- April 27, 2024
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To the unknowing public cruising down West Story Road or South Park Avenue in Winter Garden, an easy mistake could be made regarding the constant in-and-out shuffle of cars at Veterans Memorial Park — especially around the tennis court and weird mini-tennis courts toward the back of the park.
Some may think there is a sort of special event happening at the park. Others may wonder if Little League teams are playing this early in the day.
But those in the know — who can range from Winter Garden residents to folks who live in various surrounding and non-surrounding communities — understand two simple truths. First, those “weird” smaller tennis-like courts aren’t for tennis at all. Second, the continuous flow of people into that portion of the park isn’t for a special event or a randomly early mid-week Little League game.
On any given morning, afternoon or evening when you cross the threshold of that blue fence door, sectioned out of a nearly 15-foot-tall wall of blue fencing that surrounds blue-painted asphalt courts with crisp white lines, isn’t just an obscure sport’s court. No, it’s where a community that revolves around a common interest holds court.
What you’ll find is pickleball.
Pickleball is a tennis-like game played by four people in teams of two on a court about one-fourth the size of a tennis court with paddles and a plastic, whiffle-style ball. The concept of the game is similar to tennis and resembles a quicker, smaller version of doubles tennis. The objective is the same: Hit the ball over the net and inside the opponent’s courtlines. Points are scored when the ball bounces twice on the floor.
Pickleball’s slow and steady growth spread from its origins in Seattle and eventually reached the Southeast in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, it’s exponential rise in popularity didn’t begin in Winter Garden until about a decade ago.
And, like most great American stories, it started with one person’s curiosity leading to a question being asked.
“A little over 10 years ago, I became aware that the city of Winter Garden had gone out and drawn some pickleball lines onto the tennis courts,” said Dave Vander Weide, USA Pickleball’s Florida Central District ambassador. “So, I walked into the Parks and Rec Department and asked a few people some questions to find out what their intentions were for the lines. They told me they just wanted to see what would happen.”
Vander Weide heard that response and knew instantly that approach wasn’t good enough to introduce the sport to the city.
“Internally, I’m going, ‘I don’t think this is going to lead to anything,’” he said. “So, I offered to volunteer and teach a pickleball class and organize some games on Monday mornings. The city publicized through their different avenues that we’d be out there then, and you know what? All of a sudden, we had four, five, six, seven people coming out. And then it just kept growing.”
Today, those lines painted over a few tennis courts have transformed into 10 pickleball-specific courts at Veterans Memorial Park, and those five, six, seven people who came out to Vander Weide’s Monday morning pickleball sessions nigh on a decade ago have turned into consistently packed courts with sidelines full of people in the queue waiting for their turn at Winter Garden’s pickleball heaven.
“No one seemed to know what the sport was 10 years ago,” Vander Weide said. “But I would say during and after the COVID period, that’s when it really took off to the beginning stages of what we’re seeing today.”
But, why? Why has pickleball become a local sensation in Winter Garden and really the entire Central Florida area?
To the pickleball layman, the sport doesn’t seem to have many novel qualities. It’s like elevated ping pong or mini-tennis, which neither draws crowds of 200-plus daily at a park near you.
So what is it about this version of racquet-based games we know and kind of like? The answer is three-fold: competition, exercise and a quick learning curve.
Because the sport is easily played by the whole family, it is accessible to people of all ages, athleticism and coordination.
“I only started playing two-and-a-half years ago, and I thought it was growing quickly then,” said Steve Miller, a Winter Garden resident and former school teacher. “These days, it seems to be growing even more than when I started. But, I think what’s most exciting about the sport is that young, old, big, tall, heavy or skinny, anyone can play pickleball. And from Day 1, anyone can have fun playing. To me, that’s why there’s been so much growth.”
If you take that easy learning curve and add in a dash of competitiveness with enough movement to get your heart pumping, pickleball comes out of the oven making everyone from toddlers to grandparents alike salivate.
“I started playing about six months ago, and I did it because I had an injury from playing softball, so I needed something to be able to get back into shape and help me lose some weight,” said Chris Seymour, a regular player at Veterans Memorial Park. “I got up to 297 pounds after my injury, and now, from only really playing pickleball, I’m down to 282, because this is the most consistent cardio I’ve ever gotten. … I come out here regularly from like, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. to play, shoot; a couple of days ago, I played four-and-a-half hours straight, and I didn’t even realize it.”
The game has created a community of people who love coming together and just playing ball.
“Dave (Vander Weide) has done an amazing job putting together a great community environment here,” Seymour said. “To have that many people show up seven days a week, both in the morning and evening, with the afternoons being more for open play, is a testament to that. I have a blast coming out every time.”
Miller, who frequents also the Veterans Memorial Park courts, agrees.
“The competition is fun, but it’s the social aspect that makes it special,” he said. “I love the ability to just come down to the courts, not have to call anybody, but just come on down and put your paddle on the queue and wait until they say, ‘Next,’ and it’s your turn to get on the court.”
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the sport’s introduction to Winter Garden’s public facilities, the city will host the St. Paddle’s Day Winter Garden Community Pickleball Fest from March 14 to 16 at Veterans Memorial Park.
The event will be a free three-day recreational round-robin format pickleball tournament open to beginners, intermediate and advanced players ages 8 and older.
The event also will feature free clinics which will be taught by local instructors, including Vander Weide, and a special event from noon to 3 p.m. March 16. Spectators are welcome.
“It’s been an amazing 10 years, and this celebration is huge because Winter Garden was the first public pickleball venue in the Greater Orlando area,” Vander Weide said.
“I still remember the early days, prior to this growth, (we) played in hockey rinks, tennis courts, we’d use portable equipment. … That’s where this started. But now it’s grown so much, and we’ve become a leader in the sport in this area, and we’ve influenced a lot of how the entire area has developed the sport.
“Others have modeled their facilities or activities after what we’ve done in Winter Garden,” he said. “If pickleball in Central Florida was a crime scene, you’d probably find our fingerprints somewhere.”
Sam Albuquerque is the Sports Editor for the Orange Observer. Please contact him with story ideas, results and statistics.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @SamBAlbuquerque
Instagram: @OrangeObserverSam
