Parks dept. offers free pickleball lessons

Information submitted

A new sport, pickleball, is rapidly gaining popularity in America — and particularly in Van Wert — and area residents can be a part of it.

The Van Wert Parks and Recreation Department is giving free lessons to men and women, with paddles and balls provided, at Smiley Park every Wednesday morning from 8:30 until 9 a.m., followed by an hour of games. There’s no cost and no preregistration — just show up. It couldn’t be easier.

A pickleball court has just one-third the area of a tennis court, and the ball moves at a third of the speed of a tennis ball. The game is played with a hard paddle and a smaller version of a wiffleball. The net is similar to a tennis net, but is mounted two inches lower. Most players prefer doubles, although singles is also popular.

The fast-paced game was invented in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Wash., by Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, who returned from golf one afternoon and, finding their families bored, improvised a game with a wiffleball, lowered badminton net, and fabricated plywood paddles from a nearby shed.

Contrary to popular belief, the game was not named for a dog named Pickles, although the real story isn’t nearly as interesting. That first game was played at the home of U.S. Representative Joel Prichard. Congressman Prichard’s wife, Joan, while watching, said that the use of “leftover” equipment reminded her of a pickle boat in crew, where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.

Van Wert has three outdoor courts at Smiley Park, using green lines painted on the tennis courts, while the YMCA has two indoor courts.