Pickleball’s Identity Crisis
It’s hard being the “new sport.” Now, before we throw pickleball at a pity party, everyone knows it’s the fastest-growing sport in America. Long gone are the days when people had never heard of pickleball. It’s hard to turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or even walk down the street without being greeted by some reminder of the game.
That said, the one thing that continues to plague pickleball and hinder its already meteoric growth is a case of mistaken identity. For example, the sport was invented way back in the 60s, but until recently, it was considered almost exclusively the domain of retirees. It’s been extremely refreshing seeing younger players flood into the sport in recent years, and it’s exciting to dream of where these future stars will take us.
And where exactly is that future? It’s pretty standard to hear pickleball compared to probably 10 other sports, almost all of which are played with a racquet:
“It’s like you’re standing on a ping pong table.”
“Did you play tennis growing up?”
“Ever played racquetball or squash?”
“Did you ever try badminton as a kid?”
But we’re here to tell you...pickleball, at its finest, is a doubles sport, played and practiced as a team in ideal conditions. With that in mind, the two sports that pickleball most closely resembles are Basketball and Volleyball.
Basketball and Volleyball, two sports that tens of millions of kids grow up playing, rely heavily on teamwork in order to drive success. Sure, you may have a great shooter on your basketball team, but someone has to get her the rock. You might have a great outside hitter, but he needs a teammate to set him the ball. And the more reps that we get as a team, the better we perform as a team. In a sport where the set-up shot is often more critical than the put-away, it's easy to see why many of those same principles are essential to success in pickleball.
And the most important parallel between these three sports? They are all fabulous to play outside if the conditions are perfect, but they are best suited to be played year-round indoors.
Ever stroked a 3-point shot destined to find the bottom of the net and instead clanked off the side of the rim from a gust of wind? Frustrating, right? That's why all organized basketball, from youth to professional, is played indoors. Unlike tennis, which is played almost exclusively outdoors, pickleballs are light enough to be easily redirected by wind, causing frustration and poor competition.
Look, we love nothing more than playing beach volleyball on a 72-degree day with no wind. Shooting hoops on a well-designed outdoor court can produce some of the best games ever. And, of course, we love playing pickleball outside when the conditions are pristine.
But for reps, for practice, for tournaments, for leagues, for the cold and wet winter, and for the hot and sweaty summer, basketball and volleyball are mainly indoor sports for a reason, and pickleball will be, too. That’s right: Pickleball, like Basketball and Volleyball, is an Indoor Sport...it just doesn’t know it yet!
-The APC Team