Pickleball and mental wellbeing

I love to skip sideways and  swing my arm and with timing and balance hit a ball. A beautiful whack sound and the ball flies over the net and bounces  on the court.  It feels good. It feels  so good I don’t even think about it. It feels instinctive, natural and relaxed. I must be playing pickleball.

It is now the turn of the lady on the other side of the net. She moves smoothly and gracefully. She skips towards the ball swings her arms and hits the ball back towards me. I skip towards the ball swing my arm and hit the ball back over the net. The ball bounces back and forth between us. Connecting and joining us as we dance around the pickleball court.

I love smashing away a volley. A winning shot where my opponents watch the ball fly undeterred and unhindered.  I get the feeling my opponents also love smashing volleys away for winning shots.

In this pickleball dance we both have the opportunity to hit winning  shots. To smash a volley for a winner. A volley smashed away results in both of us watching where the ball lands; one of us saying good shot, muttering silently, trudging after the ball, picking  it up while one of us smiles proudly. 

When I stand on a pickleball court I need other people on the court with me. Today there are three others on the court. Without them I wouldn’t be able to dance around the court. Without them I wouldn’t be able to stretch, turn and twist. I appreciate and thank  them  for turning up, picking up a paddle and moving onto the court with me.

My mind wanders. Back to when I was a child. I copied my mother. I copied her actions and watched her emotions, actions, thoughts.  I clapped my hands when she clapped her hands.

As an adult my mental and emotional health benefits from watching and copying other people. Choirs, music ensembles, drama, dance, bridge are all good for mental health.

Team sports such as soccer, netball, hockey, basketball, volleyball and pickleball are all good for mental as well as physical health. Team sports involve being aware of other people. When I play pickleball I watch, anticipate and guess what my opponent is going to do. I then react. When I play pickleball I want to beat them. I try to  avoid their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. I alter me behaviour because of their behaviour. I give and I take. When I play pickleball my opponent benefits just as much me. They are trying to beat me.

All sports have official rules and unwritten rules. The unwritten rules are so everybody wins socially, emotionally and mentally. 

I will now list my idea of what my unwritten rules of pickleball might be:

Everybody calls the ball on their side of the court. All the calls will not be perfect. The aim is for perfect behaviour. Which is accepting all calls without questioning. Not perfect calls.

Standing and arguing where the ball has actually landed is not good pickleball. A greater good is served by accepting all calls. Accepting all calls without comment outranks where the ball lands.

If ball or serve is out/fault call out/fault immediately.  Don’t hit the ball back; wait for rally to end and then say the ball was out/fault.

If any doubt about where the ball lands then it is in and play continues.

A ball lands on court from another play the point again. Always. Irrespective of the rally.

The server keeps and says the score before serving.

Don’t smash the ball directly at your opponent.

Treat other people the way you want to be treated.

If your opponent hits a good shot then say good shot. If your opponent hits a bad shot then say nothing.

If you hit a good shot then say nothing. If you hit bad shot then don’t say what you think.