Latest news with #Wiffle
Mint
4 days ago
- Health
- Mint
Why National Pickleball Day is celebrated on August 8? All you need to know
National Pickleball Day, marked every August 8, is a celebration of one of America's fastest-growing sports. Since its establishment in 2021, this day has become special for pickleball enthusiasts, highlighting the sport's accessibility and health benefits. National Pickleball Day was founded in 2021 by Deirdre 'Dee' Morris, a certified pickleball instructor and USA Pickleball ambassador based in Lafayette, California. Morris chose August 8, her birthday, to launch this annual event. Her goal was to promote the sport, encourage new players, and celebrate its inclusive nature. Notably, Pickleball began in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, when Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum created a game to entertain their families. Using a perforated Wiffle ball, wooden paddles, and a badminton court, they crafted a sport blending tennis, badminton, and table tennis. August 8 honours this legacy while spotlighting pickleball's modern surge. The choice of August 8 is deeply personal, tied to Morris's birthday, symbolizing her commitment to growing the sport. This date has become a focal point for the pickleball community, with events like tournaments, free clinics, and social media campaigns. National Pickleball Day celebrates the sport's universal appeal. Played on a compact court, pickleball is easy to learn, low-impact, and suitable for all ages, from kids to seniors. The day promotes this inclusivity, encouraging people to try pickleball and join its vibrant community. The celebration also highlights pickleball's health benefits. A 2023 study showed that older adults playing pickleball experienced less stress and better mental health. For youth, the sport boosts mood and life satisfaction, while racket sports are linked to reduced dementia risk. August 8 serves as a platform to showcase these benefits, promoting wellness through play. August 8 fuels pickleball's global rise, with over 3.5 million players in the U.S. and growing popularity in countries like Australia and Asia. Professional leagues like the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP) draw crowds, and the sport's accessibility supports its Olympic potential. National Pickleball Day amplifies this momentum through community events and social media, inviting everyone to participate. On August 8, players and enthusiasts celebrate by hosting tournaments, joining clinics, or sharing their love for pickleball online. Whether you're a seasoned player or a beginner, National Pickleball Day is the perfect time to grab a paddle, hit the court, and connect with others.
New York Post
04-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
St. James-Smithtown Little League adopts pregame ritual as battle to World Series continues
These boys found their inner path — and the basepaths. St. James-Smithtown Little League is taking a page out of peaceful Pedro Cerrano's 'Major League II' playbook, doing guided pregame meditations to shake off the jitters that come with big Little League World Series dreams. 'We turn the lights off, you lie down — or you can sit up — close your eyes, and listen and work on your breathing,' Bulls center fielder and de facto guru Kevin Moran told The Post from the Metro regional tournament in Bristol, Conn. Long Island's tantric team was surely prepared for an opening-round matchup against Rhode Island's Burrillville, rolling to an 18-0 win with an 11-run sixth inning that saw 17 batters at the plate on Saturday evening. 4 he St. James-Smithtown Little League team poses for a photo during practice in St. James, N.Y. on Monday, July 28, 2025. The team recently won the New York State title and are now playing for a chance to go to Williamsport. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 'We were a little nervous at the start of the game,' Moran said. 'Then, just working on our breathing, we calmed down, and then we did very well.' Moran has been going soulful since late June, but more recently, his pal pitcher Jeremy Katz caught word during the New York State championship, where he won the home run derby. 'He heard I did it and has been doing it with me the last three games. Then Saturday night was the first time the whole team had done it,' Moran said. 'I feel like it calms us down and brings down our nerves. We get locked in,' he said of the group that finds dim-lit mindfulness in their dorm at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center. Now only two wins away from the Little League World Series in Williamsport, the serenity-now style is here to stay. 4 Manager Scott Santelli during a St. James-Smithtown Little League practice in St. James, N.Y. on Monday, July 28, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 'Since we won 18-0, we're definitely going to keep this up,' added right fielder Eric Hanson. 'It really helped me soothe before the game. I was very relaxed and ready to go.' That's not to say the 12-year-olds are going full-on Aaron Rodgers darkness retreat style; they're still mixing it up with out-of-state teams and making new friends, too — all in broad daylight. 'It's just such an awesome experience having fun with them,' said outfielder and designated hitter Hunter Falcone. 'Just running around, playing Wiffle ball, all that.' 4 Ryan Delgado #27 at bat during a St. James-Smithtown Little League practice in St. James, N.Y. on Monday, July 28, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Particularly, the New Yorkers have gotten very friendly with the team from Delaware's Middletown-Odessa-Townsend Little League, who are playing in the Mid-Atlantic tournament on the same campus. Now in the semifinals versus Connecticut's Fairfield International at 1 p.m. Monday (ESPN), the Bulls' mission is simple: Stay calm on the inside and see red on the field. 'I just think we just have to play our game and keep our energy up,' said second baseman Dominic Ciminiello. 'Then it will be very hard to beat us.' Manager Scott Santelli quickly recognized that Connecticut's team, naturally, has a large presence in the stands — but the Long Island moms and dads have a 10th-man mentality that is steering their boys toward victory as well. 4 Ryan Delgado #27 at bat during a St. James-Smithtown Little League practice in St. James, N.Y. on Monday, July 28, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 'There's a lot of cheering in our crowd,' added Ciminiello, who recalled how loud their families were in the New York State championship against South Shore Little League on their home turf on Staten Island. 'It helped us win that game,' he said of the 7-2 victory over the 2024 LLWS Metro representative. Even on the home front, folks are pouring on support for St. James-Smithtown. The New York Islanders sent a good luck message to the squad, Smithtown's Philly Pretzel factory location started making special bull-shaped treats, and the local Bull Smith's tavern was packed for a watch party for the Saturday night win. 'It's just been crazy,' Hanson said. 'The support is coming from everywhere, even teams in the other tournaments cheering us on. It's just been great.'
Chicago Tribune
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Valparaiso Parks unveils ValPlayso pickleball courts as among first of 2025 parks upgrades
While reviewing a previous 2020-21 Valparaiso Parks 'masterplan and resident research study,' Kevin Nuppnau, director of the Valparaiso Parks Department, noticed the word 'pickleball' didn't appear anywhere in the documents or among the park patron requests for upgrades. 'I've been in my director role for two years now, and before that, five years with the department,' Nuppnau said Monday while unveiling six new pickleball courts joining the ValPlayso park landscape. 'Pickleball wasn't a term we really heard until about three years ago.' What was previously a greenspace devoted to T-ball is now the six-court sprawl devoted to this popular paddle, net and court sport called pickleball, included in the $25 million recent enhancement plan for the existing park landscapes in the city-funded by the rePLAY initiative. The public ground-breaking ceremony was April 15 at ValPlayso Park at the intersection of Glendale Boulevard and Roosevelt Road. 'This project came in at around $500,000 and it was finished about a week ahead of schedule, which is wonderful,' Nuppnau said. 'It was more than just a construction effort, but also consideration and engineering for proper drainage.' Following a ribbon cutting and opening remarks from Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas Monday morning, more than 200 park revelers, including eager pickleball enthusiasts, swarmed the fenced courts adorned with green 'seed dotted' pickle-design balloon archways and borders. 'I liked that Mayor Costas inaugurated the courts with the first paddle hit,' said Lance Werner, 57, of LaPorte. 'In about two weeks, LaPorte is about to open our eight new pickleball courts, too. I wanted to come out to see what the Valparaiso design looks like. I love that each court here was created with its own paddle racks to make it easy to keep track of your racket from home. Our LaPorte mayor, Tom Dermody, plays pickleball. I'm going to suggest these two mayors have a pickleball playoff.' Molly Brust, 30, of Valparaiso, brought her paddles to play a 20-minute session against her pal Karley Wajda, 24, of LaPorte. 'It's great exercise for me since I started playing pickleball nearly two years ago,' Brust said. 'Pickleball also creates a nice sense of community, too. These new courts are spaced just right to provide the opportunity for some shared space to talk and meet other people playing.' In recent years, the Valparaiso Parks Department has converted low-traffic former basketball and tennis hard-surface outdoor courts into pickleball courts at Bicentennial Park, 175 Burlington Beach Road, Tower Park at 1000 Franklin St., and Kirchhoff Park at 400 Roosevelt Road. The Valparaiso YMCA at 1201 Cumberland has three indoor pickleball courts. The sport can be played with single players or double teams and uses a low net and lined boundary courts with paddles swatting an aerated, light, plastic, bright yellow, green or orange ball, like a Wiffle ball. The game score goes up 11 points, with the winner needing to win by two points, making it similar to tennis scoring. Pickleball enthusiast Linda Rodenbarger of Valparaiso also spoke during the opening remarks at Monday's ribbon cutting. 'The timing is so ideal for these new courts to open just as the pickleball courts at Kirchoff Park will now close for that park's renovations,' said Rodenbarger, who has helped coordinate pickleball teams and competition tiers using an app called TeamReach. 'I knew nothing about pickleball until about two years ago, while in Florida, when I was told about it and gave it a try. I came home to Valparaiso and started telling others about pickleball. It's a sport that has a great sense of community, and it's great for all ages.' Parks included in the rePLAY initiative are Kirchhoff Park, Fairgrounds Park, Tower Park, ValPlayso, Foundation Meadows Park, Rogers Lakewood Park, Ogden Botanical Gardens, Glenrose South Park, Will Park and Banta Park. 'The rePLAY initiative is a direct result of ongoing public input and our comprehensive Parks Master Plan,' Nuppnau said. 'This initiative will not only improve our existing parks but also ensure they continue to serve as vital community gathering places.' Nuppnau said the rePLAY initiative is funded using the bond proceeds that were originally earmarked for the proposed sports park, shelved last year because of the excessive cost, to now put the bond funding to immediate use for long-term benefits. To learn more about the rePLAY initiative and stay updated on project timelines and community engagement opportunities, visit
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Reggie Jackson says Judge's home run wasn't 469 feet
Reggie Jackson says Judge's home run wasn't 469 feet originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Aaron Judge hit a baseball Tuesday night that looked like it needed clearance from air traffic control. Statcast measured the New York Yankees captain's homer at 469 feet. Advertisement Yankees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson respectfully — and very vocally — disagrees. New York Yankees Hall of Fame slugger looks out of the dugout during the 2019 Old Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium. © Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images 'I know what 500 feet feels like,' Jackson told YES Network's Meredith Marakovits before Wednesday night's game. He went on to explain if it hadn't hit the building where the Kansas City Royals house their Hall of Fame, that ball would have definitely cleared 500 feet. And when Mr. October says a home run felt like 500 feet, you at least got to take it into consideration. This is a man who hit baseballs into light towers. Who treated 1970s pitchers like they were throwing Wiffle balls. Reggie knows moonshots — and this one apparently made his inner seismograph twitch. Advertisement The blast in question came off the bat at 114.9 mph and crashed off the facade of the Royals Hall of Fame in left-center. Statcast gave it the 469-foot label, but the ball may have lost a few feet of travel time thanks to a premature collision with a wall, which was sporting some patching on it Wednesday. Judge didn't seem bothered. He flipped his bat, put his head down, and headed back to work. The Yankees slugger has a habit of humbling Statcast's tape measure. Tuesday's launch may have been one of those. Reggie seemed convinced. And honestly, we're not betting against the man who once hit a ball completely out of Tiger Stadium. Statcast is great and we love the information, but Reggie knows home runs. So, we're going to go with the Yankees legend on this one. Advertisement Related: Marcus Stroman Takes Surprising Turn As Yankees Face Big Decision Related: Aaron Judge's 469-Foot Blast Wasn't Even Close to Yankees Slugger's Longest This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Prep talk: Velazquez family keeps delivering for Crespi
The younger brothers of Crespi shortstop Diego Velazquez, David, 10, and Damian, 7. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times) Across the Southland, high school baseball is a family affair. On the field, older brothers are playing. In the snack shack, moms and dads work. Younger brothers cheer when they aren't practicing their hitting skills with Wiffle balls. Advertisement At Crespi home games, the mother of shortstop Diego Velazquez, Rocio, is so busy cooking hot dogs and hamburgers that she misses out when her son hits home runs or doubles. Her younger sons, David, 10, and Damian, 7, are either helping her out or playing games around the snack shack. Crespi shortstop Diego Velazquez with brothers Damian and David in 2023. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times) Diego, a USC commit, isn't mad if someone misses a key moment. "There will be more," he said. For senior day, maybe his mother will take a little break to watch the game. There's lots of baseball to be played in the coming years for the Velazquez boys. . . . The Mt. SAC Invitational in track and field is set for Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. Advertisement This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
