In the five years since the Northbrook Park District began offering pickleball, the program has grown tremendously in the wake of the sport’s boom in popularity, both locally and across the country.
According to a news release, the demand is such that, most of the time, pickleball programs fill within hours of registration opening.
“It’s been great to see such interest in this sport, and we have been committed to offering more and more opportunities for play,” Athletics Manager Meri Shea said.
To meet the steadily growing demand, the Park District is expanding its indoor and outdoor pickleball offerings, the news release said.
Currently, there are six dedicated outdoor pickleball courts at Stonegate Park. Two more such courts are under construction at Oaklane Park, and two additional ones are scheduled for construction in 2024 at Williamsburg Square Park.
The Park District also is expanding its lineup of pickleball programs, according to the release. The latest addition is open pickleball on Thursday evenings at Greenbriar Gym. Indoor court rental at Leisure Center and Greenbriar Gym will be available soon, and four courts are available at Techny Prairie Activity Center.
The array of options for pickleball players also includes:
Youth and adult classes (outdoor and indoor, based on the season) for all levels
Private and semiprivate lessons
Clinics that run about eight weeks, once a week, to learn and practice skills
One-day boot camps, typically focused on drilling
One day pop-up events, such as “learn to play,” free to the community
Court rental at Stonegate Park and Techny Prairie Activity Center
Open pickleball with 1 1/2 hour slots at TPAC
Seasonal leagues, running 11 or 12 weeks at TPAC
One-day mixed doubles tournaments, typically one or two per season, at TPAC year-round and at Stonegate Park during the warmer months
This year, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America for the third year in a row, with 8.9 million players over age 6, an increase from 4.8 million in 2022, the release said.
That trend is mirrored within the Northbrook community, where residents’ interest in the sport continues to grow steadily, according to the release. This year through mid-October, 615 people attended clinics/boot camps, 332 participated in leagues/tournaments, and 58 took private lessons. That’s an across-the-board increase from 2022, when 511 people attended clinics/boot camps, 236 participated in league/tournaments, and 31 took private lessons.
“There is a tremendous desire to play in leagues,” Shea said, “and we have done our best to accommodate that while also balancing the demand for other types of gym programs.”
Northbrook resident Stuart Wagner has been a pickleball regular since he took a clinic in January 2020. He began playing outdoors with friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, and about a year-and-a-half later, he joined a league. He continues to play in leagues to this day, the release said.
Pickleball is a great way to get a good workout while socializing and making new friends, Wagner said in the release.
“The quality of the instructors has been very good and very reliable,” he said. “I absolutely encourage people to start with clinics. It’s a great introduction to the sport because it helps to build skills and explain the rules.”
Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three men who, while on vacation with their families near Seattle, Washington, improvised a new game by using pingpong paddles and a perforated plastic ball on an old badminton court.
The Northbrook Park District offered its first pickleball classes in 2018 at Greenbriar Gym, according to the release. The following year, the Stonegate Park courts were built.
There are also seven indoor pickleball courts — four at Techny Prairie Activity Center, two at Greenbriar Gym and one at the Leisure Center’s gym — and four temporary outdoor courts at Meadowhill Park Skate Rink. The latter are equipped with night lighting and are also available for rental for private lessons. Four of the eight tennis courts at Wood Oaks Green Park have pickleball lines, so people can practice their game, albeit with tennis nets.
The Park District has two pickleball instructors on staff; the rest are contracted through E-Town Tennis, owned by Ken Herrmann, who praised the Park District for catering to players of all abilities. “The fact that we are offering a year-round league program is very cool,” he said in the release.
Northbrook Park District Pickleball Professional Mike Woldolf added he’s seen consistent growth within all pickleball programs.
The sport is appealing because it’s accessible and easy to learn, Recreation Supervisor Matt Papale said.
The growth of the Park District’s pickleball program has not affected the availability of tennis courts, whose popularity also increased after the COVID-19 pandemic, Shea said in the release. The Park District offers additional tennis classes at Northbrook Racquetball Club and Glenbrook Racquet Club.
Shea credited Recreation Supervisor Cameron Edelman with boosting the Park District’s tennis and pickleball programs in the last few years.
