If you don’t play pickleball, you likely are one degree of separation from someone who may even report they are ‘obsessed’ with the fastest- growing sport. Keeping it simple, obsessions are recurring thoughts, and compulsions are recurring acts (OCD) that get in the way of everyday functioning. But you’re likely not ‘obsessed’ with pickleball; you are enthusiastic, passionate, or absolutely love the sport. In good news, Pickleball only enhances functioning social, physical, and psychological functioning.
Unlike many other country club sports, there are many public locations that allow for regular play, friendly competition, and ways to grow your game. Growing your game will mean growing your social circle and network as well. Pickleball players eagerly look for opportunities to find new people to play with as it allows the player new opponents that will help them practice or hone new skills. In a group environment you move up to the next court, when you and your doubles partner win. Then you split up and play with the two people on that court, and the winners move up again to the next higher court. This format is known as the King/Queen of the Court. By the time you leave, you will have met many new potential friends on and off the court.
Pickleball is active and interactive. Many studies have indicated that having strong social connections ultimately contributes to longer lives that are healthier. In the journal Heart, Valtorta and colleagues found that poor social relationships were associated with a 29% increased risk of Coronary Heart Disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke. With pickleball played on a smaller court, there is plenty of opportunity to socialize with people of every age and to develop new relationships. According to Pickleball Rush, 60% of people play pickleball because it’s a great way to socialize. Many people join country clubs for personal and even professional connections. Luxury Pickleball Luxurypickleball.com is forming an online country club, providing a sense of community with a plan to grow it with the sport. The fastest growing sport in the US is flourishing by word of mouth, the immediate gratification of play and the vibrant, energetic vibe.
Play pickleball and live longer? We all know that our risk of untimely early death is linked to a multitude of factors, including inadequate physical activity. However, people that start playing pickleball often don’t play once every few weeks. Instead, they amp up quickly to multiple days a week. Boosted physical activity, beyond the suggested amount, can reduce your risk even further, according to a study co-authored by Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health’s Dong Hoon Lee. The article was published in the journal Circulation, and it extensively analyzed records, results and data from over 100,000 adults.
People active 150-300 minutes per week in moderate-intensity activity or 75 to 150 minutes per week of vigorous intense activity, reduce their risk of early death by up to 21%. Additional benefits include those individuals who exercised two to four times the minimum and lowered their risk of early death by as much as 31%.
In the spirit of competition, you will love the fast trajectory of improvement in pickleball, with its positive feedback loop of good times and better play. You can get consumed by finding the best products and places to play, but Luxury Pickleball will save you time and curate the paddles, bags, and vacations that will ensure quality on and off the court. Featuring ‘technical sportswear’ such as ventilated Prada Linea Rossa sunglasses, beautifully stitched Italian leather pickleball bags designed by Lauren Bruksch (former head of global marketing for Mattel’s Barbie brand) among other contemporary and classic designs, companies like Luxury Pickleball bring the opulence to you.
A recent Forbes article highlighted the development of Pickleball Country Clubs, with pickleball at their core, in a private country club environment. The first of many is opening this December near Sarasota, Florida. Like many country clubs across the US, a handful of current tennis courts are being converted into pickleball courts, with one tennis court converting into four pickleball courts. With doubles play, that is sixteen people on one court versus two or four people on a tennis court. The Santaluz Club, an exclusive country club in San Diego, CA, is proposing upwards of one million dollars to build separate pickleball courts. Many country clubs have done the same, with additional lines drawn on their tennis courts to accommodate both tennis and pickleball play.
Live longer, play pickleball, and do it in style.
