Retirement 101: First, learn how to play pickleball | Suzy Leonard

Two months in, and I finally feel like a real retiree.

I’ve taken up pickleball.

This is momentous for me, because: a) I’ve never been athletic; and b) I’ve never been athletically competitive.

Put me in a game of Pictionary, Boggle or euchre, and look out, but if it involves physical activity, let’s just say maximum effort probably won’t be expended.

The first time I heard of pickleball was more than 20 years ago, from a young sports copy editor who’d just started at FLORIDA TODAY.

It’s going to be huge, he said. He’d written about it at his previous job as a reporter for The Villages Daily Sun.

Sure, I thought. Silly name. Silly sport. Silly kid on the copy desk.

I would learn not to underestimate Tim Walters.

Tim went on to become my editor. Now he’s sports editor for FLORIDA TODAY and the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, as well as deputy sports editor for the USA Today Florida Network.

And pickleball, well, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association named it the fastest-growing sport in America for the third year in a row in 2023, with 8.9 million players in the United States, an increase from 4.8 million in 2022. That’s according to usapickleball.org.

You can now count me among that number.

I gave rackets, um, excuse me, paddles to my husband for Christmas a couple of years ago. Two rackets, a couple of wiffle balls and a case were about $50 on Amazon. I figured it was something we could learn together.

The set languished untouched in the garage for more than a year before friends invited us to the court at their Merritt Island condo for a friendly lesson.

Steve was immediately great at it. I was able to connect my paddle with the ball and keep it in bounds, sometimes. Not a bad introduction.

Then my friend and baking partner Leta Meerman offered to meet me at the Cocoa Beach Recreation Center for the Wednesday afternoon beginning to intermediate pickleball session.

It’s friendly and low-key, she said. You’ll love it.

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I showed up at the appointed time and pulled out my paddle. Nothing says “newbie” like having bubble wrap and original packaging fall out of your case upon arrival at the rec center.

Once we got on the court, I managed to get my serve in the correct quadrant most of the time and to stay out of the kitchen. I also mastered the freakishly complicated scoring system.

I even returned a few volleys and was told I put a nice spin on the ball, which apparently is advanced pickleball technique. I wish I knew how I did it so I can replicate the accomplishment.

Leta promises I’ll soon be hooked on the sport. She has a professional-level paddle with a custom grip and plays several times a week.

I, however, was satisfied with winning one of our six matches and was happy to leave the court with no injury other than an aching knee.

Will I play again? Absolutely. Have I become a competitive athlete? Not quite.

My ultimate goal is to get good enough so that I don’t embarrass my husband should we ever play together again.

Thanks for the intro, Leta. I’m ready to play again. Just don’t expect me to give up my cheap Amazon paddle.

Suzy Fleming Leonard spent more than four decades as a journalist before retiring from FLORIDA TODAY in February 2024.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Paddling my way into retirement via the pickleball court | Leonard