By: Kieshawn Sampson
At the Statesboro Tennis Facilities, Ben Sokolov prepares to play a game of Pickleball. Pickleball is a game that's very similar to Tennis, but with a different ball and a smaller court.
Ben and his wife, Kathy, preparing to hit the ball against one another. Kathy, Ben, and a group of other older Pickleball players play every week.
The ball in midair between the married couple playing. Kathy and Ben Sokolov have been playing Pickleball for 4 to 5 years.
Kathy hits the ball back to her husband. The whole group of Pickleball started around last year, on Facebook.
Ben walks back on the court, and prepares to serve. With Pickleball, you have to serve to corner to corner of the court otherwise it is a violation.
Ben catches the ball to serve. "We were just randomly searching Facebook and found a group in the local area that plays regularly. Things hit off between the group and now we regularly hang out and play together.", Ben stated.
After a couple of minutes, another lady by the name of Catherine shows up. While Catherine is also in the same Facebook group as the married couple, they've been friends before the group even started.
Catherine prepares to hit the ball back towards Ben. "I think me, Kathy, Ben, and my husband Mike have been friends for at least 20-25 years.", Catherine replied.
Kathy tries to hit the Pickleball, while Catherine watches. The difference is that a Pickleball has holes in it, which makes the wind a large factor in the game.
Kathy and Catherine prepare a pitch. Pickleball games normally have a small out of bounds and area of the court called the "kitchen".
Ben, Catherine, and Kathy tense up while the ball glides over the net. The nets in the game are also lower than Tennis courts as well.
The ball hits the net between the three players. In this game, only the team that serves can get a point if the other team fails to hit the ball.
Kathy hits the ball back to her husband's side of the court. The ball is also made out of plastic in comparison to a tennis ball.
Later on, another player by the name of Ron shows up. Ron Maler was one of the founders of the Statesboro Pickleball group.
Ron prepares to hit the ball with a wooden paddle. Pickleball requires different types of paddles.
Ron watches the ball as he prepares to hit it. "I think I've played Pickleball longer than most of the people in the group, about 8 to 7 years.", Ben reiterated.
Ron "reflecting" the ball. Reflecting means to tap the ball over the net with your pattle to mix up your opponents.
The after-swing coming from Ron. Ron stated that the Facebook group started around the summer last year before COVID hit.
Both teams step off the court and finish playing for the day. When one side wins, both teams slap paddles at mid court to show sportsmanship.
