HARLINGEN — The point was a long one, the back and forth punctuated by the “whap-tock!” of a wooden paddle slamming into a plastic ball.
As the doubles teams worked the court, back and forward and back again, shouts of “Yes, sir!” and “Oh yeah!” rang out.
Meet Pickleball, “a tennis game for old people,” said Al Miglio, formerly of Sanford Lake, Michigan, but as of this year now a permanent Texan.
Sunshine RV Resort at 1900 Grace Avenue has made a big investment in Pickleball, building three indoor courts and an outdoor court.
Taking its cues and some of the rules from badminton, tennis and table tennis, Pickleball is one of the ways Valley RV parks are trying to cater to a more active Winter Texan.
“It’s become quite popular,” said John Van Wyk, resort manager at Sunshine. “We’re just designing more and more sports and activities for a younger and younger crowd.”
Van Wyk said his park has made a major commitment to that philosophy, turning part of their facility into Pickleball courts that resemble miniature indoor tennis courts.
“We ripped up the old flooring, it was parquet flooring, we ripped that up,” Van Wyk said. “We prepped the concrete that was there, then we painted these new courts with the anti-slip paint.
“They’re regulation size, and it’s nicely air-conditioned,” he added. “It’s going to be a very popular thing this season.”
It was popular on a recent morning, with all three indoor courts hosting actively-contested matches.
So far, Van Wyk said, Sunshine RV Resort’s commitment to providing activities for a younger and more athletic retiree is working.
“Our reservations are up over 14 percent so we’re going to have a good year,” he said of Sunshine, one of the Valley’s larger parks with 1,000 pad sites.
As the shouts and paddle play resonated through the building, Van Wyk looked out over the players and declared, “It’s a fun game.”
Van Wyk said inter-park Pickleball tournaments already are being held, and he thinks Sunshine with its new indoor and air-conditioned courts will be a big player in those.
But in the end, Pickleball seems to be the kind of sport that can be addictive.
“It’s fun, whether you’re 55 or 75,” he said.
It’s a racquet sport combining elements of badminton, tennis and ping-pong. Players (two to four) use solid wood paddles to whack a plastic Wiffle ball over a net. Court is smaller than a tennis court.
