OMAHA (KMTV) — April is National Pickleball Month.
If you haven’t heard of that sport before, it’s been gaining popularity over the last few years.
It’s essentially a combination of tennis and ping pong, and players hit a ball, similar to a wiffle ball, back and forth until someone misses.
Players we spoke to at Life Time Omaha say it’s addicting.
“Once you get started, you will love to play,” Greg Garth said.
He picked up the sport almost a year ago on a whim when someone waved him into the pickleball courts at the gym.
“I wanted to meet a new group of people, so I just decided to come in the gym and just start to play,” Garth said.
He hasn’t stopped since, and doesn’t plan to anytime soon.
Garth said he enjoys the competitiveness and strategy of pickleball, adding it reminds him of one of his other favorite sports: basketball.
“I want to keep getting better,” he said. “I’m finally starting to see some results by playing more.”
He said he’s lost 35 pounds since he started playing.
Sam Lapour-Masilko, the head of pickleball at Life Time Omaha, said meeting new people and physical benefits are two of many reasons people start playing, and stick with, pickleball.
She said you don’t have to have an athletic background to pick up a paddle.
“The range is zero background in sports to the retired professional athlete,” Lapour-Masilko said. “It’s very easy to pick up, and it’s very inclusive."
“Even if you’ve never played it before, play it for two hours and I promise you will get addicted to it,” she added. “Every single person I’ve ever played, including myself, they’ve gotten addicted to it, they want to play it every day. You just can’t stop. This is the kind of sport I want to play until I can’t move anymore.”
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