Read the first entry here.

Read the second entry here.

Read the third entry here.

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*For Diane

It's only a few months into January, but I can already tell you that 2026 has gotten off to a rotten start for me.

Just a few days into the new year a good friend of mine somewhat unexpectedly passed away. It was of course sad and upsetting, but it was also destabilizing and confusing and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. The week after she passed I went through the motions - I got work done and I ate food, but that's about all I could manage.

I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with pickleball, and that's fair, I'm getting there.

At a friend's encouragement I enrolled in a pickleball clinic at PowerPlay Pickleball; I had decided to do this clinic before my friend passed away and I'm not a cancelling type of person, so I went. I hadn't played pickleball in a couple months and hadn't worked out in close to two weeks since receiving the news of my friend. Needless to say, I had no idea how my body was going to react and was prepared to take breaks if necessary.

This clinic wasn't exactly a beginner's clinic, and I can honestly say I got my first taste of what it was like to play with people way better than I - people's whose serves I couldn't easily return, and whose shots I couldn't even name. But there was a woman, Renee, that I paired up with that I felt comfortable with - she was sweet and good-natured and somewhat close to my level. She had a wonderful smile and we both made fun of ourselves while trying to keep up with the rest of the class. The theme of the class was 'The First Four Shots' and although it's rare that I get too far past the second, I am so glad I went. I was the worst one in the group, but I didn't have to sit down or take any breaks outside the ones the entire group was given. We played points at the end and I got to play with other people from the class, again, most of whom were way more advanced than I. For those wondering, I earned a few points myself because, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I can hit a lob shot that my opponents assume will land outside the court but does not!

Everyone always says that pickleball is a community. People will embrace you in this sport and make you feel welcome, included, like you're amongst friends regardless of whether you actually are or not. (But is there really a difference?) In my brief pickleball-playing career I have yet to experience the contrary, but that day, trying to keep up in a clinic I may or may not have belonged in, the others in the class didn't seem to care that I have no aim or hand-eye coordination. They spoke words of encouragement (especially after those lob shots!), tapped my paddle regardless of which way the point went, and were not nearly as focused on my lack of skill as I was. They were genuinely warm human beings who were all trying to have fun and get better at pickleball, just like I was.

My mood switched that day. Playing pickleball with a group of complete strangers helped start the healing process for a part of me that was hurting and lost. I am still grieving the loss of my friend and will be for the rest of my days, but participating in this pickleball clinic pulled me out of my zombie funk and I'm so grateful that I chose to go, even though it was hard. Since Diane's passing I've really thought a lot about how short life is and how if we are able, we should be living it up every day and taking advantage of the opportunities we have. Playing pickleball is something I can choose to do for myself and now I'm more determined than ever to make playing a more regular thing for me. I actually would have gone back for a class or a clinic in the last week, but I'm still sore in mysterious places from the last clinic, so there's that.

I'm sure this isn't what you thought you'd get in my next Learn to Play Pickleball Blog, and if I'm being honest, this wasn't on my Bingo card either. But I hope that, like the pickleball clinic for me, something in this made you feel and think. Because if I can inspire just one person to get on the pickleball court for the first time or even the hundredth time, then I've done my job.

Happy 2026, friends. Make it count!