Wayne Wenthe returns a serve during a game of pickleball on Friday, Aug. 17, at Rainbow Land Park in Fayette. The City of Fayette is hosting a pickleball clinic on Thursdays at 6 p.m. that is designed to teach newcomers about the game. The clinic is led by Wenthe. 

Pickleball: a sport for anyone

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

In 2014, NBC News named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America. Now, a few dedicated citizens are trying to get the sport to catch on in Fayette.

At 6 p.m. every Thursday at Rainbow Land Park, the City of Fayette hosts free pickleball clinics led by Wayne Wenthe for anyone who wants to come and learn the paddle sport. A cross between badminton, tennis, and Ping-Pong, the high-action sport is played with a wood or composite paddle that is about three times the size of a Ping-Pong paddle and a wiffle ball. 

“It is a game that you can enjoy from 8 years old to 80 years old and older,” said Wenthe, who learned to play pickleball in Arizona. “The game was developed in the 1960s but really hasn’t caught on until the last 10 to 15 years. It’s included in the Iowa Games. I tell people it is like playing Ping-Pong, only you are standing on the table. The scoring is a little different, but it is that kind of speed.”

Recently, the City of Fayette resurfaced its tennis and basketball courts at Rainbow Land Park, turning the tennis courts into pickleball courts. A typical pickleball court is 44 feet long by 20 feet wide. As in tennis or Ping-Pong, there can be a singles or doubles match.

“It is good cardio and good hand-eye coordination,” Wenthe said. “It is fast, it is social, and it is exciting.”

Just like in tennis, the server always serves the ball cross-court. The ball must bounce once on the serve and then bounce once on the return before it can be hit, after which the ball can be played out of the air or off the first bounce. There is an area on either side of the net 7 feet deep and 20 feet wide called “the kitchen.” A player isn’t allowed to hit the ball out of the air while in “the kitchen” or if they step into “the kitchen” while hitting it. You can only play the ball after the first bounce while in the kitchen. 

Points can only be scored off the serve. Each player on a team has the chance to serve and score points until each teammate’s serve is broken before the other team gets to serve (other than at the beginning). The first person to serve in the match serves until his or her service is broken, and then the ball goes to the other team. Games are played to 11, and a team must win by two points. When serving, a player must call out his or her team’s score, the opponent’s score, and then the number of the server. For instance, 1-0-1 with 1-0 being the score and the extra “one” being the number of the person that is serving. After each point is scored, the player  serves from the other side of the court. 

“We like it for the exercise and social aspect,” said Bobby and Connie Berry of Arlington, who have been coming to the clinic. “You get to meet a lot of new people, plus there isn’t a lot of equipment involved.”

Fayette Mayor Andrew Wenthe, who comes to the clinic fairly often, noted that the City is in the process of buying some pickleball equipment that will be rentable from Fayette Community Library.  Because pickleball courts are smaller than tennis courts, the City will be purchasing a net to go across the back of the courts so people won’t have to chase after balls. 

The clinics will continue every Thursday at 6 p.m. while weather permits. If inclement weather occurs, the clinic will be moved to Friday at the same time. Rainbow Land Park across the street from the Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Fayette Clinic. 

As a sport that can be played by anyone, the City of Fayette encourages everyone to come on down to their new courts and give this addictive game a try.