Northforkers find community on pickleball courts

Community members have flocked to pickleball courts for several years now, enticed by the popularity, inclusivity and community that surrounds the sport. 

Justin Blair, of Cutchogue, and Rebecca Stokes, of Aquebogue, created the National Amateur Association of Pickleball for neighbors on Long Island’s East End that focuses on that communal, inclusive feel that attracts so many to the game.

Participants from throughout the North Fork and Riverhead had the chance to sign up for a NAA Pickleball league as a men’s, women’s or coed doubles team this fall for the first time. 

“We wanted to start a league that would give people the flexibility of when they could play,” Ms. Stokes said of the tournament, which matched teams up and let them schedule their own games to work around their schedules. 

From Sept. 24 to Oct. 27, 18 teams faced off in five weekly Round Robin matchups to determine division winners in the North Fork and Riverhead leagues. Twelve of those winners advanced to compete in the East End Fall Pickleball Tournament at Pickleball Smash It in Riverhead on Nov. 2. Matches were played on courts in Peconic, Jamesport and other areas locally to accommodate teams’ needs.

“The energy, you could sense it was noticeably higher when someone was having their regular league match at Tasker [Park in Peconic],” Mr. Blair said. “There was a lot of hooting and hollering and cheering and what not amongst the teams.”

Giulia Zeni, who splits her time between New York City and Cutchogue, started playing the sport a few years ago. From the start, she said people were very welcoming to newcomers who wanted to try out the sport. 

“I liked it and I started playing it right away,” Ms. Zeni said. “I think it’s highly addictive as a sport.”

The game opened up a world of new friends to Ms. Zeni on the court — many of varied ages.

“I can play with kids in their early 20s, people in their 70s or middle aged like me,” she said. 

Olivia Daddona, of Southold, first picked up a pickleball paddle last summer. She joined some leagues and said she is on the court “like it’s (her) full time job” throughout the week. 

“I really am grateful I found it, because I don’t know what I’d be doing without it to be honest,” Ms. Daddona said. She said she finds herself spending six hours on the court at times and feels that the time just flies by. 

The Southold native believes that age is no inhibitor to the sport, as she can play a game with an 87-year-old or 20-year-old athlete and feel no difference in the enjoyment she experiences on the court. 

“Everybody is so accepting,” Ms. Daddona said. “When I first started, I was playing with super intermediate, advanced players and they were very, just patient with me and that’s why I’ve gotten a lot better. And now it’s like my turn to teach the beginners.”

Camilo Arboleda, of Jamesport, started playing pickleball in May and was invited by Mr. Blair to play in the coed and men’s leagues. 

“It’s great — nice people, good connections,” Mr. Arboleda said of the league. “It’s fun.

Jim Glover, of Cutchogue, was Mr. Arboleda’s partner in the men’s league. Mr. Glover, like Ms. Daddona and Ms. Zeni, said the game is highly addictive because of the adrenaline rush players get on the court. 

“People actually start to have withdrawal if they don’t play,” Mr. Glover said. “It’s one of the sports that if you play regularly, you get good quickly.” 

He first picked up the sport two years ago when Mr. Blair lent him a paddle. Now, Mr. Glover has three paddles of his own.

Connecting with people on the court is “half the fun” of the sport for Mr. Glover. A 20-person group text was born from the league where community members check to see who is around to have a volley, Mr. Glover said. 

Mr. Blair and Ms. Stokes hope to expand NAA Pickleball to other areas in the country to increase the accessibility of pickleball leagues in the United States.

“You don’t have a set team either, so it’s always evolving,” Mr. Glover said. “Like two people might be playing with each other, then they’re playing against each other. It’s always evolving, and that’s what kind of makes it a little more exciting.”

Winners of the East End Fall Pickleball Tournament at Pickleball Smash It in Riverhead on Nov. 2

• Co-ed: Lily Witt and Camilo Arboleda
• Men’s: Douglas Bessemer, Carl Krause and David Kaston
• Women’s: Becky Stokes, Jeanne Scott and Meredeth Kramer