Pickleball brings together young and old during COVID

In December, pickleball lover Lisa, better known as “Petunia Pickle,” opened Pickleball Mania in The Shops at Ithaca Mall. In the months since then, the business has had to weather some challenges, but Pickle remains dedicated to providing a space where all pickleball lovers — young and old alike — can play together and form their own community.

Pickle has a long history with the sport. She’s been playing pickleball for over a decade, starting first in Florida and later moving to the Ithaca area. In Ithaca, she taught pickleball for all ages at the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County, Cass Park, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center and Kendal at Ithaca. She is also the official pickleball ambassador of the area for the national organization USA Pickleball.

Pickle has wanted to have a dedicated pickleball space in Ithaca for a while, and the pandemic amplified this desire. COVID-19 meant that people were afraid to play indoors at Pickle’s usual spaces, and playing became a challenge as well, especially after cold weather hit.

“I just knew that it was time to try to look for a place that pickleball could call its own,” she said. “So, I actually was going to have a medical procedure — nothing big, but they make you get a COVID test. So, I came into the mall, got a COVID test and was walking around because I hadn’t been in [there] in a while. This place is really, really deserted. But I came in here and saw the old Planet Fitness space, and I inquired about it. So, the rest is history.”

While not a senior citizen herself, Pickle has played pickleball with many older adults. At her business, though, she wanted to provide a space for people of all ages to enjoy the sport. Now, the customer base is about evenly split between younger and older players.

Opening a business during a pandemic is certainly not ideal, and Pickle knows it. Still, she’s worked to adapt to all the challenges other business owners have been dealing with for many months. She has a strict sanitation policy, from cleaning all the equipment regularly to providing disinfecting wipes for customers to wipe their own equipment, as well as requiring masks at all times.

“It’s safe as I possibly can make it,” she said. “But it’s also still very fun.”

And her efforts have been well received. Since opening, Pickle said, the feedback has been nothing but positive, something she attributes to the community-minded focus she’s had since the beginning.

“People just want to have some fun,” she said. “They want to be able to let loose and just smile, just feel good. And when they come in here, I try to present a place that is just that, a place that they can have fun. Those who want to be competitive can be competitive, but I want to make sure that they know that this is their pickleball home. And so, I tried to make sure I address people by their names, and it’s just been a really, really good community.”

While participation is increasing as more residents feel comfortable playing indoors, Pickle said she knows there are still many more players who would come if it weren’t for the pandemic.

“So many of them had compromising systems, so they were unable to come indoors or did not feel safe, so we’ve lost a lot of people who would normally play,” she said. “It’s been good to see them slowly come back, though. And of course, it’s understandable. There have been many people here who’ve gotten vaccinated because they’re older individuals.”

But many are still venturing out, bringing together residents young and old to enjoy the sport.

“One of the best things about Pickleball is that I have 75-year-olds playing with 8-year-olds here,” she said. “And that, I think, matters in COVID times. It matters when we think about community, that it’s not just one group of people — it’s all different skill levels and types of people. And the good thing about pickleball is that you can play at your skill level. You can not have any skills, but you can also play at a really high level. And so, I’m trying to cater to all of those different types of people.”

Moving forward, Pickle said she hopes to grow the business and provide training opportunities for more advanced players, as she is one herself and wants to share that passion with others.

“For those who want to be recreational, that’s fine, but we have a number of younger individuals who want to play at that next level, and I want to meet that need because when I want to play at a higher level, I have to go some other place,” she said. “So, I’m trying to train the people who want to play at a higher level to help them get there.”

For more information about Pickleball Mania, visit pickleballmania.org or stop by the business in The Shops at Ithaca Mall.