Within the last two months, seven newly constructed pickleball courts have been christened in the counties surrounding us here in Brookville, Indiana.

Thanks to a bulldog attitude to find funds, Tony Shepherd, of the organization Area 9 for the Aging, was granted funds to build two brand new courts in Richmond, two in Connersville, two in Cambridge City and one in Rushville, Indiana.

With members of the press in attendance, each location celebrated the opening of their courts with mayors and dignitaries doing ribbon cuttings.

SE Indiana USAPA Pickleball Ambassadors, Rodney and Karen Grubbs along with one of the founding Brookville Pickleball Club members, Marilyn Hedrick, provided demonstrations, playing tips and instructions.

Future teaching clinics are being planned and if initial attendance numbers mean anything, pickleball is ready to explode in SE Indiana.

Reported by Alex Cordisco

How do I know that?

First of all, because they told me so.   That has to count for something.  And because the mayor of Kalamazoo officially proclaimed it and they show me the official certificate.  They even have video to prove it.

Most importantly and the surest indicator?  It felt like it.

From the minute you walked into the Portage YMCA, the music was blaring, the pickleball courts were overflowing with players and you knew you were in for a good time.

Melissa Muha, Bob Northrup and their team of pickleball crazies delivered a top notch pickleball tournament.  Food, fun and tons of pickleball.

The first night started with speed skills drills which had the courts packed with players learning and practicing all the basic pickleball shots.  Next came the Crazy Mixed Up Doubles where every player changed partners every 10 minutes while accumulating points toward prizes.

This was a fun way to meet new friends and get some practice in for the next days main event.  Had great fun introducing Barb Ackerman and DJ Jacobs to the Indiana Soft Game (believe it or not, Arizona did not invent it).  So now we have two new soft game believers.

Friday was a day where every age, every ability level found great competition.

Wife Karen and I felt fortunate to capture 4th place after almost 12 hours of mixed doubles matches.  What a marathon.

Son Josh Grubbs and I landed a Bronze medal in the men’s 19+ division.  Gary and Bart Ford edged us out for the Silver and Jim Hackenberg and John Wright brought home a much deserved Gold.

See all the tournament results here.

Talk about a fun time.  I understand they are going to do it all over again come September.  I would highly recommend putting this one on your tournament schedule.

Can’t wait.  Pickleball Rocks in Kalamazoo

Read the full story and pictures here: High School Pickleball Tournament

But beyond the competitive void that it fills for me and beyond the exercise benefits, I have discovered one very unexpected aspect of this sport that makes it truly the greatest sport on the planet.

That is the friendship and support system that this sport just seems to breed. Since day one, I have witnessed time after time, players supporting and rooting for each other. They go on the courts adversaries and come off the court friends. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

Well, here are a couple of pictures that again show the true heart of why this sport is growing like wild.

A great friend of ours, Dave “Skip” Egbers, recently found out he had some prostate cancer to battle. So, just like he does on the court, he has attacked it with gusto and we believe he has beaten it into the ground.

To show support of Skip’s battle, a number of people are now wearing the VERY BRIGHT “Atta Boy Skip” tshirts.

Here is Dick Lewis, Rob Gartlan and Mike Bunke showing off their shirts for Skip. These guys and hundreds more like them, is why I love this sport.

Looking forward to seeing Skip back on the Northern Kentucky courts real soon.

I just posted the following reply to an article from the Racquet Network News and Info website.
Their article was saying that the new APike paddle should be allowed by the USAPA because better technology makes the sport better. Below was my posted reply. What is your opinion?

Dear RNNI,
Maybe technology change was good for squash and tennis. But keep in mind that Pickleball is currently the fastest growing participation sport in the US. And what is driving that participation growth is the simple fact that a lot more people are able to compete and feel like they can win because of the pickleball rules of play, plus the paddle and ball restrictions. Unlike other sports, pickleball was designed, and is a game of strategy and accuracy, rather than a game of power and speed. Since power and speed are played down, this creates a lot more interest because a lot more people are capable of competing. So I endorse whatever the governing body (USAPA) chooses to do as long as it is in the best interest of keeping the sport growing. Pickleball Rocks!

Brandon Hunter Grubbs was born December 29th to our oldest son Joshua and super wife Abby.  They reside in Fort Wayne, Indiana and love pickleball.  Brandon was a whopping 5lbs 4oz and 17 inches long.  He is doing great!

So now everyone will want to show off their little picklers too.  But that is absolutely ok.

Feel free to comment on this post with your newest pickleball player.  Or if you want to post a bunch of pictures of your mini pickleballer, you can do so at our sister blog PickleballNation.com .

Thanks for putting up with my proud public moment.  -Rocket

Well, I’m playing pickleball in Northern Kentucky one day and from two courts down I hear someone yell, “nice shot Emeril.”

Being new to this particular bunch of pickleball players, I thought I’d go meet this guy with the unusual name. So I ask my friend Jim to introduce me to Emeril.

“Oh” said Jim, “his name’s not really Emeril. We just call him that because he spends so much time in the kitchen.”

Since that day I’ve had the pleasure of playing against Emeril numerous times.
Turns out Fred, aka Emeril, is one of the nicest guys, but he does spend a good bit of time wandering across the non-volley line to put away many nice clean pickleball shots.

He doesn’t really need to, since he is a good player, but I guess old habits are just hard to break.

By the way, did you know you can wander into, and camp in the kitchen as long as you like, as long as you don’t volley the ball from there?

Many differing opinions on when you can and can’t be in the kitchen. Always a fun debate.

To join the kitchen discussion, head on over to PickleballNation.com .