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 .