Pickleball: "The Next Hottest Sport" Comes To Mentor

Brian Murphy believes he’s found the “next hottest sport” — pickleball. 

So he brought it to Mentor’s Civic Center Park, retrofitting two tennis courts to make eight pickleball courts and creating an instructional course.

Pickleball is a combination of ping-pong, tennis and badminton, Murphy said. 

“It’s fun and you get a good workout, he said. “If you have any hand-eye coordination, you can pick (the game) up in 20 minutes.”

The sport started in 1965 and gets its name from one of the creator’s dog, Pickles.

Murphy is a bit sour about pickleball’s uncommon name.

“When we tell people what we’re playing, they say, ‘what the heck is pickleball?’ I wish it was named mini tennis.”

Murphy, who works for the city as a crew leader tasked with preparing 38 baseball fields around town, instructs a four-week pickleball class on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. Cost is $32 for residents and $38 for non-residents.

A former competitive racquetball player, Murphy became interested in pickleball 2 ½ years ago when his brother in Texas discovered the sport, which is popular in the South.

“He told me he found a sport he loved,” Murphy said. “I didn’t think he was serious and then he bought paddles.”

The game uses a ball similar to a wiffle ball and larger ping pong paddles.

Jill Korsok, recreational program manager for Mentor Parks and Recreation, said while the current class has reached its complement of 25 students, there will be more classes in July and August, as well as a tournament in September.

“We’re always about getting people out and playing,” Korsok said. 

Murphy is confident people will flock to pickleball this summer. 

“I’ve showed 100 people the sport, and not one person has said they don’t like it,” he said.

To register for pickleball classes, visit cityofmentor.com/play.