Photo courtesy of Marcel Wener.

By Emily Miller

REXBURG—Warmer than average temperatures kept pickleballers out on the courts all the way into December this year. But as the weather has inevitably chilled, Rexburg players are lucky to have indoor options and a community of others to play the sport with year-round. 

NBC News and many other outlets report that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America. According to USAPickleball.org, pickleball was created in 1965, but has exploded in popularity over the last few years. 

Kevin and Teresa Kimball of Rexburg are passionate pickleballers. They have introduced the sport to many, in several different areas, and could accurately be called pickleball missionaries. 

The Kimballs love pickleball because it is accessible for beginners but can be as athletic or competitive as the players make it. 

While the sport has some similarities to tennis, Teresa says pickleball is “easier to learn so you can pick it up faster and you can enjoy the first day.”

She explains, “Tennis is more sophisticated and does require more skill and more finesse.  Pickleball is the sport that supports the person. It fits my needs, it fits kids’ needs.”

Kevin calls pickleball an “everyman sport.”

“Regardless of their background in any sport, on the very first day they can actually play and keep a rally,” he says. “I had a girl who, she was probably 14, probably hadn’t played much in the way of racket sports, and our very first day that she showed up, we had a rally that we hit 33 balls in a row, and that’s just unheard of. We just kept it going—33 hits, that’s huge. She was so excited.”

Teresa says the sport has helped people find an activity to increase their physical activity and their health. 

“We’ve had so many testimonials that ‘it changed my life,’” she says. 

Teresa also loves that the sport can accommodate different ages and fitness abilities, even at the same time. 

“I just don’t know of any other sport where you can have your teammate be your grandpa,” she says.

Kevin first saw a pickleball court at a hotel in Provo, Utah, but didn’t know what it was. He had played tennis for many years and thought it looked like a mini tennis court. He gave the court a try with his tennis racket, but it wasn’t until a few years later that he was officially introduced to the sport, along with the correct equipment to play, by his brother in St. George, Utah. 

The Kimballs lived in Hawaii at the time, and excitedly took the sport back to the islands to teach others to play. Eventually, they moved to Rexburg, and, having now lived in several different parts of Rexburg, they have expanded their pickleball circle around the community. 

Part of fostering that community has been finding or creating places to play. When the Kimball’s moved to Rexburg, spaces to play pickleball were somewhat limited. 

Longtime pickleballer Tracy Wilcox of Rexburg says she and her friends would play at their church building but would have to use special court tape to mark off the boundaries. 

The Kimballs, Wilcox and other pickleball enthusiasts were eventually able to get pickleball boundaries painted in several local church buildings. Now there are plenty of places to play, even during the cold winter months. 

“The more lines we can get in the more churches, the better,” Teresa says. 

Other indoor pickleball options include the Brigham Young University-Idaho Hart Building and the newly constructed Bobcat Fieldhouse at Madison High School in Rexburg. According to Madison School District’s website, the fieldhouse is open to the public Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturdays from 6 a.m. to noon. 

Those interested in playing are encouraged to join the Rexburg Pickleball Facebook group, where they will find a community of nearly 800 pickleball players who coordinate game times and places. Teresa also coordinates youth camps in the Facebook group, to introduce the next generation to the sport.

In the warmer months (which extended into December this year), the pickleball courts at the Rexburg Nature Park are frequently filled with players.

A few years ago, after initially approaching the city about painting pickleball lines on the tennis courts at Smith Park, but being rejected, the Kimballs turned their attention instead to the Nature Park—an effort that proved successful. 

“We put a paddle in Mayor Merrill’s hand and we could tell he was hooked,” Teresa says. “We love the mayor so much and he has been so supportive.”

The sport has grown considerably since then, and the Nature Park courts get plenty of use. 

“We love it,” Teresa says. “We love that it’s grown so much that we can’t even get on the court sometimes.”

The Kimballs each expressed gratitude to the local tennis community, acknowledging that sometimes their pickleball lines create a slight distraction on the tennis courts. 

As tennis players themselves, Teresa explains that “when both of the lines are on the court, it does make it more confusing, so we do recognize and feel bad if there are any negative feelings, but we love their program and support their program.” 

The Kimballs encourage community members of all ages and athletic ability to join the community and give pickleball a try. 

For more information about the sport, including scheduled tournaments, visit USAPickleball.org.

See RexburgCommons.com for more local news and information, and check out our community calendar here! If you have anything to add to the calendar, please email us at calendar@rexburgcommons.com .