It’s funny how the best things in life often begin with the simplest of conversations.
Our Pickleball Improvers group was never planned. There was no committee, no grand vision, and certainly no expectation that it would grow into the wonderful community it is today. It all started around October last year.
On a Friday evening, while line dancing, I met Louisa and Jules. During a chat between dances, the conversation somehow turned to pickleball. They mentioned they were about to begin learning with James Green, and I immediately replied with great enthusiasm, “So are Ken and I!”
Ken, who lives with me, had also wanted to learn, so Louisa and Jules kindly asked James if we could join their private lesson.
That one small decision changed everything.
Not long afterwards, Jules asked whether her friend Andy, from yoga, could join us. Before we knew it, the five of us had become what we affectionately called The Fab Five.
We played whenever we could, practised together, encouraged one another and laughed our way through the steep learning curve that every beginner experiences.
By Christmas we had become more than just playing partners. We celebrated together with a Christmas lunch and, bringing everything full circle, invited our line dancing teacher, Laura, to give us a private lesson as our Christmas treat.
As our confidence on court grew, so did our circle of friends.
Stuart and Jo joined us, and once we began attending club nights and Sunday morning sessions, we met Mary, Debbie, Jenny and so many more wonderful people, all of whom became part of the group. Caroline joined us after attending the Friday lunchtime coaching sessions with James, and she quickly became one of us too.
Little by little, almost without noticing, our small group of five had grown into a thriving community of eighteen players.
Today we play every Tuesday, with sessions running from 2–3 pm and again from 3–4 pm. To make sure everyone has the opportunity to play with different partners and against different opponents, we use a rotation system. Every ten minutes, everyone changes partner, opponents, and often court, playing across both the Sports Hall and the Padel Court.
The result is that everyone gets to know everyone else, friendships develop naturally, and no two sessions are ever quite the same.
Yesterday marked another milestone.
We decided it was time to create our own internal league.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing a handicap system, allowing players of different abilities to compete fairly while tracking their own progress. The league table won’t simply show who’s winning; it will help each of us see where we’re improving, where we still have work to do and, perhaps most importantly, add another layer of fun and friendly competition to our Tuesday afternoons.
I’m sharing this on the Seacourt social and daytime pages in case there are other members who would like to join us.
It has also been wonderful for Seacourt Tennis Club. Courts that might previously have sat empty for two hours are now being used, adding four extra hours of play each week. It’s fantastic to see those courts full of people enjoying themselves, improving together and making new friends.
As the group grows, perhaps Thursday could become another pickleball afternoon too. But, as with everything so far, we’ll take it bit by bit.
Looking back, it’s quite remarkable.
From a chance conversation between three women at a line dancing class has grown a vibrant group of eighteen people who now share far more than a game of pickleball.
We’ve built friendships, supported one another, celebrated together and created something that has become as much a social community as a sporting one.
It proves that sometimes all it takes is one conversation, one invitation and a willingness to say, “Would you like to join us?”
You never quite know where it might lead.
If you’re a Seacourt member who is learning the game, enjoys playing in a friendly and encouraging environment and would like to become part of the group, we’d love to hear from you.