Pickleball is the country’s fastest growing sport and the Capital Region is no exception.
Pickleball has taken the country by storm. Outdoor parks can't seem to install new courts fast enough while indoor courts are opening up in mall spaces vacated by big-box stores. Indoor and outdoor facilities are usually booked well in advance. Pickleball has been around since the mid-60s but took off during the pandemic, named as the fastest growing sport in the United States three years running.
"The pandemic helped, but it's an easy game to learn. It's very social. It's also fast, you know, you can play a game and 20 minutes. So let's say you want to go at lunchtime, and get back to work. Easy," said local businessman Mike Bibbo. He and partner Jon Foshee decided the Capital Region needed a facility: they found a central location and anticipate a late summer opening for True Pickleball Club in space formerly occupied by Kmart at 195 Troy Schenectady Road.
Bibbo says when word got out, letters and emails began pouring in.
"'We heard you guys are taking a space in Latham How can we join?' And from there, we just took it to a whole 'nother level," said Bibbo. "We're getting sanctioned with USA Pickleball, all our courts are seven layer cushion courts, acrylic, we have a members lounge. We have cabanas, but we're just not a typical pickleball place that we're going to go in to a space and just paint on a court. We're going to go into a repurposed space. And we're going to we're going to jack it up and we're going to make it one of the best pickleball experiences that we can have in the area."
Bibbo's plans call for singles, doubles, tournaments, leagues and lessons.
"And we're also tailoring it to the beginners. I mean, 40% of people that are going to walk through that door have never played pickleball. So we want to make sure that we're going to cater to everyone," Bibbo said.
Pickleball enthusiasts Jack and Christine Hyatt of Green Island often stop by the courts at Latham Kiwanis Park.
"I like tennis, I've been playing tennis for over 20 years," said Hyatt. "But now everybody plays pickleball so I kind of have to do it. And my husband won't play tennis, but he will do pickleball and we wanted something to do together. So the pickleball so far is working out."
Hyatt says at least in this area tennis and pickleball players rarely clash. She hasn't seen any friction between the two.
"If a tennis player gets to a court that's marked up for pickleball, that's a little frustrating, because there's too many lines. Other than that, no," Hyatt said.
True Pickleball's Foshee says the entire family can enjoy it.
"The age range in pickleball is from eight to 80. Right? That's what's out there. So anybody can play the sport," Foshee said. "So someone who's looking to just get a little more active, maybe they want to get some cardio in. Maybe they're not, you know, they're not too excited about going to a gym and walking on a treadmill or walking on the street, and they want to do something a little more social than they get into pickleball. And we see that human connection is really driving the growth of the sport.”
Christine Hyatt agrees but thinks pickleball should be called something else.
"One of the hesitations for playing it is the name pickleball, but once you get past that it's kind of like a combination of tennis and standing on the ping-pong table. So it's actually fun," Hyatt said.
Foshee adds "It's the coolest thing in the world when you know, when we're out and about, and you see someone wearing a true pickleball shirt, because we haven't opened yet. And people are really excited for it. So we just can't wait."
