All ages, all fitness levels: Pickleball growing in popularity across the region
Courtesy of the Canonsburg Town Park Board
Pickleball courts at Canonsburg Town Park
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
The future site of pickleball courts at Meadowcroft Park in Mt. Lebanon
Mark Hofmann/For the Observer-Reporter
Jim Turner of Farmington shows a pickleball stance at the courts at the Wharton Township Recreational Park.
Mark Hofmann/For the Observer-Reporter
Jim Turner of Farmington shows a proper hit in the game of pickleball at the Wharton Township Recreational Park in Fayette County.
Submitted
The pickleball courts at Canonsburg Town Park were constructed in 2020 after the Canonsburg Pickleball Club grew out of playing the popular sport in a parking lot. The group raised $65,000 to put the courts in the park.
The surge in popularity of pickleball in 2020 often left prospective players waiting for long periods for access to the Greene County pickleball courts, so to remedy the situation the county added two new courts.
From Connellsville to Canonsburg, area residents have “pickled” up a new sport.
Combining elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, pickleball can be played outdoors on a slightly modified tennis court with the players using a paddle on a plastic ball with holes.
And the game is, according to club organizers in Fayette, Greene, Washington and Allegheny counties, becoming quite the phenomenon.
“You play a couple of times, you get addicted,” said Ron Headlee, who works at EQT Rec Center in Waynesburg.
Jason Prutz, co-founder of the Connellsville Pickleball Club in Fayette County, said the city painted courts in Mountz Creek Park to accommodate pickleball gameplay in 2018. At the time, Mountz Creek was identified as one of the city’s under-utilized parks, said Prutz, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board.
“A few years have passed and with the growing popularity, we decided to form a club to gather interest,” he said.
Three or four players showed up for the first week when the club started last month. But, to riff on the movie “Field of Dreams,” “If you build it, (they) will come.”
The number of players has tripled in a month, with participants ranging in age from 18 to 80.
“You can get a starter set of wooden paddles and two balls for under $30,” Prutz said. “Whether you are a retired tennis player, or someone who hasn’t been active in a while, or a grandparent that still got some pep in that step … pickleball is for you.”
While Connellsville’s club is actively welcoming new members, jumping into the Canonsburg Pickleball Club in Washington County isn’t quite as easy.
“The problem is, the popularity of the sport got so big that everyone wants to join the club, and there’s not enough courts,” said Doug McKenery, who founded the club.
There are currently 125 members, with a waiting list to join, he said.
“We’re not being rude or not promoting the sport, but it affects our play,” he said.
The club started in a parking lot, where members played for three years until they decided to fundraise for a proper place to play. They were able to raise $65,000 for the construction of three pickleball courts at Canonsburg Town Park in 2020. The courts are available for 17 hours weekly to club members, and 52 hours weekly for the general public.
“The non-club nights are packed,” McKenery said.
Retiring from teaching physical education in the Canon-McMillan School District in 2008, McKenery was invited to play pickleball for the first time at the Upper St. Clair Community and Recreation Center.
“I didn’t know what it was,” McKenery said. “I tried it, and on day one, I said ‘I have to get this in Canonsburg.’ Once you play, you’re hooked.”
Like Prutz, McKenery said the part of the appeal of the game is that anyone can play it, regardless of age or fitness level.
“You can make it competitive, but we’re a social club,” he said. “I think it’s good for companionship for widows; they found this as healing and a way to stay physically involved.”
While it might be newish to the area, the origins of pickleball go back to 1965. A congressman from the state of Washington and his businessman buddy were looking for something to do after a round of golf. When they couldn’t find a full set of rackets to play a game of badminton, they improvised and used ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball.
They enjoyed the monkeyed-together game and created their own rules, and according to the USA Pickleball Association website, and a new game was born. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America for three consecutive years with 8.9 million players now in the U.S., up from 4.8 million in 2022.
Jim Turner, 78, of Farmington in Fayette County, has been playing pickleball for about two months with his friends at the Wharton Township Recreational Park. The township put in the court earlier this year.
Turner and his friends used to play basketball once a week, but found after 90 minutes of shooting hoops, they were too tired to continue. It takes about double that time to get their fill of pickleball, he said. Their pickleball group has about seven regulars who come together to play.
“It’s the people you play with, that’s the first thing, and the second thing is the exercise you get,” Turner said.
Mt. Lebanon in Allegheny County is another community that has embraced the trend. There are currently six courts under construction at Meadowcroft Park.
Laura Pace Lilley, Mt. Lebanon’s public information officer, said pickleball courts were a frequent request from residents.
“People are calling our tennis center regularly asking if we have pickleball,” Pace Lilley said, adding that Mt. Lebanon is paying $54,320 for the courts.
She said officials are also considering adding pickleball courts to the Tressel Tennis Center at 900 Cedar Blvd. She noted that people are used to pickleball courts being free to access, and that there is a fee for using the tennis center.
“We would have to make sure that is something that we really want to do,” Pace Lilley said.
Construction at Meadowcroft Park is expected to take about two weeks, depending on weather conditions. Since the park is leased from Lincoln Elementary School, the courts will not be available between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when school is in session.
In Greene County, Headlee said the EQT Rec Center has held pickleball tournaments, and open-gym pickleball events. The Waynesburg First Church of the Nazarene has a pickleball court in their gymnasium, Headlee said, and the county also has tennis and pickleball courts along Rolling Meadows Road in Waynesburg.
“There are a few different ones in Waynesburg that have branched off,” Headlee said of the clubs.
A retired high-school and college wrestling coach, Headlee said the game doesn’t require as much running as tennis, so it doesn’t wear on the body. That makes it beneficial for older players, but Headlee said younger players have seen pickleball leagues on television and are getting into the game as well.
To make it easier for someone to join in, Headlee said they can download the BAND app on their phone and look under Waynesburg Pickleball and request to join a local club.
Headlee said he’s seen around 20 people arrive to play on one court and up to 24 people coming out at night to play on a court with lights installed.
“It’s just really taken off,” he said. “There’s such a social part of it, and a competitive part. All levels can play with each other, and at all ages.”
For more information on pickleball, visit usapickleball.org.
Reporter Jon Andreassi contributed to this article.