By Kenneth Pastushyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeshore News Reporter
LaSalle’s pickleball players are in a pickle. And it all comes down to supply and demand.
Pickleball is a fast-growing recreational sport and activity, yet there are only five “dedicated” pickleball courts to the game in town: two inside Heritage Park and three more at Vince Marcotte Park. This is why the LaSalle Pickleball Association was incorporated a few months ago.
“The ultimate goal is to add more courts,” said Scott Vickers, an information-technology specialist and board member of the LPA who considers himself a pickleball lover. “This is the first step.”
The long journey beginning with this single step continued July 23rd when board members the LPA appeared at a town council meeting to propose and alignment of pickleball courts with tennis courts at Gil Maure Park on Front Road. Six pickleball courts will overlap with two existing tennis courts.
Down the road on Front Road at the LaSalle Event Centre is a temporary solution which began in early
July where indoor drop-in pickleball sessions are open to the public (for a $5.00 fee) until the end of
August. These two-hour sessions take place Tuesday to Thursday with one in the morning and one in the
afternoon. There is also one on Wednesday evening. There is “Level Play” on Tuesday evenings and
“Learn to Lessons” offered on Thursday evenings.
“We love pickleball and we want you to fall in love with pickleball,” said Janet Andersen, an LPA member,
a retired schoolteacher now living in South Windsor, and a nationally certified Level One pickleball
coach while addressing a group of 30 “newbies” at the end of the learn-to lesson, also making herself
available for private instruction. “It’s just a great game and it keeps on growing.”
The LPA has grown to 200 in the first month of open membership confirmed Vickers. “Learn to Lessons”
and “Level Play” reservations fill quickly, thus, adding potential pickleball lovers to a waiting list.
But you don’t have to put yourself on a waiting list to play a pickup game of pickleball. Vickers suggests
showing up at Marcotte Park anytime between eight and ten in the morning when it’s very busy.
Onlookers are often invited by friendly LPA members who have been playing the game for years and will
give you a few pointers.
“It’s like Cheers where everybody knows your name,” said Renee Burns, 57, a social worker and private
therapist originally from River Canard, now living in Windsor and playing pickleball in LaSalle five days a
week. “These are my people.”
Like other fellow LPA members, Burns would also like to see more pickleball courts added inside Marcotte Park. On weekends and holidays, it is quite common to see 30 people waiting line to play
pickleball. Out of courtesy, pickleball players only play only two games at a time.
As a courtesy to her mother, Andrea Tynkaluk finally agreed to learn how to play pickleball before taking
her to a Mother’s Day brunch this year.
“My parents have been trying to get me to play for 10 years. I thought it was dumb and for old people,” said Tynkaluk, a 41-year-old who owns a cat-grooming salon who now arranges her schedule around pickleball with her husband and two kids. “And we really thought we would beat these people. Then we came in and the oldest person in knee braces kicked our butts.”
On that Mother’s Day, she and her family played pickleball for three hours. The next day Tynkaluk rode
her bike to Marcotte Park for some more pickleball and has been playing ever since. She has become a
member of the LPA. Her parents both 70 and 68 are heavily involved in and teach a lot of pickleball.
“The age doesn’t matter in this game,” said Tynkaluk who plans on taking more lessons. “It’s skill level.”
On Tuesday evening “Level Play” three courts inside the event centre are designated for novice and
intermediate players. Another three courts are for intermediate and advanced players. It’s up to the
individual to self-rate themselves when moving up (or down) to the next level.
“We are leaning on the intermediate and advanced player to help the novice,” said Cherie Green,
another LPA board member and considers herself to be an intermediate player. She goes on to say that
“We are relying on a small base of volunteers especially for the lessons.”
The LPA is currently working together with the Town of LaSalle to create a partnership to develop indoor
and outdoor pickleball spaces for recreational and competitive play.
“There is no shortage of people who want to try it,” said Green, referring to the game of pickleball.
Editor’s note: Town Council passed a motion at the July 24 council meeting to make two of the tennis courts on Front Road into dedicated courts – so there are now six dedicated Pickleball Courts.
“The LaSalle Pickleball Association is very happy!” added Dave Bussey, president of the LaSalle Pickleball Association.
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