Paddle tennis
 

Just bought a home in Bonita and plan to come down about every other month or so until I can make it full time. I am an avid racquetball player up north here and I have never played pickleball or paddle tennis, however, I understand the new paddle tennis courts are very nice and the game has a racquetball feel as you can play off the side and end fences, On my last visit to the new house, I made several trips to Sea Breeze to watch folks play this game and to my surprise, I did not see anyone playing on the four trips I made. It was very warm those days for sure but the Pickleball folks were going strong. Has this game caught on? What is the best way to get myself involved in this sport as a beginner to learn the game and to find local players? I appreciate any and all suggestions.

Tom

Suggest you call the rec center.

SeaBreeze Recreation Center
Phone: 750-2488
Fax: 750-0398
Email: john.rohan@districtgov.org

What time of day did you look?? Yesterday morning 7-9am about 5 of the courts were being used.

Back in May, after just opening, I saw some sort of early morning league. But after that I didn't even see 1 court being used.

I did notice, when it was busy, that the vast majority of shots were NOT played off the fence. Perhaps the more advanced players use the fence and those that I saw were new to the game?

I've always considered paddle (or platform) tennis a 'winter sport' - the reason it is raised is to allow a heater to be placed underneath to melt the ice on the court. It's great in the cold weather when you can start shedding outerwear as you warm up. I can't imagine playing it in the heat!

Don't think the TV version have heaters:)

I wouldn't think it is any tougher to play in the heat than pickleball or tennis. Hot is Hot.

The better you get in platform tennis the more you play off the screens, and it's basically a doubles game. That makes for some really long points. Here's a link that has a couple of videos of tiebreakers that are fun to watch and give a sense of how the game is played. The link also mentions The Villages. http://www.platformtennis.org/

Russ.... maybe if they put chillers under the courts more people would use them in the summertime???

I've played paddle a couple of times...it's fun, but, I still prefer "real" tennis. When given a choice of another racquet sport, I would opt for pickleball.

I have some friends, still working, who come visit their Villages house once or twice a month. They love paddle tennis and play it a couple of hours a day. It's a better singles game than pickleball or tennis.

BTW, last winter was perfect platform tennis weather.

I rode my bike by SeaBreeze this morning about 9am and all 6 paddle tennis courts were in use with others standing on the side waiting to get in. It may have been an organized league. Good to see them being used.

If you like racket sports, give Pickleball a try. I have played numerous racket sports and never heard of Pickleball until I moved here 4 years ago. Pickleball is the most addictive sport I have ever played and the villages has a tremendous beginner program to teach you the sport.

I tried the platform tennis when the courts were first built, but the racket is WAY too heavy for my overworked shoulder.

jeffy

There is FREE instructions for new people every Wed and Fri from 8-10AM. You can sign out a paddle and ball and get some very good instructions on the basics of the game. On Mondays we have open play, But if a question is needing an answer someone will be available to help answer it. It is a great sport and doesn't take long to get a good basic knowledge of the game. Give it a try.

I think one of the instuctors is a TOTVer (RballRuss).

Are there free pickle ball lessons also?

Yes, there are free lessons - they have it all organized here - think you start with Pickleball 101, then 102, then 103. It's all explained in The Recreation News, which you can find linked on TheVillages.com and also TheVillagesDailySun.com.