A Typical Lady in her Fifties: Trying Pickleball

“All the other white ladies in their fifties are playing pickleball,” my friend Aldo asked, “why not you?” 

Aldo, I might add, knows better than most that not all pickleball players are white ladies over fifty, but he is still right. Taking up the game is trendy among my demographic. It was one of the issues that made trying it less appealing for the last three years or so,  even though some of my best friends are white ladies in their fifties. Still, Aldo’s suggestion that I am just like them is completely fair. I like many conventional activities like discussing politics and religion, wine tastings and watching cooking shows. 

Plus, shortly after I started this challenge, week three reminded me that I need to constantly keep my biases in check. So, on a Saturday morning, I found myself calling the Dunlop Drive Older Adult Centre to see if there was room in the 10AM drop in pickleball session. The Older Adult Centres, I should add, are limited to those 50 and up, so I anticipated two hours of exercise with people just like me. I brought a date just to be safe. He was on the waiting list in case someone who signed up for one of the ten spots did not show.  

“Have you taken one of our Introduction to Pickle Ball courses?” the program assistant asked me on the phone. I had not, but I assured her I knew the rules of the game. I read them in the fifteen minutes before leaving the house, which was enough time to learn about “the kitchen,” an area of the court you don’t step into, but might return a volley that bounces out of it. I also knew about the paddles and plastic ball that makes for a racket game that is slower than tennis or squash.

My lack of familiarity with the game did feature a few eye rolls from other players, but one comes to accept that kind of gesture from others who have recently finished raising teenagers. 

“I was just like you,” one woman said with sympathy. “When I came the first time, I had no idea what I was doing. I Googled the rules on the way over.” 

I did watch two games before my turn came up. And, while I did not intuit how to keep score, whose turn it was to serve, or when it was time to switch sides of the court, I did learn a lot and some of the knowledge I gained was valuable because it concerns later-life athleticism. 

1. Safety is paramount. My date was wearing athletic sandals instead of tennis shoes. The second time he slipped, one of the ladies told him, “I am sorry, sir. You can’t play in those.”  I was corrected twice for running backwards because “it’s not worth the risk.” Being more mindful of slips and falls is more important after the age of 50, but that mindfulness is a learned skill and pickle ball teaches it. 

2. Self-awareness is good to have. Until I tried pickle ball, I always thought of self-awareness as a largely mental state that improved my behaviour and my treatment of other people who have to deal with me. There is a physical side too. Watching the game, I realized I would have to wear my glasses, but until I had to return volleys that bounced in the area between my knee and ankle, I had no idea I wasn’t wearing my glasses properly to see anywhere but straight ahead. It’s another skill I need to learn. 

3. Consistency builds community. I knew consistency creates physical fitness, but pickle ball made it clear it also creates friendliness. Even though there was some eye-rolling when the ladies learned I had never played before, there was an expectation that I would be back. The ladies knew each other, they play pickle ball together on a regular basis and share their family and vacation news with each other between sets. And, while white ladies were the majority in the room, there was no exclusion. I listened to an explanation of an English idiom to a non-native speaker that was sweet and welcoming. 

4. Assumptions are still made.  It was the older adult centre, so the belief that everyone is retired – even if in early retirement – is an active assumption. I am not and won’t be retired  for more than fifteen years, but at least I have an idea of what an active retirement can look like now.

5. Slower does not mean less challenging. No, Pickle Ball is not tennis or squash. Yes, I do a lot of exercise in the pool and the gym. After playing pickle ball once, I was acutely aware that this new activity challenged my body and mind in new ways and my hand-eye coordination could use more work in ways the front crawl and lat pull downs just don’t provide. 
   

I am not in love with pickle ball after my first attempt, but I liked it enough to keep my eye on the Introduction to Pickle Ball course to take at some point in the future. 

In the other five parts of this series so far, I have tried archery, ecstatic dance, infrared therapy, fashion modelling and new ways to hang out.