Play Pickleball in Retirement

It’s a relatively new sport but more and more people are deciding to play pickleball in retirement.  We have quite a few friends who become very passionate about this sport very quickly and everyone seems to be having a good time.  The tournaments are friendly and the fun they seem to be experiencing is contagious.  The great news is that it’s easy to get started.

Unlike golf, which requires renting equipment or investing in a set of clubs of your own, pickleball has very little required equipment.  You do need a pickleball court and you need someone to play with but that appears to be all there is on the downside.  There are, of course, rules that you want to learn and how to keep score as well but, from what we hear, you can become a participant very quickly.  Most people say that it’s easier than tennis and seems to be a little more relaxed than the usual tennis game.  My instincts tell me that those things might change shortly.  Competitiveness can’t be contained and there will be taking this fairly new sport to the next level.  The relative newness of the sport and the fact that there are many new players joining the action every year means that the games might be more entertaining than competitive.  I fear that when the first tournament is organized with a big prize up for grabs, the innocence that is attached to this popular pastime might be lost.

One way to stay in shape is to play Pickleball in retirement.

In the meantime, if you choose to play pickleball in retirement, you can be assured of a good time, healthy exercise and a way to make new friends.  Within your own group you can keep everything as friendly and casual as possible to avoid bringing the stress of competition to this sport.  I know that sounds like I’m not a competitive person or that I see something wrong with it. The fact is that I was very competitive in my younger days and just got very tired of it.  Retirement changed me.  I am much more relaxed and take things in stride as much as I can.  I am out to enjoy life and competition seems to have lost its charm for me.  I was out to win any board game, touch football game, chess game or any card game you wanted to play.  For some people that’s unthinkable.  They play to win and that’s part of the thrill.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  Pickleball can be as competitive as you want to make it.  When you look at the poker championships and the billiard or dart tournaments, they have raised the level beyond what you could imagine.  The money that changes hands during a single football game and the fantasy leagues that have been created have raised the level of competition beyond what I call enjoyable.  But I know I’m in the minority.  I know people are reading this and saying “what a wimp” but that’s just how I feel.  I applaud everyone who has that fierce competitive desire and who is determined to do everything they can to win.  That’s what makes this world so interesting.  Everyone is different.  The only reason I bring it up is because of the subject at hand: pickleball.  An innocent little game with cute little paddles, an oversized ball and an odd-looking court.  It wasn’t long ago that it was new to everyone.  My guess is that it won’t be long before you see a pickleball tournament on television.

When you see all of the competitions that are held, you wonder how everything became combative.  Cooking competitions are all over the place and reality shows have someone dropping out every week.  Did we lose our ability to just enjoy an activity?  I love to cook.  When you make it a contest and bring on the stress you’ve taken it too far.  Can’t we just enjoy the simple pleasures of life without making it into a competition?  When I first heard about pickleball and read how it was created, I thought it was a great story about a family trying to bring some fun to their vacation.  It made for great reading.  When I saw so many of our friends decide to play pickleball in retirement, I was very happy that there was finally a friendly activity that people could enjoy in a relaxing environment.  hope the game doesn’t lose its charm because we have many friends who have taken up pickleball and they always comment on the fun they’re having.  They find it to be very relaxing and a fun way to exercise.  I hope it stays that way for them.  I hope you find enjoyment in it as well.  Retirement is about trying new things, going to new places and enjoying this wonderful gift that we’ve been given.  It’s time to start playing pickleball and become the champion you were meant to be (just kidding).  Go out and have a good time.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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