STEELE SPORTS

Pickleball – America’s fastest-growing sport – seems to be spreading even faster than I had originally anticipated as even A-List celebrities are getting in on the action.

It was recently announced via sources such as Sports Illustrated, that Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Lebron James and Kevin Durant have all become partial owners in Major League Pickleball.

Yes, some of the most well-known stars in debatably the nation’s two biggest sports markets have all begun their journey with pickleball, and I’m beginning to feel like I’m missing something.

From last spring to this fall I have spent plenty of time at the local tennis and pickleball courts, but I have never picked up a paddle.

In my own defense, I never grew up playing tennis outside of my physical education classes in school which likely contributed to my lack of knowledge surrounding pickleball, but something tells me I’m really behind on getting into the sport.

I’ve watched highlights of competitive matches and seen some of the unorthodox techniques used by pickleball athletes to score points, and I’ve come to understand that the game is much more complex than I originally imagined.

Initially, I viewed pickleball as a slower version of tennis, solely played to take the action-packed nature of tennis and shrink it into a smaller court.

Now, after having done some research, I understand that the two games are quite well removed from one another in terms of strategy.

For instance, when it comes to shot selection, I know now that the pace of shots is equally as important as the placement.

From what I’ve seen, it’s the slow, methodical shots that land near players’ feet on the edge of the court are some of the hardest to return as they require excellent timing and precision to read.

On the contrary, other shots in doubles matches may be returned at blistering speed, with both teams fighting to see who will slip up first when dealing with the constant offensive pressure.

It seems to me that the game that I thought I knew based on predetermined ideas is not at all what I anticipated.

Needless to say, the next step in my pickleball journey may be hitting the courts around town to see if someone can give me a proper education in the fundamentals of the game.

If anyone is looking for an easy game to pad their record or just needs a doubles partner for a quick match, feel free to reach out.

I’m not as spry as I once was, but this aging dog may still be capable of learning new tricks.