The dates may be wrong as I can only guess within a few months. But it was sometime in the early part of 2019. It may have been January, February, March, April or even May. I honestly don’t recall. Time is funny that way. In lieu of knowledge we create a “feel” for the passage of weeks, months and years. A guess? Yes, indeed. But a recent one, so I believe it to be true. In the future, for the blogs sake if nothing else, I will try to do better. For now…..let us say it was March 2019.
My determination and passion for golf had been put on hold due to the winter. Oh, I still went out…..and played well enough to regularly return….but once the mercury dips below a certain line so does the desire to go outdoors. The warmth of spring was still a couple of months in the future and putting practice on the carpet can only quench an addiction for so long. I needed another fix.
Ahhh…..pickleball!
I began playing pickleball indoors on Sunday afternoons at a Recreation Center in Carl Junction, Missouri. The people were very nice and I enjoyed it. It was (and is) a very relaxing environment with a water fountain, bathrooms and plenty of seating in between matches.
It was there that I first played with Missina, who would eventually become my mixed doubles partner. Did we win the first time we played together? I believe we did, although I cannot be certain. I don’t even know if we teamed up again that day. But we did after that.
I needed someone who matched my intensity and drive. Someone who also felt the need to get better, stronger and smarter. Someone who pushed me. It was the perfect person at the perfect time. Missina makes me be better. She watches pickleball videos, matches and instructional and goes with me to clinics. We compare notes afterwards and push each other further. She might be the only person I have found that is as competitive as I am.
During this time we also began playing outdoors at Landreth Park in Joplin, Missouri. There are usually weekend games and Tuesday and Thursday night games. There are eight courts that are well lit and fenced in. Plus, the people there are wonderful and welcoming also.
After that came Friday nights and Saturday mornings at the Millennium Fitness Center in Joplin, Missouri. The Millennium is a wonderful facility that I played tennis at for years. It is very inviting, with an awesome staff, a beautiful weight room with free weights and machines. Lots of aerobic equipment as well. There are four indoor courts and two outdoor with room to expand for tournaments inside and out. And once more, the nicest pickleball people you could possibly find!
If one were to do the math, by this point I was playing almost every day. I felt guilty if I took a day off (as Missina did as well).
By the end of the summer of 2019 pickleball had become my new addiction.