Ashley Cuffe brings her son Camden to the Alachua County Sports and Events Center every week for his pickleball clinic.
Camden, 11, had experience playing tennis, but wasn’t introduced to pickleball until Kanapaha Middle School hosted a Parent Teacher Association gathering at the center.
“They had all the different sports set up, and he just started playing a pickup game and loved it immediately,” his mother said.
This event sparked such a passion for the sport that Ashley signed her son up that day for a series of clinics beginning in December and running through February.
She said her son struggled finding sports that he enjoyed. For every other sport he tried, practicing felt like a chore. Not with pickleball.
“He is wanting to do better, and that’s the first sport that he’s wanted to go out and practice on the weekend,” she said.
Playing pickleball has become a family affair for the Cuffes. Ashley, her husband, daughter and son play pickleball together on the weekends.
She said she appreciates how it’s a sport that her son will be able to continue playing for a long time.
“Tennis, pickleball, golf are the three things that you’ll be able to play well into your years,” she said. “It’s a social sport.”
Camden’s coach, Mary Rossow, is a USA Pickleball Ambassador for Alachua County and the pickleball coordinator at RADD Sports. Rossow, 70, was introduced to pickleball seven years ago and has seen the sport grow rapidly in Gainesville, she said.
“It’s just exploding,” Rossow said. “Throughout the country, it’s the fastest growing sport.”
Rossow said the demand for pickleball courts has skyrocketed. There are only four public courts dedicated to pickleball in Gainesville.
To meet this demand, the city has plans to build eight courts at Tom Petty Park. Peter McNiece, project manager for the City of Gainesville, said it has been challenging to keep up with the demand.
“Parks and recs around the country are struggling to keep up with the growing popularity of pickleball,” McNiece said.
He said design plans will hopefully be presented to the city commission in early March to then discuss whether they should proceed with the presentation of construction documents. He said architects and engineers have not been hired, so construction likely would not begin until the end of the year.
“Tom Petty Park will satisfy the immediate need [for pickleball courts], and then we’ll focus on other parks,” he said.
With a gold pickleball paddle-shaped charm around her neck, Rossow scrolled through Facebook to show a picture of her and her 4-year-old grandson playing pickleball together.
She said she has seen how the sport has brought together a community of people spanning across generations. She has players as young as 7 years old and players in their 80s in her camps and clinics.
“I have met so many people and have made so many friends,” she said. “It’s like a huge pickleball family.”
She said the sport has also contributed to health improvements. “I’m 70, and every time I go to my doctor he says it’s amazing the shape I’m in,” she said. “Since playing pickleball a lot of my health has improved, like bone density. It’s good for your mind. It’s amazing what it does.”
Many local pickleball players take to Facebook to organize times to play together. The Gainesville 300 Pickleball Club is a private pickleball club with a $25 monthly membership fee.
Erica Elliott, 54, is the pickleball coordinator at the club. She teaches lessons and organizes social events for club members.
“There’s a desire especially for women who have raised children or are retired and are looking to be a part of something,” Elliott said.
She said people like being a part of a club because the events are organized and they know what to expect. She said she values making it an inclusive environment for everyone to improve.
“You can get good enough to be competitive with very little time,” she said.
Her husband, Mark, is also a certified pickleball instructor and helps her lead clinics because the demand for the clinics has been so high. She said playing pickleball together has been good for their marriage and health.
Rossow said she is confident the sport will continue to grow in Gainesville.
“Some people may think it’s something that will just be here and then go away, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she said. “I think it’s only going to grow even more.”