It's been called the fastest
growing sport in America and this
weekend the best of the best in
pickleball are here in Central Texas.
Guys good Thursday morning.
I'm Jeff Jones.
Joined by my good friend Tyler Feldman.
We made it down here to dreamland.
And Dripping Springs.
And we're here for something
called the Pritchard
Cup. Yeah, Jeff, the Pritchard cup.
It's a pickleball tournament,
named after the father of the sport,
and this pickleball tournament
is all about playing.
Pickleball Joel Pritchard,
a congressman from Washington State,
and two other dads,
invented this game in 1965 to entertain
their kids who were bored with the
usual summertime games. The result?
Pickleball a sport that combines
elements of tennis, badminton.
And ping pong and this may surprise you.
But despite the name,
this game has nothing to do with those
kosher dills and look even though pickleball
is compared to tennis and badminton,
it is still its own sport.
Jeff, the racket size is
different and so is the ball.
They don't use a tennis ball as you can see,
it's kind of like a whiffle ball instead.
And another key difference is the court size.
A tennis court for double
s is 78 feet by 36 feet,
but a pickleball court is
significantly smaller.
It's the same size as it double s.
Mad Pinpoint which is 40 feet by 78
feet and the size is the same for
men's and women's singles and double s.
Yeah, and Speaking of Mens and
women singles and double s,
we're gonna see some of the best men and
women players right here in dreamland.
32 of the top players in the world are
here 16 men and 16 women and they're
going to play here starting tomorrow.
All fighting for Tyler. Catch this a
$150,000 prize. Tyler and I
actually hopped on the court
to try out our skills earlier.
They're decent, but I don't think
they're $150,000 skills yet.
Play for that much Jeff.
Yeah, yeah would play for that
much now. The first competition
will feature eight teams in the
women's and men's tournament.
The singles tournament as well As
for double s and mixed double s
are good friend Emily John Greco
actually spoke to some of those
players looking to win it all.
Hey guys, we are here at Dreamland
and I'm joined by Vivian David.
Are you ready to play some pickleball?
Absolutely always.
Ohh it's it's going down, it's going.
Yeah, there's a competition up here in Katy.
It's going dad wait,
but really will you take it easy on me?
Because I'm not that good?
Of course. OK,
so how did you get into playing pickle ball?
My dad owns a tennis and pickleball
store down in South Florida.
I stopped playing tennis.
I grew up playing a lot of tennis.
It took me about two years to get into
it before I started actually playing,
but ever since then I have not looked back.
How many years have you
been playing competing?
It's been about two years actually playing.
It's probably three years when I started
to kind of play around with pickleball.
What were your first thoughts when
you started playing this game?
This can get intense, so I started
practicing more for it and I'm like,
hey, it kind of gave me the fix
of playing tournaments again.
I was able to compete.
At a higher level, again,
which was fun.
I really missed that,
so let's actually keep scoring.
Now we're we're gonna play up to five.
Hey,
somebody's getting nervous.
Nice so you can come to the kitchen.
Whoo whoo.
Well, look, I'm not quitting my
day job anytime soon because I
have no future in pickleball.
But thank you so much for spending this.
You're so welcome teaching me and talking
with me and letting us send all of
Central Texas get to know more about you.
My pleasure. Thank you.
I appreciate the opportunity.
It's been a pleasure.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you Emily. Well guys,
now that you know a little bit
about some of the players from
this quickly growing sport,
we want to introduce you to to the big boss,
the boss of bosses,
the Commissioner, Miss Jenny Clitch,
runs Major League pickleball and and Jenny.
We know that this sport is quickly growing.
It's the fastest growing sport in the world.
What's drawing so many people to pick
a ball? You know it's an addictive sport.
You get out there and you play
and you just wanna keep playing.
I can't tell everybody go out,
try to play it.
You'll you won't put it down,
you'll just love the sport
and it's easy to learn.
It's good for all ages.
Families can play together,
but I'm telling you the level
of play that you'll see out
here is like nothing you can
get anywhere else in the world.
The pros are out here.
The best of the best and Jenny.
You said it's good for all ages,
something that shocked me is that
we have pros who are as young as 14
years old and as old as in their 70s.
I shouldn't say as old as
experienced as wise as in their 70s.
This is a sport that's good for the old.
The young people who are very mobile
people who are in wheelchairs.
It's accessible. To everyone
it it really is and it is a sport that
all has all levels for tournament
play it has recreational play.
It has family play.
There's leagues folks can get
involved at their local public parks.
They can get involved at a club.
I urge them just go get a paddle, get a ball.
It doesn't require a lot of
money and go out there and play.
But if you want to come
see how it's really done,
please come out to dreamland and
see how these pros are doing it.
Because you just can't tell from the
TV how how good these players are.
Yeah, and when you do watch from
the TV because I know you will,
you're gonna see the talent.
In the court, but what you
might not see with your eyes,
you're gonna hear right now with
your ears is about what this
league is doing off the court.
Your real goal is is equality
throughout the league.
Yeah? I mean we
have some mantras and we are one of
our core principles. Is equality.
This is one of the few sports that started
from the ground up with men and women
competing together at the same events,
not separate tours and the men and
women's matches in the Major League.
Pickleball event will count equally.
They will be paid equally.
They will be on Centre Court
equally there will be mixed double
s where they'll play together.
So equality and equal pay
is just really who we are.
We don't really know how to do it any
differently and we think it's 2021
and that's how it how it should be,
and we're really looking forward
to the players support as we grow
both this league and the sport.
Love it. Love it.
Thank you so much for your time
and for what you guys are doing.
Spreading the sport and spreading equality.
And guys I'm gonna save
you a trip to to Google.
I'm going to brag on Jenny for a
second number one ranked senior tennis
player in the in the nation in the
world in the world in the world.
The guys.
She knows what she's talking about,
and she's spreading this sport
that is definitely worth it.
We'll be right back after this with
plenty more pickleball knowledge
to drop on you from dreamland.
Pickleball is the fastest
growing sport in America,
but it's a new sport so we want
you to learn more about pickleball.
Some of the important rules and ways in
which to play the game so to help me out.
I brought in two experts, Becho Barr,
professional pickleball player,
and drew to Hennis pickleball referee.
And he also plays social.
Drew First things first,
you have to be able to
serve correct? And the point starts
with the server who will always start
on the right side of the court and
the serve must be served diagonally
to the opposite court and must clear
what's known as the non volley zone
completely to the opposite side.
The traditional serve is just the
ball is released from one hand and
hit in an underhand motion with your
paddle hand with an upward motion.
They have introduced a second type of
serve where you can actually drop the ball.
Allow it to bounce and then serve
to the opposite side of the court.
I'm Tyler. He's drew and drew what else
should we know about playing pickleball?
So another rule that's somewhat
unique to pickleball is commonly
referred to as the Double bounce rule.
What that means is the first two
shots of the point have to bounce on
the court before they can be played,
so the serve must bounce before
the receiving team can return it.
And then when the receiving
team hits their first ball,
that also must balance.
For the serving team hits it.
After that point,
the ball can be played on the
balance or out of the air.
Either way,
this rule actually provides a slight
advantage to the receiving team
because they will typically be the
first team to get to the non volley
zone line where they then have the
advantage during the rest of the point.
They had to welcome back.
We are live at dreamland in Dripping
Springs ahead of Major League Pickleball's
Pritchard CUPE professional tournament
happening on these courts this weekend.
Now Jeff, we know Austin is booming.
Lots of growth.
The demand for land of course
then is skyrocketing.
So that makes it tough.
We're they going to build these
pickleball courts? That's
the question that everyone's
looking to answer.
And lucky for us and you, we have K views.
Jake Garcia who went to the
parks and Rec department.
Private business owners
to find those answers.
I'm here at
Hancock Rec Center,
where sites like this are pretty common.
Pickleball courts,
sharing the same space as other courts.
It's the city's way of getting creative.
They're meeting the need for a
growing pickleball appetite,
while also not having to
shell out cash for new land.
Pickleball courts have also been
combined with tennis courts like the
ones here at South Austin Rec Center,
Ricardo Solis with the Austin
Parks and Rec Department tells
me that trend is here to stay.
It's cost effective for us.
Building a tennis court.
Itself can start anywhere from $50,000.
If you have the real estate,
converting it to another use or
multi use is is ideal for us.
Now across the rest of Central
Texas you'll find more pickleball,
specific courts,
Cedar Park is home to these
outdoor ones at Veterans Memorial,
but if it's a rainy day like today,
these indoor ones here at the rec
center might be your best bet.
They've been here for just under a
decade and membership start at $15.
Meanwhile,
the Central Texas ambassador for USA
Pickleball lives up here in Georgetown.
He tells me,
in addition to these state of the art courts,
there are quite a few more on the way.
We started with four courts.
They built two more.
Right now they're in the construction
of building 16 outdoor lighted courts.
Be ready in time for Christmas.
We hope with room for 10 more.
And while we're on the topic of construction,
this is our stadium court back here.
The space problem that Austin
faces could soon be solved.
We're gonna have
33 pickleball courts and I think it's
gonna be a really uniquely Austin place.
Tim Klitch set to make Austin
Pickle Ranch the biggest pickle
ball set up in the state.
They plan to break ground at the
start of next year for TV News.
I'm Jay Garcia.
Well thank you Jake and you know I'm glad
that they are starting to build more.
Pickleball courts around town because
this sport is fun and you know we want
everybody all across Central Texas to
have at least one or two courts nearby.
Tyler, you and I hopped on the
court behind us just a few moments
ago and and we had a lot of fun.
We thought we were gonna play
for like two or three minutes.
We were on there for like
30. Yeah, it's a blast. I mean,
Jenny talked about how addicted it is.
You get out there and you realize hey
it's it's a sport that everyone can play.
I think that's the best part about it.
It's a sport that does not
require a whole lot like that's
why you see the range in ages.
Yeah, so much fun once you get
out there and you're swinging
the paddle going back and forth.
It's like giving more.
Give me more?
Yeah, yeah you know I'm getting some
last minute practicing right here.
Need it? Because on the
other side of the break, Tyler and
I are gonna team up and we're
gonna play against the pros.
We're gonna take a swing
at this old pickle ball thing.
You stay right there and
we'll show you what we got.
OK, at this point you know the drill.
Drew Tyler drew. What about the non volley
zone on this court?
The red painted zone is
considered the non volley zone.
Well the non volley zone is another
thing somewhat unique to pickleball.
There's an area typically painted
a different color on mini course
that's seven feet back from the net
is called the non volley zone of
commonly referred to as the kitchen.
A player cannot hit a ball out of the air
prior to the ball bouncing or volleying.
With any contact into the non volley
zone by any part of his feet paddle
that also includes their momentum.
After volleying the ball.
So while hitting the ball or
their momentum afterwards,
a player cannot make contact with
the surface of the non volley zone
or it's a fault and loss of rally.
Back here in dreamland. He's drew.
I'm Tyler. We're talking pickleball
and drew. You can't win if you
don't know how to keep scoring 002
correct and scoring tends to be a bit
of a challenge to learn for beginners.
But most games are played to 11 points.
The winning margin has to be by two.
Each team will typically have
both players serve and continue to
serve until they lose a rally and.
Very important is that you only
score points if you win a rally
when your team is serving.
Guys, welcome back to dreamland.
I'm Jeff Jones and you can see
in the background my friend
Tyler Feldman is stretching.
That's for good reason.
As promised, we are going two on
2K view against the pros I'm doing
by my new friends right here.
This is Rob nunnery pro pickleball,
player Deco bar pro pickleball
player and Dave Fleming,
the world's top pickleball play
by play man so we got the world's
best right here on one court and
we'll see how we match up Tyler.
You were a little better than
me when we played.
Earlier so I'm gonna let you
serve I'm gonna drop back and KV
viewers I know y'all are rooting
for the good guys right?
Yeah, let's rock and roll here.
I'll say the score 002 it's on guys.
Well that's you Tyler getting over. Oh,
there we go. This
is going way better ohthere we gave
you the upset is brewing little hey
we do that is that $450,000?
That's that's why that's why I'm
out here today. I'm not the cat
switch sides sides so we got switch.
OK so does that mean I server
012102 you score and that's
why you're out here exactly.
You're out here 10. Let's
do it again Tyler.
Yeah, that is why you gotta
get in the right box.
Yeah, we didn't communicate.
We didn't communicate what
service well service wide.
Jeff got it right.
Tyler was wrong. OK,
it's on me.
011011 Alright sent it right back to raw.
Ohh so close. Ohh Tyler,
I'll let you go give God we've got
a man down back up got a man down
he's gonna be alright you knock me
down again like that go up unless
you go stay stay over there rob
serve over here where we go I'll
point I'm in I'm in play here we go
Dave that's a nice play over there.
Thank you buddy Jeff you're
up OK I'm up I'm up we go
you know you're learning we're
learning but we have the best
out here teaching so this.
Just throw the ball on one. Here we go.
That one's back over there.
Ohh and I was in the kitchen.
I was a little show folks don't you?
Red area you are not allowed to
volley the ball in pickleball.
That is the one fun equalizer.
My man Jeff. Yes violated that rule.
OK, so dramatically.
I love the aggressiveness Jackie
getting that you better be know.
Yeah, taken pop the ball dish,
Tyler, you're up. Now you're up.
Yeah, there we go.
I'm always updated.
No come on.
To make this the last
point, who wins? This one is.
Ohh man, I thought I had a shot at that one
guys we are do we end it by tapping
the power we do we tap the
paddle tap alright what a
pleasure and sportsmanship.
So Dave the the paddle tap.
That's something that we won.
One of the pros good sportsmanship.
Alright well thank you
gotta show sportsmanship.
Thank you so much guys.
So we've shown you sportsmanship.
We've shown you some of the rules
we've introduced you to the pros,
the Commissioner and the
world's top play by play man.
I feel like we've done a lot to
introduce the portions of the sport
of pickleball and I appreciate you.
As for being there with us,
as always, be sure to keep it
tuned right here to cave view
when you learn and you have fun.
He's drew I'm Tyler.
We're here in Dripping Springs at dreamland,
where Major League pickleball will
be played this weekend and drew
you're an official so some fans may
say it's your fault during a match.
But we've got to talk faults. Faults
are very common. I don't think these
would be a surprise to anybody.
Common faults would be a ball
hit into the net that there's
not clear to the other side.
A ball that lands outside the boundary
lines and if a ball hits a player
on the other side of the court while
that ball is live anywhere besides
his paddle or his paddle hand,
that would also be a fault on that team.
Dreamland busy getting ready for
Major League pickleball this weekend.
We're learning about the new
sport, the fastest growing
sport in the world.
Drew is an official and drew
one of the core parts of this
growing sport is called dinking.
Correct thinking is a term you'll
hear in pickleball quite frequently.
It's basically a very soft,
unattackable shot,
and the higher levels you get up in
pickleball you will see the players
rapidly get up to the non volley
zone line and engage in long ****
rallies which are shots that are not
attackable and they're basically
waiting for a mistake to be made.
A ball popped up too high and then
the attack starts and the game
gets really fast and furious.
Yeah, I've I've heard
the phrase **** and dunk.
I wonder if that has anything
to do with that phrase who?
Who knows, but we we dunked once out there.
Yes, we did we.
We did not go home empty handed,
no didn't win the game, but we won a point.
Yeah yeah, I'm feeling pretty good.
That's all, that's all that matters,
yeah, and we're not really gonna
spend too much time talking about.
When I was all up in the kitchen.
Y'all know my game day grilling segments.
I love cooking so it's it's not
as natural that you would capture.
It was natural.
It felt good.
I just left with no pulled pork this time,
which does
not feel good guys.
We had a whole lot of fun.
As you can see,
the paddles are still in our hands.
We're gonna hop back on the
court and hopefully you'll
join us one of these days.
Thanks for joining us today.