I was drawn to pickleball in January of 2020 for reasons you might not expect.
After selling our family home during the height of the real estate frenzy, we found ourselves unexpectedly renting an apartment for a year while searching for our next place. I was away from my neighborhood and friends, already feeling isolated by the pandemic, and quietly carrying a sense of loneliness I didn’t quite know how to fix.
Then I saw a flyer for an outdoor pickleball league at 50West.
I worked up the courage to text someone I was friendly with but not quite friends with yet, and asked if she wanted to join. She said yes, and I cried — thankfully, over text. What I didn’t realize at the time was the depth of connection and belonging I was missing.
That’s exactly what I found on those snowy, blustery pickleball courts. Most of us were beginners, figuring out the game together, laughing through missed shots, warming up under outdoor heaters between matches, and bonding over a shared experience. Week after week, it felt like a community forming in real time.
Pickleball became more than a Monday night activity. It supported my mental health in ways that felt both simple and profound: getting outside, moving my body, learning something new, meeting people, building friendships, and having something to look forward to. It reminded me how powerful shared experiences can be.
That’s why, if you’re on the fence about joining 1N5’s Dinks and Drinks Pickleball Event, I encourage you to grab a friend and jump in. You’ll be supporting youth and community mental health…and very likely your own sense of connection and belonging, too.