Big Dill
Pickleball Fad Refuses to Fade
By Kate Poindexter
Photography by Turner Photography Studio
You don’t have to be athletic. You don’t have to be competitive. You don’t even have to be in particularly good shape. All you have to do is show up at the court, paddle in hand, and you will be welcomed and invited to play.
Pickleball, once thought to be strictly the domain of players 50 and older, is appealing to all ages and skill levels because it is easy to learn and requires very little specialized equipment. “If you have a paddle and a ball, you’re good to go. There isn’t a large skill level barrier present that one needs to start playing. The courts are much smaller than a sport like tennis and the ball is moving slower and not with such drastic bounce as other racquet or ball sports,” says Sean Poulin, superintendent of recreation for the City of Frederick.
It’s also growing. This fall, business partners Alex McKenna and Kaylin Corsiatto are planning to open a seven-court, 18,400-square-foot indoor pickleball and event facility in the Stanford Trading Center business park south of Frederick off U.S. 15. They are partnering with Corsiatto’s parents and the Dill Dinkers Pickleball chain. The space will enable year-round play and will feature a pro shop and event space for hosting events, parties and lessons. “A big part of pickleball’s popularity is accessibility,” says Corsiatto. She hopes people will come out when the weather doesn’t permit outdoor play.
In the city, Frederick’s Parks & Recreation department has three indoor facilities with 11 courts at the William Talley Recreation Center, Trinity Recreation Center and Whittier Elementary Recreation Center. There are also six parks with a total of 17 courts that are a mix of pickleball-only courts, pickleball courts lined using tennis nets and courts on a portion of a tennis court where users can bring their own nets.
“It’s a healthy addiction,” says Jean Remmert, who plays five days a week at Monocacy Village Park. She has honed her skills with her regular playing partners and with those looking for a pickup game. “You get to meet so many wonderful people. There’s a lot of laughter and people having fun and encouraging each other. There’s a lot of positive communication.”
Remmert plays with people of all skill levels and recently helped a beginner who was just 10 years old. But she is no novice, even qualifying to compete in the U.S. Open Pickleball Championship in Naples, Fla., the largest gathering of pickleball players in the world. This past April she joined 3,200 players from all 50 states and 31 countries. Over the years, she and her twin sister have won six medals.
“The level of play gets tougher and tougher each year,” she says. “And younger kids are playing.”
Mike Smith is just as devoted to the game. He says in the eight years that he has been playing, his health has improved significantly and he has lost 50 pounds. He also plays at Monocacy Village and was instrumental in getting the permanent courts installed there. He presented hundreds of signatures on a petition to the city to build the courts and says he is working on getting more permanent courts installed in parks throughout the city and county.
He says there is no question that young people are picking up the game. “Families are out playing with each other. Kids are playing with each other,” Smith says. Play has increased so much that some pickleball players use online scheduling tools like Playtime Scheduler to locate open courts.
Smith says he wants to be known as a friendly face of pickleball and often strikes up conversations and plays games with new people he meets at the park. “You can show up today and you can play. We encourage beginners to play each other and we coach them.”
