BIG RAPIDS — Fifty-six years ago, in a small community in the Pacific Northwest, located just outside of Seattle, three dads invented what is now the fastest-growing sport in the United States of America.
The name of the town was Bainbridge Island, and the name of the sport was pickleball.
Looking for a way to occupy their children, dads Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallun and Bill Bell had their sights set on a game of badminton, but there wasn't a shuttlecock (birdie) in sight.
In an act of improvisation, they lowered the net, grabbed a wiffle ball and eventually crafted wooden paddles, similar to those used in table tennis (ping pong).
As time went on, the wiffle ball was replaced with an updated version of the wiffle ball that would be better suited for the sport.
Fast-forward to the present day, and pickleball is played throughout the country, but it has taken a strong foothold in Mecosta County for the better part of three decades.
Recent Mecosta County Hall of Fame inductee Joyce Staffen played an essential role in bringing the sport to Big Rapids and is the catalyst for its surge in popularity over the years.
Staffen has turned many locals on to the game — among them is Gary Lenon.
Lenon, who currently runs the Big Rapids Pickleball page on Facebook, said it was Staffen, along with fellow ambassador Tony Linn who taught him and his wife the ins and outs of the game.
“It’s a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis; the size of the courts are almost identical to badminton,” Lenon said. “The top players are phenomenal.”
Lenon said he watches YouTube videos to improve his game and learn new techniques from some of the best pickleball players in the world.
He added that it is a good jumping off point for anyone interested and wanting to learn more about the sport.
“You can watch every type of competition they have — those guys are scary good,” Lenon.
With pickleball gaining in popularity, even in a year marred by a global pandemic, Lenon said he is happy to see the game grow.
At the same time, that’s part of what comes with the territory of a pickleball ambassador.
“Part of my job as an ambassador is to promote the game of pickleball,” Lenon said. “The way to promote it is to get more people playing it; you have to constantly be teaching in order to grow the sport. It’s an ordinary occurrence for you to teach somebody how to play and, a year later, they can whoop you.”
Oftentimes, pickleball is mistakenly spoken of in terms of it being a sport for retirees, but Lenon explained this is simply not the case, even though it was the accepted assumption until recently.
Despite its ease of access to older individuals — many of whom are older than 80 — it is a sport that can be played by people in all age groups.
“We go to tournaments and often the ones who have the most success are the younger, college, aged (players),” Lenon said. “They have the physical agility and a lot of them are tennis players. If you’re a tennis player, you have a heads up on everyone else. It’s a good crossover sport.”
Pickleball courts are 44 feet long by 20 feet wide, and the game can be played under a singles or doubles format, although doubles is far more common in the local region.
The Big Rapids Pickleball group plays at Hemlock Park tennis courts twice a week from 9-11 a.m. on Tuesday and Friday mornings.
During the winter months, the action, with the exception of 2020, shifts up the road and resumes at the Ferris State Racquet and Fitness Center.
Lenon and his colleagues used to tape lines on the tennis courts at Hemlock Park until they were allowed to have permanent lines.
Soon they will be getting four brand new pickleball-only courts, thanks to grants from the Hemlock Park Improvement Project, spearheaded by Big Rapids resident and Grand Valley State professor Jon Coles.
“It’s going to keep growing as long as they have enough courts for everybody,” Lenon said.
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Pickleball quickly becoming the sport of choice in Mecosta County, beyond - The Pioneer
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