In A Pickle

Check out the flowers I posted for yesterday!

Back at the East Center, I saw pickleball being played for the first time.  Pickleball is an exploding phenomenon in the US.  It is a racquet sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Two, three, or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a wiffle ball*, over a net. It's fast and entertaining. 

Several Rec Centers in Green Valley have pickleball courts. This one has ten of them and every single one was being used. Players' positioning and strategy on the court is the same as in tennis. I was going to crack open the gate to stick my camera through it, but these folks invited me to come right onto the court with them. 

*Edit:  Wiffle ball started as a kids game. We played it in our yard before we were old enough to play with a real baseball. You can see the ball pretty clearly in expanded view.  Here's  some background on it.  There's a video on the bottom of the page. Watch the first 1:10 to see how difficult it is to hit a well-thrown wiffle ball!