Pickleball Dominates Florida Community
Pickleball Dominates Florida Community
Naples Daily News (Florida)
When Chad Edwards and Simone Jardim uprooted their life in Michigan and moved to Naples two years ago, the husband and wife were betting on pickleball.
Edwards ran a baseball academy in East Lansing, while Jardim was the women’s tennis coach at Michigan State. But after playing in the 2016 U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, the couple – already addicted to the sport – saw the game’s potential in Southwest Florida.
The bet paid off. Edwards and Jardim now run the academy at the largest pickleball facility in the country at East Naples Community Park. They’re at the forefront of helping the sport infuse with the DNA of Naples.
Bocce Club/ Pickleball Club Reciprocal Exchange Tournaments
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Update: The Tournaments and Training/Practice Schedules have been set:
Bocce/Pickleball Tournaments Composite Schedule
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I want to tell you about an exciting upcoming event. In an effort to make Pickleball more visible in The Villages, Bob Iacopi has reached out to the Bocce Club to arrange a reciprocal exchange/tournament. Basically the way this will work is that Pickleball Club members wiil have a couple of opportunities to learn bocce and then will have a fun bocce tournament. Then the Bocce Club members will have a couple of opportunities to learn pickleball and then have a fun pickleball tournament.
The first opportunity for bocce training is this Wednesday, June 20 at the monthly Bocce Clinic at 3:00. The next opportunity is June 29th for the Bocce Bootcamp at 2:00. Our third opportunity will be July 15th dedicated to pickleball players at 3:00 pm. I encourage everyone to attend one, two or all of these sessions! Bob will be there to provide any assistance required.
Our Pickleball Club Bocce tournament is August 5 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm.
Bocce Club members will be encouraged to attend one or more of our Wednesday /Fridays drop in sessions and Bob will try to arrange a Saturday training session for Bocce players who work or otherwise can not make a drop in session.
The Bocce Club Pickleball tournament will be held September 9th from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on courts 5 & 6.
Both the tournaments are going to be social events and we hope members of both clubs will attend both tournaments. There will not be any fees to participate and we will not be giving awards.
Watch for more details and contact Bob Iacopi with any questions or concerns at
Garry
Good News – Club Board vote!
Good News! At the Club Board meeting on Tuesday, June 26th, the Board voted to complete the Studies required by The City of San Jose to construct dedicated pickleball courts. These include a Storm Water Drainage Study, a Sound Study and a Soil Study . These studies will cost approximately $50,000. The funding will be split between The Villages and the Evergreen Villages Foundation.
We want to thank both the Club Board and The Evergreen Villages Foundation for their support of this project!
See you on the courts,
Garry
Happy Father’s Day!
A great Father’s Day was had by all on the Bistro Patio. The food and beer were fantastic along with music by the Singing Cowboy and his Bluegrass Band. A big thank you goes to John Yu for organizing the event and donating a portion of the proceeds to the Pickleball Club. Anahid Gregg, our club liaison was a huge help working with John. The 50/50 raffle winner was Wes Tanaka. He generously donated all of his winnings to our club. The Pickleball Club is lucky to have so much support here at The Villages.
Haven’t tried Pickleball yet? Come join us playing the fastest growing sport in the over 55 age group. Mike Walias has a special session every Wednesday and Friday; 1:00 to 1:30 for beginners only, on courts 5 and 6. Starting at 1:30 to 3:00, our regular Drop-In for all players is held. Mike will assist in forming groups and giving tips to players. We have equipment for you to use, just wear your non-marking court shoes. Check out our website too… https://villagespickleball.vgcc.club for more information. See you on the courts!
Picture: Wes Tanaka with Pickleball President, Garry Gray
The Villages High Twelve supports building Pickleball Courts!
The Villages High Twelve supports building Pickleball Courts! Building dedicated Pickleball courts is an important project for all Villagers. As seniors look to move to retirement communities, Pickleball is now the number 1 amenity they seek. These courts will increase the value of everyone’s investment in the Villages. Pickleball also provides health benefits for seniors. It is a low impact, low risk activity that improves balance and agility while giving a great cardio workout. Just as important, it is loads of fun which is great for everyone’s mood.
Recognizing this, The Villages High Twelve has made their third pledge to help fund the project. High Twelve generously pledged to give $1000 to The Evergreen Villages Foundation for the Pickleball project. This pledge brings their total pledges to $2,000. We all greatly appreciate the support we have received from High Twelve and the Evergreen Villages Foundation to help make this project a reality.
Court Scheduling Rules
Hi All,
There has been a misunderstanding concerning the process of reserving courts 5 and 6 for Pickleball play. The rules proposed by the Joint Tennis Club and Pickleball Club Court Committee and approved by the Tennis Club Board are as follows:
Courts: Use courts 5 and 6 only
Court time: 10:30 am and later
Court time sign up: PB players can sign up for court time in the tennis shack using same process as tennis players. PB players will indicate they will be playing PB by putting PB after their name. PB court sign up may occur 5 days in advance.
Due to some confusion, pickleball players have been signing up 7 days in advance. The rule is 5 days in advance! Please adhere to this process.
Garry Gray
Spring Has Arrived – Pickleball Friday Drop-in Overwhelmed!
Mike Walias had his hands full matching up players and courts as 25 players descended on the two courts available for Friday afternoon’s dropin session.
