My uncle spent most of his life as a self-described “hardened tennis vet.” Like many, his initial reaction to pickleball was not particularly positive, in his case because so many of his favorite tennis partners were shifting away to pickleball.
He started a conversation with me, “I have a bone to pick with pickleball.” But it ended with me referencing the Borg (not Bjorn! Star Trek…). “Uncle Truman, you too will join the collective, resistance is futile.” As so it was….
Not long after, Truman was invited to play with a group of regular players in a nearby community. Truman had pride in his acumen, and given his tennis background, confidently used some of the shots he was comfortable with….including….the….LOB!
After his second lob, the leader of the group invited Truman for a conversation at the net. “Truman, no lobbing.” Truman was stunned “no lobbing in pickleball???”
“No lobbing here. Because if you lob, our competitive group will try to track down that shot, and we are older, and don’t need to have anybody falling and getting hurt. So no lobbing here. If you do it again, we won’t invite you back!”
A LOCAL rule!!! Pickleball Rules are not always easy for new players to understand, but this “rule” made all the sense in the world for this group of players, and the community improvised — improved — the game for their enjoyment.
Do you have an example of a “Local Rule” in your community? Share it with us, and you can be registered in a raffle for some excellent pickleball-related prizes.
