Mexico Serving Up Pickleball Opportunities for All Levels
One couldn’t find a sport better suited for expat life than pickle ball. Not that golf, motorcycle riding, Spanish lessons, mahjong, cooking classes, live music and dozens of other activities don’t already keep everyone pretty busy down here at Camp Mexico
Pickelball is America’s fastest growing sport. A cross between tennis, badminton and ping pong, you don’t have to be very fit to start playing and the learning curve is short. Everyone, beginner and expert alike, get in a few good shots in and look ridiculous as well (even good players whif). It’s a game so concurrently humbling and easy to play and it’s most strictly enforced rule is to not take it too seriously. (Cabrones need to play tennis,)
Grinning eighty year-olds hit balls at the feet of 30 year-olds. Trained athletes flail. At the beginner level the repartee never stops and the jokes write themselves. Games are over so fast in about 15 minutes, at the end of the day you likely won’t remember who you beat and who beat. (Not that many players could remember anyway, as we are quite old).
Rules seem designed to discourage heart attacks on the court (the core of its players are over 55 but at least they include George Clooney). Court size is a third of that of a tennis court. You still get the point if your ball rolls over the net (except for a serve) as long as it goes over. Dinking is not only honorable, it’s encouraged. If you don’t call the score before serving you can be penalized, and let’s just say that determining that score often can take a village.
Pickle ball is highly social. I argue that it should only be social (See paragraph 4). Players lay down rackets at the court they want to play or there is a rack to stack them. In open play courts, you may have no idea of the ability of the owners of the other three rackets.
People are usually pretty good at trying to keep the game fair, teaming the weaker player with the stronger. (Rhere are some people who really should be playing tennis.) That way, there’s always room for hope. You play to 11 points, or might play to eight points or a set number of minutes if the courts are crowded. All kinds of games and drills exist for 2 or 3 people to play together.
In a serve or return serve, the ball has to bounce, which bleeds off its momentum. The ball might at times seem be coming so slowly that it looks like it’s hanging in mid-air, like a scene out of The Matrix. Other times, you’ll swear the ball turned invisible, reconstructing itself only as it flies at your head.
The infinite number of rules, light whiffle balls and restricted court size tend to level the play. Great players routinely hit balls into the adjacent court. A beginner player might hit a good shot down the middle once, twice, three times against a superior player. You see players who win moving all over the court and others who win by barely moving at all. Pickle ball is to tennis what snowboarding is to skiing, a sport that gives a new player immediate gratification, making it easy to love.
Puerto Vallarta
Courts are popping up in all the popular expat cities. On the Pacific side, Puerto Vallarta’s club on Facebook lists 1,200 members who play at a court at the marina. Playa del Carmen has an active group.
Mazatlan
The Iguana courts where members play are located about three blocks off the malecón between the El Cid Marina and the Golden Zone. More courts exist near the Aquarium (Sahap), and more advanced players play there. During high season (Nov-May) groups meet at the basketball court at Los Pinos, just north of El Centro, also on the malecón. All levels are welcome at Club Pickleball in Los Cerritos (north Mazatlán)
Yucatan Pennisula
On the other side of Mexico In the Yucatan Peninsula, there are clubs in Progresso and a new six-court pickle ball facility at the Sport Center on the north side of Merida for those not wanting to drive to Progresso. Puerto Aventuras in Quintana Roo (also in the Yucatan) has over 200 members.
Oaxaca
Oaxaca’s club lists 198 members and San Miguel de Allende’s Pickle Ball Forum boasts 60,000 members.
Mexican pickle ball clubs exist in cities where fewer expats live, such as Queretaro. Given that takes about five minutes to explain to a Mexican what a pickle is, and another five to try to explain why a sport is named after one, it’s easy to understand why the game is called Cosmicball at Spanish-speaking clubs.
If you’re traveling through one of these communities in Mexico, finding a local court, most often through a Facebook search, is a great way to immediately connect with local expats. For resident expats trying to find one another, it’s the perfect opportunity to meet and socialize while getting some fresh air.
What better way to pick up information about retiring to a new city (or country) than hang out with residents at a pickle ball court? I met more expats in my first week playing pickle ball than I had in seven years of living in Mexico. I met a number of people who decide where to travel based on the availability of pickle ball groups.
According to sociologists, making friends depends on three factors; proximity, repeated interactions, and an environment that encourages us to let our guard down. All these can be accomplished on a pickle ball court.The atmosphere’s friendly and welcoming, making it a boon to any extroverted traveler visiting Mexico and seeking a tribe.
Kerry Baker is the author of two books for those considering expat life.
The second book is ““If Only I Had a Place.,” your guide to renting luxuriously for less in Mexico, plus tips on how to set the stage for your most gratifying expat life. Her second book is “The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico.” Most recently she released a cookbook, “The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico” Over 150 recipes for travelers, snowbirds and expats who want to maintain a healthy diet in Mexico.