In my book The Prostate Chronicles - A Medical Memoir I paid homage to a sport that helped me thread the eye of the needle on my journey with prostate cancer.  
According to Wikipedia, “Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a Whiffle Ball, over a net. “Congressman Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum, and Bill Bell invented the game of pickleball one summer afternoon in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, WA. It’s a racket sport on a smaller court than a tennis court.  


OK, OK what’s with the name? It’s a simple explanation. The Pritchards had a cocker spaniel named Pickles, who became interested in this new game. Whenever a ball would come his way, he would take the ball and run off with it, because you see, it was Pickle's ball. And that is how the game got its name. And the USA Pickleball Association is sticking to it.

We live at Robson Ranch, Denton, Texas. It's a 55+ community with plenty of activities. My wife and I saw an announcement for a Pickleball academy and its was free so Karen and I learned the sport of Pickleball. Shorter court, lower net, a paddle and a whiffle ball. No need to run and chase the ball like Tennis and residents of all ages can play. 

Upon “graduation” we start on the bottom of the Pickleball food chain, the D Group. $150 paddle and new kicks and I’m ready to play! Those that aspire to move up the food chain can be qualified through shootouts and thus matriculated to the “C” Group.

The first 6 months was really tough because frankly I was out of shape and every joint in my body hurt, but slowly I worked on my game and became one of two trash talkers in our group. Generally my new found friend/trash talker and I won most of our games. So what is the art of trash talking? It is a form of insult usually found in sports events allegedly used to insult the opponent, but in my case is used in a humorous spirit. It also takes my mind of the diagnosis.

Trash talking has various styles. I love rock and roll music dating back to the 60’s only with a twist. For example: “Do Stop Believing”, or “Who let the dawgs out?”, or Ginny I got your number 654-3789.If I’m playing an Oklahoma State University alum a rendition of “Boomer Sooner” the Oklahoma fight song or “Did you go to OSU? I’ll speak slower”. Texas Tech “Guns Down” and of course the Texas Longhorn alums and fans get their unfair share.I was muffled this year since the short horns beat us in the Red River Rivalry. “For the Love of God tackle somebody” and other profanities. OU got revenge in the Big 12 Championship. Horns Down! There is no political correctness in Pickleball.

 In the Spring of 2018 I started playing 2 hours a day 5-6 days a week. In May following my diagnosis I increased to 3-4 hours a day starting at 6AM. My group is comprised of men and women ages 55-79. Having been whipped by 75 year old women (they had to be in their early 50s’) who mastered the games inspired me to I work harder at getting better.

Sports are competitive, but they are also about fun/fellowship. I quickly learned that everybody here has one malady or another. I played with Prostate Cancer survivors. The sharing of their experiences had a positive effect and as players learned about my diagnosis all shared their support and prayers. There’s players with two knee replacements. Another with both knees and a hip replacement. A very supportive group.

I played up until the day before my surgery August 30th. In eight weeks I’d be back on the courts because I set a goal to do just that and assume my position as a premier trash eight weeks to the day I was back on the court for an hour, then two days later 2.5 hours but it took two days to recover. I am back.

The good news was my plumbing worked!  No leaks, no runs, no errors! I was ecstatic. Everyone welcomed me back and new players were amazed with my recovery. I am known as "OU Bob" because of my white OU ball cap and after almost a year I am back to trash talking ,dinking, and slamming the pickleball again. 
Even Money Magazine published an article about why it is so popular with Baby Boomers. Are You Really Retired If You Don't Play Pickleball?

Pickleball Rocks!

On a sad note this  past week Barney McCallum died and I'm sure he and Pickles are having fun dinking the ball over heaven's gate. Thanks Barney, Pickle On!  In Memory of Barney McCallum





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