Tom Payne of Pearland plays Pickleball.: Kim Christensen photos
By CARISSA D. LAMKAHOUAN

Funny name, addictive sport. That’s Pickleball, and it’s a hit at the Vic Coppinger Family YMCA, attracting daily games with players from all ages.

“It’s a hybrid game,” said Terry Groff, an active Pickleball player. “It will attract tennis players, racquetball players, badminton players and table tennis players. Anyone who’s been involved in athletics will bring something to the game. It’s very competitive, and it’s an addictive sport once you start developing skills.”

Pickleball, which is played on a 20-by-44-foot court with a tennis net, uses a waffle ball and can be played one-on-one or in doubles such as in tennis. It has a national association.

Jennifer Strickland, executive director at the Y, described it as “playing tennis while standing on a Ping-Pong table.”

She said the Y first organized Pickleball games for senior adults as a way to practice and train a group for the Senior Olympics.

However, as more people have become interested in the game, the ages of players is more diverse.

Miraslava Martinez serves.Three courts are available for first-come, first-serve pickup games, and Strickland said the courts are taken most days of the week.

“Now we can have 50 to 60 people in the gym waiting to play or watching and trying to learn the sport,” she said.

Groff, who is 65 and retired, first became involved after several Pickleball players urged him to join.

“I was doing a lot of working out, and the players invited me one day,” he said. “I didn’t have a whole lot to do, so I moseyed on over there.”

Now Groff plays several times a week and even put his Pickleball skills to the test at the recent Texas State Senior Olympics where he and partner Chris Rampacek earned gold for doubles Pickleball play and he won a singles silver medal in the 65-69 age category.

Groff said the benefits of Pickleball are many.

“It’s very fun, and it’s an excellent cardiovascular workout and good for developing eye-to-hand contact skills,” he said, adding it’s not just anyone who can pick up a Pickleball racquet and dominate on the court.

Strickland agreed.

“It’s a pretty difficult and challenging game,” she said. “It can be pretty intense.”