01/06/2026
I’ve tried Pickleball for Two Weeks. Now I Understand the Obsession:
After decades of competitive sport, I've learned one thing; eventually your body starts negotiating terms that your mind refuses to accept. Most former athletes know exactly what I'm talking about. The competitive fire is still kind of there, but the knees, hips, shoulders and back have accumulated a few too many hours & miles.
That's exactly why I think more retired athletes should give pickleball a go.
In my second consistent week of going along twice a week to set sessions at a school gym in Dunedin (plus hits outside of this) I still get sore, but it's not a brutal kind of sore; the kind that leaves you unable to do anything physical for the next three days. (Old age battered body syndrome) I can still train, work, & move while getting my competitive fix. I have not been physically able to play squash to any level this regularly for about 8 years, the body simply cannot manage it, with pickleball this hasn’t been the case.
When I first picked up a paddle, I wasn't expecting much. What I found was a sport that gives you all the things I've missed since stepping away from serious competition; strategy, skill, intensity, camaraderie and that feeling of being engaged in a contest, and it doesn’t take all day. Plus I can walk away not over analysing or dwelling how good or bad I played.
The difference is you don't need to punish your body to get it. It's competitive enough without being destructive, I’m not doing it at this stage of my life to be world champ, & challenging enough without requiring elite fitness; (partially due to limitations of my movements) you can play hard, improve quickly and still wake up wanting to play again the next day.
What surprised me most was how addictive it is. The learning curve is quick enough that you're having fun immediately, but there's enough depth that you're constantly chasing improvement.
Before long, you're looking for the next game, the next tournament, well in my case, my 1st tournament.
There's a reason pickleball is exploding around the world and taking over court space traditionally occupied by other racket sports; it’s accessible, reasonably cheap, ($7 an hour for organised hits in my case) predominantly doubles focused, social, easy to learn and incredibly rewarding. People of different ages and abilities can hit together and genuinely enjoy it.
For those of us who thought our competitive sporting days might be behind us, pickleball offers something unexpected; a second chance to compete, improve and belong to a sporting community again.
I didn't expect to become obsessed with it, now I completely understand why millions of people around the world are.
