our best, the emphasis he brings to the sport is on fun and participation and good fellowship.  Allen is a true ambassador of pickleball.   His mission and vision of promoting this wonderful sport will be his legacy and our everlasting gift.  We are honored to have such a person in our midst.

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- Kona, Hawaii
Submitted by Bob Courtney

"We are making slow but sure headway here in Kona, Hawaii."

Jovon and Bob Courtney got a feature front sports page article in "West Hawaii Today" on their new pickleball program started at the Kona County Park. The couple, who have lived in Kona for the past five years, were recently named the Big Island Ambassadors to the sport by the USA Pickleball Association.

Courtney said they've been trying to garner more attention and participation for the past three years.  During that time, the County Parks and Recreation Department allowed them to begin utilizing the outdoor basketball courts next to Kekuaokalani Gym at the Old Kona Airport Park.  In November, a group of volunteers (made up of Pete Pleban, Noel Klawe, Tom Griffiths, Dante Lopardo, Nancy Sommers, Brad Davis, Tom Brainerd, Jason Weighter and the Courtneys) painted three regulation-sized courts and installed a removable net system, so the courts can be used for basketball when not being used for pickleball.  The courts have been set aside for pickleball on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

"It's great having permanent courts," Courtney said. "For the past three years we'd draw the lines using chalk. So each time it rained we'd have to draw them all over again."

In addition to the group the Courtneys have put together, pickleball is also being taught and played at the Holua Tennis Center at 3 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as well as 8 a.m. Fridays.

If the saying "build-it-and-they-will come" is true, the Courtneys expect to get more players soon.

- Miller, South Dakota

Submitted by Glenn Ramsey

I'm 64 years old and from Miller, South Dakota.  Through fall of the year, all the farmers and folks in farm related jobs are working 12-16 hours a day, 7 days a week  to harvest their corn, wheat, sunflowers and soybeans.  Not much time for anything else.  But summer and winter are a different story.

Last winter. my wife and I took our first try at going south for the winter.  For two months we rented a place at Happy Trails in Surprise AZ.   For exercise, I attempted to revive my racquetball playing and found I couldn't compete with the 30 year old kids that showed up to play.  This is what led me to pickleball.  I played in round robins three hours about every morning.  After 2 months in AZ we went to Mission, TX and I also found a place to play there.

By the end of last winter after all that great play, I just couldn't quit cold turkey.  When I got back to South Dakota, I talked to our local school and got permission to use a small gym three mornings a week.   I ordered and paid for one complete set of pickleball equipment.   I contacted the area ambassador from Pierre, SD and through him I borrowed a second set.  From there I ran an ad in the local paper and went around town with my laptop and Demo Disk ,sitting down individually with anyone who would listen.  The first morning I had three people show up and I gave my first lesson.   As they say, the rest is history.

We have had about 20 people show up so far with around 12-15 who play at least weekly.  The ages of our players range from 30-65.  You can tell we have some dedicated players, as we play at 6:00 a.m. three days a week. I  have recently reserved the gym for Friday evenings and plan on scheduling a couple of hours then for people who can't make the morning sessions.

In the spring I applied for a grant from Miller Area Community Foundation, which administers charitable gifts to programs to promote the social and economic well-being of the people of Miller and the surrounding area.  At the end of October, our club was awarded a check for $500.   I was reimbursed for the pickleball set I had bought and we ordered our second set so we could return the borrowed one.

I expect now that harvest is completed and cold weather is setting in, more people will be looking for some exercise and the numbers of pickleball players will grow. Not bad results so far for a town with a population around 1,500.

- Canton, Georgia

Submitted by Ann Earley

The North Georgia Pickleball Club recently held their annual Halloween Tournament, despite chilly weather and threat of rain.  Hosts Tom and Ann Earley provided an excellent venue and delectable home-made goodies.  The tournament began with a "Grand Opening Ceremony" featuring tenor Pastor Ken Terrell singing the National Anthem and the Teasley Middle School Air Raiders conducting the  flag ceremony and rifle team presentation.

Prizes for tournament winners were creative.   "Most Improved" team won yodeling pickles.  The "Good Sport" award was a pottery pickle bowl.  The category winners received truffles made by a local chocolatier.  Bocce, the Earley's standard poodle and the official Atlantic South Region Pickleball Mascot, was in attendance during the tournament as line judge.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

- Indian Land, South Carolina

Submitted by Frank Kinder, USAPA Ambassador to Indian Land, SC

The Sun City Carolina Lakes (SCCL) Pickleball Club in Indian Land, SC not only taught pickleball to Indian Lakes Middle School (ILMS) students, they also donated two portable nets to help jump start the program.

USAPA member Luis Lopez organized the event held the last week in October.  Several members of the SCCL Club worked with students during daily physical education classes.  USAPA nets were purchased by the Club and donated during a presentation ceremony following the weeklong event.  Pictured at right are Luis and USAPA ambassador Frank Kinder presenting the new nets to ILMS Principal David McDonald, along with Physical Education teachers Jessica Hardy and Kevin Mager, as students patiently stand by.

- Eloy, Arizona

Submitted by Nancy Friedman

Robson Ranch Pickleball Club is pleased to announce the upcoming addition of 12 new pickleball courts in our Eloy, AZ community!  The courts are scheduled to be completed January 2012.  Upon completion we will have 16 state-of-the-art pickleball courts.  Stay tuned for future postings of our ribbon cutting ceremony and upcoming events.

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By David & Nancy Jordan, USAPA Board Members

As we travel around the country and meet all the wonderful people that play pickleball, the question that is often asked is "Why should I belong to the USAPA? I don't play tournaments."

There is no single answer to the question because for every person there may be a different reason to belong.  Our first response is that it allows for the promotion and growth of the sport.  Without your membership dollars there would be no USAPA, thus no organization to manage the game's integrity.

The USAPA and its Board (all volunteers) have been responsible for the development of a consistent set of rules, the establishment of a National Tournament, management of a grant program that puts up to $20,000 dollars a year back into the development of new pickleball venues all across the country, the development of a simple portable net system that has supported the growth of pickleball so it can be played just about anywhere, monitoring the development of equipment so the game does not change in its simplicity and keeping you informed of activities all around the country and the world via this e-newsletter.   These are just a few of the Board's responsibilities and the use of membership dollars.

On average, each of your Board members puts in around 20+ hours a week.   Why do we do it?   It is simple.  We all love the game that helps keep us feeling younger, in better physical shape, and provides the ability to socialize with the best sports family there is.   Without your membership dues none of this could be possible.

For you personally, what is in it for you?   You would have to answer that for yourself.   This is the way one of our newest board members, Treasurer Dan Ellsworth, put it.  After being a member of the (volunteer) Board of Directors for about 10 months, he said "it gives me a better perspective on the number of regional volunteers this Board coordinates as well as the other benefits of promoting the sport.   Without the Board's coordination (and membership fees pay for testing paddles, testing balls, funding grants, tournament insurance, supporting promotional events, business cards/banners for ambassadors, etc.), our volunteer base would dissolve.   Without the volunteer base, this sport would not have any momentum.  Nor would you have the ability to look up an area that you are traveling to/through and meet up with some great folks and play pickleball.  Not only play pickleball, but play to the same rulebook throughout the organized countries (this effort alone took several hundreds of volunteer hours!).  All of that (and much more!) is built with a membership base."

Sure, there are other benefits to being a member beside those listed above --- like a great T-shirt, discounts at Motel 6, free membership into Working Advantage Discount Network (a discount on-line shopping network), secondary insurance at tournaments if you get hurt, and discounts at some tournaments.  As we grow and work toward obtaining a national pickleball sponsor, you will see additional benefits added to this list.

If you are like us and love to meet new people and play a great sport, then encourage your fellow players to support the development of pickleball by joining the USAPA.   What a great Christmas gift.

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By Barbara Wintroub

Remember when "they" used to tell us to "Move It or Lose It" and we said sure, sure --- then we laughed?  Well, as we grow older, that mantra is extremely important to live by.

Sit in a chair (preferably a low chair) and, without using your hands, very slowly stand up and very slowly return to sitting.  "When did I lose my ability to do that" you might ask?   Somewhere down the line when you weren't paying attention.

This "losing it" problem is everywhere in our daily life, especially when playing pickleball.  Can't get to the ball as quickly as you used to?   Can't handle fast net play if the ball crosses the net more than twice?  Maybe you are just not twitching as fast as you were a few years ago.

There are two types of muscle twitch fibers:  slow twitch (marathon runners) and fast twitch (sprinters, weightlifters and pickleball net players).  The fast hand movements you need at net are considered anaerobic exercise, involving short bursts of higher intensity contractions.   Some athletes are born with a higher concentration of Type I (slow) and others with Type II (fast).   The rest of us just have to work harder with what we've got.

Unfortunately, as we age, our Type II fast twitch fibers atrophy faster than slow twitch fibers.  So, getting a lighter paddle might help, but another answer to faster hands at net is fast movement exercises.  Using an elastic band is one of the safest ways to do fast movements.  Here are a series of exercises done quickly with a small range of motion (short movements) that should make sure you don't atrophy and certainly won't "lose it" as quickly.

Wrap an elastic band around your waist or around a pole.  Make sure you use a heavy feeling pull on the band.  Punch quickly on the forehand side 3 to 5 times for fast twitch.   Repeat 5 times.  Punch 25 times for slow endurance twitch.

Hold the band across your body for backhand and punch backhand 3 to 5 times.  Repeat 5 times.  Backhand punch 25 times for slow endurance twitch.

Stand on the band; quickly do bicep curls 3 to 5 times.  Repeat 5 times.  (same as above).

Hold band behind your back; quickly do tricep curls.  Repeat 3 to 5 times.  (same as above).

Finally, go to a wall, stand close and hit 20-100 forehands and backhands in the air against the wall.

Now you are ready to do battle against just about anyone at net (except maybe young Nationals Gold Medalist, Tim Nelson!).

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What tournaments are coming up throughout the year and around the country?  See Tournament Schedule for information.

For results from recent tournaments, see Tournament Results.

Tournament Directors, need help putting together a press release to get visibility for your upcoming tournament?  Contact your Regional Ambassador or Media Relations Chair, David Johnson at the USAPA Contact Page for assistance.

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By Irene Fraties

This month we have articles from several people who describe their introduction to pickleball and their subsequent addiction to the sport.  That's an old story, I suppose, to anyone who has played the game for any length of time.  Yet it's always fascinating to hear that sense of excitement, the feeling of great fun, and the inevitable description of the wonderful people that one meets in this game.

Add to that the willingness of so many players to spread the word, teach others and volunteer incredible amounts of time, energy and sometimes even their own money to grow the game.  I can't say that I've ever personally seen this kind of almost universal reaction to any other sport or movement.  Have you?

Sometimes I feel that we can accomplish any goal we set for the sport.  With a new year just around the corner maybe it's time to think about just what it is we do see for pickleball in the future.   And what it will take to get us there.   Your USAPA Board is working on the development of a 5 year plan with an eye to addressing some of the questions that go along with future planning.  What areas do you see as important to the future of pickleball?  Drop me a line and share your thoughts.

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Submitted by Sue Liley

Author's note:  Last names have been eliminated to protect our pickleball communities.

My husband and I discovered pickleball while vacationing in St. George, UT.  We were driving past the indoor court (now a trampoline park) sign on Dixie Drive and he said, "What's pickleball? Let's go check it out."  They also had indoor soccer so I figured it was a kiddie game, but we went in and, as karma would have it, the owner was opening up for the evening and offered to show us how to play.  I had been the head women's tennis coach at the University of Oregon in the 80's so I had a head start, but both Rusty and I had a great time.  Afterward we raced to the nearest sporting goods store to buy paddles before it closed for the night.

Ten months passed --- so did several tournaments --- and several medals.  (If you leave out the "d" in medals you'll see I'm confessing to several meals, too).  A gal I played singles against at the Grand Canyon Games asked me to play 65 doubles at Oceanside in May.  Bev.  Nice gal.  We silvered and had lots of fun and I met another nice gal who agreed to play Nationals with me.  Barb.  But, we had never played with each other, just across the net. So Barb invited me to practice with her in Palm Desert (114 degrees) and Oceanside (75 degrees) the next week.

And what a week of Camaraderie it was. (I just had to capitalize "camaraderie" because the social enjoyment was so high!)  At 7:00 a.m. Jim, Chris, Arrianne and the others hit and sweated with us at Palm Desert. Then at Oceanside there was a slim quick handed gal named Trudie; a trim little thing with no game flaws that I could see, named Gail; a bearded leftie with a hilltop mansion and a sense of humor, Ken; a long legged gal who made me look like a fire hydrant with cellulite and who won gold in something at Nationals 2010 named Pam; a buff guy with a big serve from St. George, Stefan; a gentle gal with spiked hair and a feathery touch, Nancy; and of course former triathlete and current expert on active aging, my friend Barb.  Sadly, friends Bev, Bob and Audrey were on the road and couldn't play, but otherwise the San Diego gang was there.

We practiced...

We played...

We hydrated...

We dinked....

We limped off court.

You know, I competed in tennis for a hundred years and never met as many nice, fun, active people as I've met in a year on visits to Lakewood, Colorado, Surprise, AZ, St. George, UT and Oceanside, CA.  Not to mention my BFF and fellow pickleball addict from nearby Greeley, CO, Nurse Jamie.

Now husband Rusty is building a log cabin in the mountainous backcountry of Colorado where the road dips and shudders and tires go splat, where every tree is a bidet and the lights don't go out at night because they never go on, where a shower is a dripping bag and the mosquitoes play pickleball on your knee pits and the stars are out-of-control bright.  He's excavating a pickleball court adjacent to the cabin with 3 foot high Canadian thistle for fencing and killer views.   Much of the year you have to hike in or snowshoe 3 miles to get there.  A pickleball court there???  Now that's Pickleball Crazy with a capital "C"!!

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