Pickleball passion nets Key fans

If you combined tennis and badminton and added oversized ping-pong paddles, you would have the latest sport to draw Key players — Pickleball. It’s played on a badminton court with a net that is lowered to 34 inches in the middle. Like tennis, it can be played in a singles or doubles format. And devoted players say it’s beyond a hobby — it’s addictive.

“With Pickleball, it’s one of those games that once you start it, you really want to play it every day,” said Longbeach Village resident Greene Tussey, who plans to resume playing once a foot injury heals.

He isn’t the only Longboat Key resident who has a passion for Pickleball: More than a dozen Longboaters are among the 56 members of a Pickleball group that plays on three courts at the Anna Maria Island Community Center.

At the Longbeach Village Association’s monthly meeting Feb. 2, resident Allan Luke spoke about approaching the town about putting Pickleball courts at the Bayfront Park Recreation Center.

“It’s good exercise and a good way to meet people,” Luke said.

Luke began playing Pickleball approximately two years ago after seeing it played in The Villages, in Central Florida. According to the USA Pickleball Association’s website, usapa.org, it’s the fastest-growing sport in North America and is played by everyone from grade-school children to the elderly.

According to Luke, the sport is especially popular with older residents, because it places less stress on the body than many other activities.

“A lot of tennis players start playing because, No. 1, they want to get out of the sun, and, No. 2, they want to play a sport that’s easier on the elbows and knees,” he said.

Village Association President Michael Drake, who has not played Pickleball and learned about the sport from Luke, his neighbor, encouraged residents to contact the town about installing Pickleball courts. And, because of ongoing discussions about future land uses of Sarasota County- and town-owned land adjacent to Bayfront Park, many residents believe that the timing could be right for a Pickleball proposal.

“I think the timing’s perfect, particularly if they’re looking to put something in that mid-Key property,” Drake said.

Tussey said that installing Pickleball courts on Longboat Key could alleviate the crowdedness that often results from the sport’s popularity at the community center.

“I have yet to see someone come into the community center at Anna Maria and not come back,” Tussey said.

THE NAME GAME
The sport, created in 1965, is named for Pickles, the cocker spaniel of former Washington Congressman Joel Pritchard, one of the game’s co-inventors. Pickles used to chase stray balls and then hide in the bushes with them, so the game bears his name.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]