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Earlier this year, Starkville added 12 new permanent pickleball courts at McKee Park. The board of aldermen voted Oct. 2 to hold public hearings to consider changing ordinances on alcohol sales because a prospective new indoor pickleball facility wants to serve beer to its customers.
In Columbus, plans are well underway to convert two tennis courts at Propst Park into six new pickleball courts. Meanwhile, the gymnasium at the Frank P. Phillips YMCA is filled four days a week with pickleball players.
What is pickleball? Where did it come from and why is it so popular? Where do you play pickleball in the Golden Triangle?
What is pickleball and where did it come from?
Pickleball was born in 1965 in the backyard of a home on Bainbridge Island in Washington, according to the USA Pickleball Association.
Two fathers, Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell, fashioned the game using an old badminton court, ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball in an attempt to entertain their bored children.
The sport is played on indoor or outdoor courts that are about one-third the size of a tennis court. Played in singles or doubles, the goal in pickleball is to hit the ball over the net and into the opponent’s court without them returning it.
“In real simple terms, I describe pickleball as if you’re playing ping-pong … and you actually climb up onto the table and keep playing,” said Jimmy Woodruff, executive director of the Frank P. Phillips Memorial YMCA.
With smaller courts, slower ball speed and shorter game lengths, pickleball is less physically demanding compared to other net sports. It’s also easy to pick up, which makes it accessible to players of all ages and fitness levels, Woodruff said.
“It’s a sport that anybody can play, so there’s not a required skill level or competitiveness that you have to have,” he said. “Anybody can just take it up.
Why is pickleball so popular?
Today, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. A 2023 report by SFIA showed participation in pickleball has surged by 85.7% year-over-year. The Association of Pickleball Professionals reported in 2023 that nearly 19% of adult Americans – 48.3 million people – played the sport at least once the year prior.
The sport has grown in the Golden Triangle too. Lou Fratesi, a Starkville player who helped advocate for the McKee Park courts, and a group of friends started playing at the Starkville Sportsplex in 2017. Before then, he had never heard of pickleball. Now, he plays three times a week.
“It’s just contagious,” Fratesi said. “I think part of it for older people, like myself, that have always been in sports, (is that they) can enjoy the sport, and it’s not that strenuous. The younger kids play because it’s so competitive. … A lot of it is social though.”
Ward 3 Alderman Jeffrey Rupp, who has played for the last two years, said the social side of pickleball is key to its appeal. The short game rotations provide opportunities to play with new players.
“If you go down to McKee Park, folks are mixing it up, and you rarely play the same person twice,” he said.
It also helps that the game is easier to learn than other sports, but competitive enough to keep players engaged, Rupp added.
“It’s easier to be good at pickleball than it is at tennis,” he said. “Now having said that, it’s hard to be really really good at pickleball, so it remains a challenge to get better. But I think the game is so much more accessible for so many different age groups.”
Woodruff said it’s a common misconception that pickleball is geared toward senior adults. Part of the draw to the sport is the wide age range it attracts. The 2023 APP report said the average age of avid players is around 34 years old, and 18% of people playing once a month are between 18 and 25 years old.
“There’s been kind of a thought that pickleball was tailored more towards the older population, “ he said. “That may be the case in a lot of places, but we’re seeing all ages playing. … It’s a sport for everyone.”
Pickleball in the Golden Triangle
Pickleball’s adaptability has also driven the sport’s popularity as it can be played inside or outside, on different surfaces and at any time of the day. With its increasing demand, more courts have become available in the Golden Triangle.
“More people want to be able to play, and they want more opportunities to play at different locations, indoor and outdoor, and play at different times of the day,” Woodruff said. “So it’s getting to where if you’re really into pickleball, you’ve got a number of places to play and a number of different (times) to play it.”
At the YMCA, the gymnasium is reserved for members to play pickleball from 8 to 11 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. Paddles and balls are provided and the regular players would be happy to show beginners the ropes, Woodruff said.
“Our members that are thinking about playing pickleball but they’re not sure what it’s all about or don’t know the rules, all they really have to do is show up,” he said. “The ones that are regularly there will take them under their wing and work with them. They love to see new players.”
Fratesi said the same for newcomers to the courts at McKee Park, where groups meet to play every morning and evening.
“My recommendation to anybody that wants to start is to find a group that has a beginner class,” he said. “We’re open in Starkville to anybody that wants to come, from beginners to advanced. We’ll be glad to work with them.”
Next year, there will be six new outdoor courts at Propst Park in Columbus. City Engineer Kevin Stafford said the city’s parks renovation project includes funds to resurface the four tennis courts at Propst and convert two into six pickleball courts.
Stafford said plans for the courts will be advertised Thursday, and bids will be awarded in late November or early December. Once the work starts, it will likely take four to five months, he said.
“We hope it will be ending sometime in the very late spring, early summer,” Stafford said.
There are also three indoor courts at the Starkville Sportsplex and four outdoor courts at Lion Hills Center in Columbus.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
