Sarah Atkins
mnjreporter@gmail.com
Mitchell County locals are jumping on the latest sports trend in the nation — pickleball.
Brad Ragan Park in Spruce Pine has recently been the subject of many improvements, including a new slide at the pool, a dog park, a walking trail, and four new pickleball courts.
According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America and has grown 223.5 percent in the last four years.
Delee Scott said that he first tried pickleball about six years ago; he now loves the sport and plays at the Brad Ragan courts three times a week. Scott said he comes to Brad Ragan more often since the courts have been installed.
Pickleball is a sport that an entire family can enjoy and play together, drawing in players
young and old. Scott said he enjoys the comradery of pickleball.
“You can play regardless of age,” he said. “We’ll have 16-year-olds out here playing with 44-year-olds or even 70-year-olds.”
One player, Edward Ramsey, said that pickleball is a good activity to get in shape and is a “good middle ground, you don’t have to be a super athlete to get skillful at it.”
Pickleball is an easily accessible sport. The new courts at Brad Ragan provide opportunities to senior members of the Mitchell County community who otherwise may not have had such an easily accessible activity.
Before the installation of the pickleball courts, those who wanted to play would need to bring portable nets of their own and use lines that had been painted on by members of the community.
The popularity of the new pickleball courts has stirred up suggestions that netting, similar to what is already on some of the fences, would be useful on some of the fences around the courts.
During the mornings and evenings, the glare from the sun is very strong and limits players’ view of the ball; netting could prove to be a simple solution to this problem.
Even on a Tuesday afternoon, the courts at Brad Reagan are occupied and inviting to those new to pickleball. Good times to come try the sport for yourself are in the early mornings and evenings around six o’clock. Saturday mornings are especially busy, with some games even spilling over to the tennis courts, but weekday evenings after 5 p.m. might provide more space for newer players.