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Relive Childhood Memories as You Play Kickball and Pickleball with Watauga County Parks and Recreation This Summer

Any updates on kickball or pickleball will be posted to Watauga County Parks and Recreation’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Watauga-County-Parks-and-Recreation-232565740490593/ 

By Hailey Blevins

Watauga County Parks and Recreation is offering kickball and pickleball. Kickball is offered on Wednesdays at Complex Field 2. Pickleball is offered on Mondays and Wednesdays at Old Cove Creek Gym. They invite you and your friends to come out and relive those days in P.E. during elementary school and middle school when all that mattered was not letting the other team win. Just show up with some friends or join a team when you show up to make some new friends for some friendly competition and fun.

Kickball

Chances are, when someone says “kickball,” you can still hear that unmistakable sound from when you were on the field with your friends and classmates and launched the ball over their heads. Those were carefree times. The fact that we all grew up playing kickball is because it was introduced to children in public schools in an effort to introduce them to baseball.

Kickball is a game that calls the USA its home. Invented in the early half of the 20th century, this game combines soccer, softball and baseball. Because of the large emphasis of baseball on this game, it was originally known as kick baseball, but kickball is much more memorable. Now this sport has spread to South Korea, Japan and Canada.

Watauga County Parks and Recreation invites everyone ages 16 and up to “Come out and reminisce on your middle school years playing kickball like it was the most important time of your life.” Soon enough, you’ll be so caught up in seeing how far you can send the ball that you’ll be transported back to those carefree childhood days.

Each Wednesday, you can play kickball on Complex Field 2 at 231 Complex Drive for free. Kickball starts at 6:30 p.m. and is open to ages 16 and up. Just sign a waiver on site and you’re ready to have fun!

Pickleball

What is pickleball, you ask? Pickleball is a paddle sport that is great for all ages and skill levels, so everyone can play! Though this game is simple and easy for beginners to learn, it can quickly turn into a competitive game amongst players who hate losing.

This game is played on a court the size of a badminton court with a modified tennis net, a paddle, and a plastic ball with holes. It’s similar to sports like tennis, badminton, and ping-pong and can be played as doubles or singles.
No matter how many times you say “pickleball,” it doesn’t get any less fun to say.

According to usapa.com, the origin of pickleball’s name is debated, but two accounts stand above the rest. The first says that Joel Pritchard’s wife, Joan, named the game pickleball because its combination of different sports reminded her “of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.” The second account says the game was named after the Pritchard’s dog, Pickles, who would chase the ball and run off with it while they were playing. Maybe we should all start naming sports after our pets for other fun names like pickleball.

Learn more about playing Pickle Ball here: https://www.usapa.org/what-is-pickleball/ 

Dates to Play Pickleball:
Mondays: August 6, August 13, August 20, and August 27
Wednesdays: August 1, August 8, August 15, August 22, and August 29
On these days, you can play pickleball from 1-4 p.m. for only $2 per person.There will be 3 courts set up at Old Cove Creek Gym at 207 Dale Adams Rd in Sugar Grove, so everyone will have a chance to play.