While Pickleball was invented in 1965, the sport’s rapid rise to popularity has mainly been post-pandemic. Eugene is no exception to the love for the close-quarters racquet sport, with the Emerald Valley Pickleball Club home to over 800 members.
The Emerald Valley Pickleball Club has been working to grow the sport in the Eugene-Springfield area since 2015.
“Initially, some pickleball players were, ‘well, let’s not tell anybody, because this is kinda crowded, and we’ll never get to play,’” club president Roger Schaljo said.
The club began with around 30 people playing the game at a church. Club leaders aimed to build more courts throughout Eugene. Emerald Valley and the City of Eugene agreed to build permanent nets at Westmoreland and Meadow parks.
During the rainy winters in the Pacific Northwest, the program hosts events such as introductory clinics at the YMCA and Bob Keefer Center in Springfield.
Pickleball is less physically demanding than other racquet sports, making it easily accessible for players of all physical abilities.
“Pretty much any morning when there’s decent weather, you go to Westmoreland Park or Meadow Park, 40 to 50 people are playing,” Schaljo said.
To deal with overcrowding, players put their paddles into holders by the courts, and when a game finishes, two players come on and two players come off. Four players will switch out at a time if there are more than five paddles in a holder.
Schaljo says pickleball is inherently about meeting people and having fun. “If you get your heart rate going and get the blood flowing, those are all good signs,” Schaljo said.
University of Oregon racquet sports instructor Daniel Howe teaches all tennis, pickleball and table tennis classes at UO.
Howe says that pickleball is a really easy game to pick up, requiring less of a learning curve than tennis.
“You can start playing and really get into a game and have fun on day one,” Howe said. “There’s a lot of energy in the room. I love when I get to play and there are students who are better than me.”
Howe teaches the fundamentals of pickleball in his classes, like forehand, backhand and serving. Some shots, like a third shot drop, or a “lob,” which goes over a player’s head, are taught later in the course.
“The third shot drop is probably the shot that requires the most skill because you really have to place the ball well from far away,” Howe said. “By hitting a ball that just barely makes it over the net, it gives the serving team time to move closer to the net.”
Pickleball is an extremely social sport, with most games being played in doubles. Howe says that starting players should focus on trying not to hit the ball too hard and moving their feet.
UO offers various avenues for those who want to try the sport. An intramural pickleball tournament is hosted every spring, and pickleball classes are offered for credit.
Schaljo says teaching pickleball to Parkinson’s patients has been the most touching experience. “Someone told me that they hadn’t felt that young in decades,” Schaljo said.
The Emerald Valley Pickleball Foundation is hosting a tournament at the YMCA on Memorial Day weekend. That weekend, the pickleball clubs at UO and Oregon State will face off in a match for the very first time.
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