Highland Lakes Pickleball: 03/01/2010

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Highland Lakes Pickleball Outing

What a beautiful day we had on Wednesday for our yearly Pickleball outing. The weather was perfect, the food was great and best of all were our friends who attended. We had a total of 60 people attend the outing. It was a great time for our new players to get to know each other and get to meet lots of new people. In the past year we have had a total of 14 new Pickleball players join our group. We also had Ken and Lynn Corbett move from Greenville SC to Higkland Lakes permanently. They are such a great addition to our Pickleball group and they were welcomed by all.

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Monday, March 22, 2010

Monday night Pickleball

Monday night Pickleball always brings in a good crowd of Pickleball players. We had a total of 22 regular players and 2 new players. The new Pickleball players were Judy Boswell and Carl Ricard. At first Carl was having a problem with his serve but by the end of the evening he was well on his way to mastering it. Judy was having fun and learning the game. Welcome Carl & Judy to our Pickleball group.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Pickleball fun on a Friday morning.

We had a good number of players show up today for a fun morning of Pickleball. Ken & Lynn are back from a trip to Greenville S.C. It was nice to see them back! This morning a new player came in for instructions on playing Pickleball, her name is Nancy Wolfe. Welcome to our Pickleball group! Bob Fegers is an inspiration to us all. Besides his disabillities (helmet and all), he loves the game of Pickleball and keeps on playing. If your playing with Bob Fegers, don't underestimate his short shots over the net. We love playing with you, Bob!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day on the Pickleball courts.

Pickleball continues to be a great event here at Highland Lakes. We all have our share of fun and excitement on the Pickleball courts. Today, some of our Pickleball players were dressed up for St. Patrick's Day. I still don't know how Cindi could play with that hat on her head. Dan Juran is a newcomer to the game of Pickleball. Welcome Dan!

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

2010 Senior Olympics Recognition Ceremony

The 2010 Senior Olympics Awards Ceremony was held today in the Arena. This Awards Ceremony has been hosted by Joyce Brandt for the past 8 or 9 years (her picture is posted in the blog). This Awards Ceremony is looked forward to by the residents of Highland Lakes.

PICKLEBALL CODE OF ETHICS

Every person involved in pickleball as a participant, official, volunteer, representative of the USAPA or spectator pledges as follows:
I will not engage in unsportsmanlike conduct or encourage others to do so. I will not engage in any behavior that would endanger the health, safety or well being of others. I will not engage in the use of profanity. I will treat others with respect. I will exhibit fairness and honesty in my dealings with others. I will not flaunt my position. I will not use USAPA records or materials for personal gain. I will observe the Golden Rule of doing unto others as I would have them do unto me. The above Code applies in all situations that relate directly or indirectly to pickleball play.

About Pickleball

Whether you have terrible hand-eye coordination or are a racquet sport pro, you will have fun playing pickleball.If you are a novice: The net is set at 34", lower than tennis, and the paddles we play with are solid (composite, graphite, or wood). It is easier to hit the ball where you want it to go in pickleball. We play with a 3" plastic ball similar to a wiffle ball.If you play any sports: You can learn pickleball in less than 5 minutes and start having great rallies, good exercise, and a lot of fun.If you are a tennis player: Pickleball is faster and more fun than tennis. The rallies are longer than in tennis. It can even help your tennis game, especially at the net. The strokes are the same as tennis.

The History of Highland Lakes Pickleball Group

It has already been written about how Pickleball was invented by a U.S. Congressman from Oregon but nothing has been written how it started here at Highland Lakes.
It was introduced by George Hastings around 1993. He posted an ad in our small newsletter asking for people to come out and see what it was all about. As I recall myself and my wife Marie Falcon and Kathy Hart showed up. At that time we only had two courts with thin black lines that you could hardly see from the other end of the court. In time we were able to get better outline courts and were able to increase the courts to four. Through "word of mouth" and advertising we had full courts with as many as eight to ten people waiting to play. We devised a plan of "musical chairs" for people to move up in line to play. In time George Hastings moved back up north and others had to take up the banner of keeping Pickleball going. Our equipment at first was not great. Small thin poles to hold up a flimsy net. Through meetings with the Board of Directors and Reps of Tennis players (since they had an inside court) we were able to get the equipment that we have today. We can write about Pickleball but until you come out and see what it's all about and play it, you won't know just how much fun it is. Come on what are you waiting for?
Joe Falcon

Highland Lakes Pickleball