Pickleball is growing fast, especially in Colquitt County

Published 7:47 pm Wednesday, December 2, 2020

MOULTRIE – Some believe that the perfect sport to play during the pandemic is pickleball.

Players can get plenty of exercise and there is little close contact with teammates or opponents. Social distancing is not difficult to maintain.

The catch is that not everyone knows what pickleball is, although it is the country’s fastest growing racket sport.

It certainly is becoming popular in Colquitt County, where the Moultrie-Colquitt County Recreation Authority and Moultrie YMCA have courts to accommodate a growing number of players.

Moultrie’s Seth Berl, a retired physician who has been playing for two years, reworked his backyard tennis court into pickleball courts and plays host to a tournament the first Sunday of every month.

Usually, between 15 and 20 players take part.

At a recent tournament, the youngest player was 14. Berl, who is in his 60s, is one of the older players. Traveling over from Leesburg to play was former “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips, a serious pickleball player, Berl says.

“It’s addictive,” Berl said during a break in a recent tournament.

Berl plays regularly and travels to compete in tournaments in other communities, where he says he meets “a lot of friendly people.”

His home court has become so popular that his wife Linda, who teaches pickleball strategy at the Moultrie YMCA, posted a sign there that reads: “Moultrie Pickleball Berl Court Est. 2019.”

Players often compete on Berl’s courts three days a week.

“It’s sort of exploded,” he says of the sport.

Pickleball has been described as a combination of tennis, ping pong and badminton.

A doubles court is 20-by-44 feet and is separated by a net that is 36 inches high at the sideline and 34 inches high in the middle.

A seven-foot non-volley area is marked off in front of the net.

The ball is similar to a Wiffle ball and paddles are larger than those used for ping-pong, but smaller than tennis rackets.

The rules can be learned quickly, but the best players are steeped in the game’s strategy.

Joyce Carlton, USA Pickleball Ambassador in Colquitt County, says that the Sports Fitness Industry Association estimates that there are 3.3 million active pickleball players in the country.

The game was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle, Wash. And the game got its name from one of the game’s creator’s cocker spaniel.

There are now an estimated 7,000 pickleball locations in North America.

Berl and Brad Bowen are considered Colquitt County’s pickleball pioneers. They started going to play in Thomasville three times a week before Berl developed his own court.

Berl was a tennis player for many years and that sport, plus the time he spent jogging and playing and coaching basketball took a toll on his hips.

His recovery from hip surgery was slow until he began playing pickleball regularly.

Over time, the pain has subsided.

“I started playing pickleball and six months later I was pain-free,” he said. “And I’ve started running again. I never thought I’d be able to do that.”

There is not as much court to cover as there is in tennis, making pickleball an attractive alternative for older adults who were longtime tennis players.

Carlton was appointed last June as one of 2,000 ambassadors around the country who promote the benefits of becoming involved in the sport.

In Moultrie, Carlton, a former longtime tennis player, holds clinics to introduce the sport to adults and youngsters.

There are a number of places to play in Colquitt County, including the Moultrie YMCA, which has two indoor courts.

The Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority has four outdoor and three indoor courts.

Both recreation authority and the YMCA provide paddles and balls for those interested in playing.

Carlton touts the advantages of the sport, noting that it appeals to nearly all age groups, fitness levels and degrees of competitiveness.

One thing she often hears players comment on is “the sheer fun and social interaction enjoyed by everyone,” she says.

John Michael Hall, an outstanding basketball player at Colquitt County High and who played collegiately at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, returned to Moultrie three years ago.

Still eager to compete, but unable to easily find basketball games, he has taken up pickleball and is a regular at Berl’s tournaments.

“It’s filled the gap,” he said during a break in a recent tournament.

Carlton says many who have taken up the sport mention how quickly they have come drawn to it and try to play as often as possible.

Colquitt County is now listed on USA Pickleball’s places2play.org website, allowing people who visit the community and want to play to find a court and people who share their love of the sport.

“Recently a man from Texas was in town and wanted to play and before he left the next day, he had played twice,” Carlton said.

Carlton has a group of like-minded players who are willing to share their knowledge and affinity for the game with beginners.