The Sun City pickleball season is in full swing, with lessons on all courts in the morning, for players rated 1.0 to 5.0 locally.
“The pickleball season is off to a fantastic start,” Sun City Pickleball Club President Pam White said.
Members enjoyed a picnic social, then it was back to lessons on the first Monday of summer, June 22. In addition to Sun City instructors, coaches from Pickle Haus Pickleball have offered lessons.
Ken Kirkendall is one of the long-time players and helped his 3.0-3.5 rated players go through drills.
“It’s the social part – people here are super friendly,” Kirkendall said of being an instructor. “I have been playing pickleball for 11 years and I was self-taught. I remember when we did not have any dedicated pickleball courts and had to use temporary nets.”
Kirkendall has competed in doubles tournaments over the years. In 2017 he and partner Rick Johnson of Crystal Lake won a national pickleball title at Naples, Florida.
Fellow instructor Ken Stone is also a long-time pickleball vet of 12 years.
Wendy Modenhack worked on drills with Paul Thompson. “I love the lessons,” she said. It’s easy to learn, but hard to master.”
Instructor Mike Christy said the key to learning the sport is putting in the court time. He noted there are new pickleball paddles members can try before investing in a new one.
