The cross-generational appeal of pickleball in one college town

Photo credit: Carolyn Sheehan   

For players in one Ohio college town, pickleball is more than a sport — it’s a way to connect people across generations.

Pickleball is an outdoor game played with a solid paddle and a ball similar to a wiffle ball on a court that resembles a smaller tennis court.  It is a low-impact game that affects joints less, so people as young as five years old and as old as 85 years old can play together.  Claudia Sheehan, a 70-year-old pickleball player in the college town of Athens, Ohio, the cross-generational appeal of the sport “makes it pretty special.”

“One of the biggest benefits for me playing pickleball is that I can play with my son, my grandson, and my ex,” Sheehan said. 

The social impact of pickleball is not limited to families. Anyone can just pick up a cheap paddle and find other people who play.

Rachel Prange, a 17-year-old pickleball player in Athens, said there are a lot of resources in her community to pick up the game. 

“You can go to the community center, get a day pass for $5 and then rent a pickleball paddle and ball for free and then get a couple of friends,” Prange said. “I think it’s a worthwhile experience. It’s fun, and I think it’s pretty easy to fall in love with the sport. Everybody I’ve talked to, they thought about pickleball, but they’ve never played it. But then once they play it, they really enjoy it.”

There are scheduling websites that allow anyone to find games in their area. There are also public outdoor courts for players to use in many communities, with both Athens High School and Ohio University in the area offering pickleball clubs. Pickleball can also be good for your health, both physically and socially. Canadian researchers in a study wrote pickleball “is promising as an exercise intervention for all adults.”

 “I think it keeps people healthy and provides a social outlet,” Sheehan said. “It creates laughter. We laugh a lot when we play pickleball. I play with older people and you know, we’re not great. We’re not trying to be great, we’re just trying to do our best. And sometimes our best leads to awkward moments. We laugh, but we laugh pretty hard. Pretty hard, not at each other, but with each other.”

Disclosure: Claudia Sheehan is a family member of the author.