Pickleball athletes

[RB]

Pickleball is the sport now.  There has been a recent surge with amounts of people joining the sport, and it is very popular with older adults, now younger folks joining.  However, the culture seem to be offish? People playing pickleball think they are athletes?  There are lots of good reasons to play pickleball but if you never played a sport in your life and you are playing pickleball now that you retired (they play 2-3 times a day) I am told.  All good. Share your experience of Pickleball culture, were you accepted in the group, did you get trained, you are doing some ladder...

 

[TreeBeard]

I don’t understand.  Who thinks they’re an athlete?  The 65 year old guy at the rec centre?  Did the old fella hurt your feelings?

[RB]

On 8/5/2025 at 3:55 PM, TreeBeard said:

I don’t understand.  Who thinks they’re an athlete?  The 65 year old guy at the rec centre?  Did the old fella hurt your feelings?

Oh yeah, the 65-year-old at the rec centre absolutely thinks he’s an athlete. In pickleball terms, he’s basically at the Wimbledon finals.

He’s all business, you never played? bye, bye, go get trained (involves $$, and this gets you to a step up level). Make the first mistake, get the little “yep” like he just clinched the U.S. Open. 

It is a half social club, half passive-aggressive Wimbledon. These are folks who takes “recreational play” to mean “gladiator trials".