Remember when your mom would yell, “Stay out of the Kitchen”? Little did I know this life lesson would come back to me as we took our first steps into the mysterious world of Pickleball at Wolverine Pickleball in Ann Arbor.
What the Hell is Pickleball?
It was last year when I first heard the term pickleball. I know what you are thinking: “Chuck, What the?” What can I say? I’m a late bloomer. We were at an outdoor yard show for a Nervous But Excited reunion show. Sarah Clever (one half of the dynamic duo) was talking about Kate Peterson’s prowess on the pickleball court. I’m thinking, what in the hell is pickleball?
Fast forward to April of this year. Brenda had been mentioning that we should try pickleball. I’ll admit it, I was resistant. Mainly because I’m uncoordinated as hell, and I’m one sad dude when it comes to playing tennis or ping pong. However, Brenda thought it would be fun, and we’d have a new experience, which is always up my alley.
Baby Steps
Brenda booked us for the Learn Pickleball class at Wolverine Pickleball (235 Metty Drive, Ann Arbor). They have an awesome facility with bright courts and wonderful indoor and outdoor lounge areas. The kicker is that rates for lessons and courts are cheap, and there are no membership fees. There is also a monster 30-tap wall of beer, wine, and cocktails. More on this wonderful wall of beer in a moment. First, let me tell you about learning to play pickleball.
Pickleball is fun! Fun with a big fat capital F. My fears of floundering on the court vanished thanks to our instructor, Mike. It also helped that we had just four people (enough for a game of doubles). We were all beginners, so the potential for embarrassment due to my lack of coordination was abated. This introduction session included a paddle rental and lasted an hour—just enough time to get a few fundamentals and spark the desire to play more.
Stay out of the Kitchen
The game of Pickleball is sort of a hybrid of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. You use an oversized table tennis paddle to hit a wiffleball over a short net on a small court. I won’t go into all the rules; you can read about it on Pickleheads (a great site). What I will talk about is some of the smile-inducing terminology.
The kitchen is this zone in front of the net. You’ll hear this term a lot. Basically, all the action is around the kitchen. Sort of like when you have a party at your house, and the next thing you know, everyone is gathered near the kitchen. However, in pickleball, you have to stay out of the kitchen. If you step in the kitchen during a volley to hit the ball, it’s a fault. So, stay out of the kitchen.
Go Ahead and Dink Around
Another fun term is dink. If your mom ever yelled at you to “Stop dinking around and get over here,” have no fear. In pickleball, it is good to dink around. To dink, you just lightly hit the ball over the net, let it bounce, and then the folks on the other side hit the ball back to you.
According to our coaches (which included Martha and, most recently, our friend Kate Peterson), dinking is a great way to warm up. It also teaches you how to control the ball. In the end, pickleball is a game of finesse. You aren’t trying to crush it (although that can be fun). You just want to get the ball over the net and make your opponent work to get it back without getting into the kitchen.
Pickleball Community
After our first lesson, two things were clear. One, we need more instruction. Two, everyone at Wolverine Pickleball is welcoming and encouraging. We signed up for another lesson, this time with Martha. She went over serving, returning, and keeping score. Along the way, she reinforced things we had learned from Mike, such as where to be on the court.
At our next lesson, we met our new pickleball buddies, Chuck and Diane. They were also new to the game and loved it. Since then, we’ve booked more lessons with them as our partners. It gives a sense of continuity since we are all at basically the same level. The other great thing is that they are fun to be with.
One thing that we’ve noticed is that pickleball is for everyone. It doesn’t matter what your age is or if you are an athlete or not. You can play the game at your own pace, and finding others at your level is easy at Wolverine Pickleball.
The Wolverine Pickleball Advantage
Thanks to our buddy Evan Meilis, who manages the tap wall and outdoor events at Wolverine Pickleball, we had an opportunity to talk with the co-founders/owners Christy Howden and Leslie White. They got the pickleball bug back in 2017, and it led them to build a community of folks who love pickleball. Along the way, they created Wolverine Pickleball, the largest pickleball venue in Michigan (39,000 square feet). They also have a huge outdoor space (another 50,000 square feet) with tons of games, such as beach volleyball, beach tennis, bocce, and cornhole.
In talking with them, it was clear that many things set Wolverine PIckleball apart. One is the leveling of the playing field. At many pickleball venues, the courts are open play. That means you could end up playing with someone at a much higher skill level than you. This might be ok for a few minutes, but it will probably become a drag and discourage a beginner.
Wolverine Pickleball manages the courts according to your skill level, with 2.5 being a beginner and 4+ being advanced. Leslie White shared, “Everybody enjoys the game the most when they play with someone right around their level. It just works better. So that was sort of our number one business model when we first started. We’re like, we can level the playing field.”
Enduring Nature of Play
When talking with Christy and Leslie, you can feel their excitement for pickleball and sharing it with everyone. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. We asked them if they thought that would fade anytime soon. Christy replied, “I don’t think so. I think it’s so fun. It’s so social. You can have multiple generations playing. I can’t name a sport where you can have your grandchildren and grandparents and the middle generation all playing together and having a good time. You have very quick success. Like from your first lesson, you’re having a good time.”
Leslie added, “I think that just adds to your quality of life (regarding the multi-generation aspect). You can dial it down and play at a slower pace. With pickleball, you can dial it up or dial it down. Whereas in most of the sports, tennis, the court’s so big, you can’t dial it down. You’re still tearing across the court to try to get to that ball.”
What About That Beer Wall
Some of you faithful Life In Michigan readers are probably thinking, “Damn Chuck, what about that monster 30-tap beer wall you flashed at us early on”. Besides falling helplessly for pickleball, I’m smitten with the beer wall at Wolverine Pickleball. There are 30 taps, and they lean hard into Michigan craft beers. Sure, there are a couple of domestics for those who haven’t yet found beer nirvana, but the rest is all Michigan craft.
I credit Evan Meilis for this. We met Evan through our friend Kate Peterson. He used to work at Jolly Pumpkin/North Peak but has since become the magical beer dude at Wolverine Pickleball. Evan’s passion for craft beer mirrors his love of pickleball (He is a seriously good player).
We asked Evan how the tap wall works. He replied, “So it’s all self-serve. When you come through the door, if you go to the front desk and tell them, ” Hey, I’d like to get a drink band, they’ll take your credit card. It gets preauthorized for $25, like if you were at the gas station. They swipe your card. If you only spend $3, your card only gets charged $3. Or, if you get close to $25, we just have you back up and re-authorize your card.”
The system charges by the ounce, so you can drink the amount that floats your boat. You can do a flight of small pours and carry them around on a vintage pickleball paddle, or get a pint and enjoy. Wolverine Pickleball has wine, in-house mixed cocktails, cider, seltzer, and kombucha for those who want a different beverage.
Come Hang at Wolverine Pickleball
Despite the huge size of the space, we felt welcome and right at home at Wolverine Pickleball. What makes it attractive is that there is something here for everyone. You can play a game or just hang out. There are food trucks every night of the week, so in theory, you never have to go home. Ok, I don’t think they have cots, so you may want to go home to sleep. Otherwise, come hang out at Wolverine Pickleball. But please, stay out of the Kitchen!
Photos
We’ve got some more photos from Wolverine Pickleball in our gallery. Thanks to Evan for additional photos from the outdoor games area!
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