Mark Montieth: Sport is no fad

The pickleball revolution is relentless, overwhelming tennis and basketball courts one dink at a time.

Invented in Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965 but unknown to most central Indiana residents less than a decade ago, it has become a welcome outlet for baby boomers whose knees and stamina aren’t what they used to be. But it’s also popular with young people who find the game affordable and accessible and even with serious athletes who plan to profit from it. Which pretty much covers the gamut.

Pickleball is less rigorous and combative than team sports such as basketball and less expensive and difficult than genteel sports such as golf. Paddles cost as little as $50, and most indoor facilities lend them out—along with balls—at no charge. But while it’s true nearly anyone can knock a plastic ball over a 36-inch net with a solid-faced paddle on a downsized tennis court, the game challenges all who play.

And more and more people are playing every day.

At one end of the sport’s spectrum, you have Steve Farley, one of the city’s busiest instructors. He’s entrenched in the grassroots movement, having given lessons to and led clinics for players from 9 years old to 80-something.

“It’s been crazy,” he said. “And I don’t see it dying out anytime soon.”

At the other end, you have Rick Witsken, one of the country’s most prominent players in his age group, who has been instrumental in the movement to bring a professional team to Indianapolis.

“I never would have dreamt it,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. The explosion is now surreal.”

Retrofitting health clubs

There’s no better proof of pickleball’s ivy-like encroachment into the sporting landscape than what’s happening at every Life Time Fitness location across the country. The basketball goals are coming down, and the hardwood courts are being replaced by a spongier surface more appropriate for pickleball. Windows are being tinted and the lighting replaced to reduce glare.

The Minneapolis-based corporation will spend $25 million by the end of 2023 on the club conversions. About 450 courts have been added, with a goal of 700 by the end of the year. The transformation at the Castle Creek location began on Monday, with completion scheduled by March 23, according to Senior General Manager Kenny Scott. Basketball, he said, will be reintroduced in the club in a different space later.

Elsewhere, courts have at least been relined for pickleball dimensions—44 feet long and 20 feet wide. The downtown Irsay Family YMCA, for example, has had six pickleball courts lined within its basketball courts since 2018 and is raising funds to improve them with wider and darker lines.

It’s all a concession to public demand. The downtown YMCA offers leagues for beginning and intermediate players and has 139 players registered on its app. They range in age from the early 20s to the 80s, and 30%-40% of them have played for less than a year, according to Sports Director Tyler Shorter.

The Castle Creek Life Time location was devoting 52 hours each week to open play. After the playing surface is converted, it will be available at all hours the club is open. Scott said the transformation has not only increased membership numbers but also gotten existing members more involved within the club, a point echoed by Shorter.

A real sport?

Pickleball has detractors, of course. Mostly people who don’t consider it much of an athletic challenge. One recent Facebook post declared it to be the “stupidest excuse for a game” and “made for kids, grandmas and the overweight.”

One can get that impression while watching opponents stand near the net and gently tap the ball back and forth, and certainly “kids, grandmas and the overweight” can enjoy it. But the athletic demands at elite levels of competition are substantial, particularly in singles competition.

It attracts plenty of “real” athletes. Rick Barry, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, recently won a national tournament in mixed doubles, for example. One YouTube view of the nationally ranked players would convince anyone of the degree of athleticism required to excel. Locally, Witsken is representative of the serious-minded players. A former two-time state tennis champion at Carmel and a two-time all-American at the University of Alabama, he began playing pickleball in 2010. He now plays and coaches both sports.

He’s nationally ranked in pickleball in the 50-plus age group for singles, doubles and mixed doubles. His instructional videos are available online, and he conducts clinics all over the world. He also offers individual lessons—a man from Iowa recently drove over for three days of instruction—and coaches the pickleball club sport teams at the middle schools in Zionsville (girls) and Carmel (boys and girls).

“I’m amazed [that], at 50, I can play a sport professionally and make good prize money as a nice addition to family income,” he said, adding that he earned $40,000 last year, excluding endorsements.

Witsken is a co-founder of the National Pickleball League, a six-team organization that will begin play this summer. Indianapolis will have a team, owned and sponsored by the Arnold Meyer commercial real estate company.

Farley, who coached Butler University’s baseball team for 25 years, didn’t expect to become so immersed in the game after retiring in 2016. He considered it little more than a healthy retirement activity, but the demands for his time from eager beginners dragged him into it.

He now gives lessons and conducts clinics all over central Indiana. Last week, for example, he introduced the game to 12 employees of Indiana University Health in a 90-minute session at Life Time’s Castle Creek location.

“It’s been an easy sell to people,” he said. “You can take it as far as you want.”

His wife, Lisa, teaches pickleball at Butler as part of the university’s physical education curriculum. She conducted a tournament in Pendleton last fall that drew 400 entrants and will have another one in April, with cash prizes. Needless to say, they don’t consider it a passing fad.

“I don’t see pickleball dying out anytime soon,” he said. “I recently saw some data—five or six years ago, the average age of players was 55. Now it’s 39.”

A community

For many players, it’s as much a social activity as an athletic endeavor. The game has established a positive and welcoming culture that wins over people who wouldn’t otherwise devote time and energy to a serious sport. Attend any open session, and you’re unlikely to ever witness a serious argument or confrontation—a distinct advantage over pickup basketball games from the perspective of health clubs.

Carla Chaney Baxter, a 67-year-old Broad Ripple High School graduate, began playing in August 2021 after listening to her brother, who lives in California, talk about it incessantly. She had been an aerobics instructor and enjoyed being active but had never participated in a sport.

She was hooked immediately.

“That little ball is so challenging,” she said. “It looks so easy, but it can be frustrating. It’s the most exhilarating and invigorating game.”

Baxter’s appreciation for the pickleball culture grew after a cousin with whom she was especially close died shortly before Christmas. Pickleball then became her therapy.

“This was the way I could not think about that,” she said. “People were smiling and being so warm and friendly. You come to sweat and exercise and laugh; it’s a community. And the challenge of that ball with the paddle in your hand … that helped me through a very hard time.”

It’s still a sport, though. Baxter wears knee and elbow pads to protect her from falls. She’s been frustrated by her net play lately. She plans to call Farley for a lesson to work on that.•

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Montieth, an Indianapolis native, is a longtime newspaper reporter and freelance writer. He is the author of three books: “Passion Play: Coach Gene Keady and the Purdue Boilermakers,” “Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis,” and “Extra Innings: My Life in Baseball,” with former Indianapolis Indians President Max Schumacher.

Corrrection: This story has been changed to accurately reflect the amount of money Life Time Fitness will spend to create pickleball courts. You can see more corrections here.