Pickleball gaining popularity in Tri-Cities as a way to keep active, make friends

Michelle DiOrio has always been active.

The St. Charles resident has to keep up with her three athletic children, including a son who played college soccer as well as a daughter who just received all-conference recognition as a high school baller.

One of the ways DiOrio has stayed active and fit the last few years is by playing pickleball.

“I tried out pickleball at my parents place in Florida (a few years ago) and loved it, but thought it was an older person’s thing,” she said. “When I came back to the Midwest, I saw there were open gyms on Saturday and I started that way.”

Regardless of how you’re introduced to this game, there’s a good chance you’ll become hooked once you play it. There are currently 36.5 million pickleball players estimated in the U.S. according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals in 2022. Locally, area park districts are doing their part to try to keep up with its residents who have been engulfed by pickleball fever in the Tri-Cities.

“I do it for exercise when I can get competitive games in or sometimes just social,” DiOrio said. “I do think I’m healthily addicted to it. In the summer I played everyday outdoors. I love it.”

She’s met many great people who have become her friends all thanks to this popular game that has a badminton, tennis and ping-pong flavor to it. It only requires a court, net, paddles, plastic balls with holes and an opponent.

DiOrio plays in a few leagues through the St. Charles Park District and the Geneva Park District, organizations that continue to expand their offerings to meet the growing demand of the pickleball-playing public.

“When I took over the pickleball here in the fall of 2021 we were only doing an open gym and one basic class,” said Joey Kalwat, aquatics and facility manager of the Geneva Park District. “Now we are offering pickleball open gyms six days a week. And anyone can come in and play; you don’t have to be a member. We’ve doubled our classes and we have pickleball leagues. We’ve put a lot more time into it.”

Geneva even has designated pickleball open gyms for men, women and beginners.

Similarly, St. Charles is working to meet the demand of its pickleball population.

The St. Charles Park District has indoor pickleball at Haines Gymnasium and the Pottawatomie Community Center Conner Gymnasium as well as outdoor courts at Belgium Town Park, James O. Breen Community Park and Pottawatomie Park.

“For the most part one of the things we’re just trying to do is accommodate all of the rise of pickleball,” said Melissa Caine, athletic supervisor for the St. Charles Park District. “So we installed six courts outdoors at James O’ Breen, including another court at Belgium Town and two more at Pottawatomie painted on the tennis courts.”

In the summer of 2022, the St. Charles Park District even hosted a pickleball tournament. While its leagues continue to gain in popularity and grow, open play options remain strong as well.

“We offer open play at all our locations for the most part,” Caine said. “Six days a week there are a lot of open play opportunities in St. Charles.”

St. Charles resident Chris Culotta has taken advantage of such opportunities.

He picked up a paddle for the first time last October after putting his softball glove and golf clubs in hibernation for the winter and was looking to stay active. Since he had quit playing basketball, the idea of pickleball proved intriguing, especially since he’s had to cope with a knee injury.

After failing to get any of his friends to join him, Culotta decided to go out on his own to the Persinger Rec Center in Geneva to see what the buzz about pickleball was all about. He’s been having a blast ever since and nowadays he’s playing there a few times a week.

“I have been playing at 6 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since,” he said. “There are about 8 to 12 regulars that I’ve become friendly with. They’re all really great people and were accommodating when I was beginning. The competition there is great.”

And the great thing about the competition is that players of all skill levels can play. Even kids are starting to catch on.

“I have heard of the sport getting more and more interest in the younger age groups,” said Nathaniel Jarosz, athletics supervisor for the Batavia Park District. “Typically what we saw in the past was more of a senior or retired age crowd, but even at our open gym sessions, we’ve seen younger people attending as well as our lessons have younger (in their mid 30s to mid 40s) players signing up. We are going to offer a family open gym/kids open gym time to gauge interest level in parents/kids playing together and the interest level of the 8 to 17-year-old crowd.”

Currently, like its nearby counterparts in Geneva and St. Charles, Batavia is expanding its pickleball offerings. This summer, the Batavia Park District has plans to transform the existing sports court at West Main Community Park into designated pickleball courts.

“The area has perimeter fencing and will be the permanent home to six pickleball courts, allowing for tournament play,” said Allison Niemela, executive director for the Batavia Park District. “The courts at South Mill Creek Community Park and Prairie and Lathem Park are currently striped for tennis and pickleball. The addition of the courts at West Main will help meet the needs of our community by giving them greater access to one of the fastest-growing sports in America.”

And there’s no doubt that another reason why pickleball has been deemed as the fastest-growing sport in America by The Economist is because the majority of those who play it are part of a community that loves to help others get acclimated to the game.

“I’m a big runner and the people who play pickleball are very handy and helpful like the running community,” said St. Charles resident and personal trainer, Marla Scheckman Remrey. “They like to help people.”

Like countless others, Remrey wanted to try something different that would get her blood flowing, offer social wellness and a chance to compete without having to travel far.

“It’s a blast,” Remrey said. “I have a group of friends and clients that wanted to try something different so they were curious.”