Pickleball drawing younger players

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE TYPICAL PICKLEBALL PLAYER MIGHT HAVE RESEMBLED SOMEONE LIKE SAM GENTILI OF BEVERLY. I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS IN ALL HIS 90 YEARS OF GLORY. NO MORE. THE GAME IS GETTING YOUNGER EVERY YEAR. IT STARTED AT AN OLDER DEMOGRAPHIC AND IS NOW GETTING YOUNGER BY TWO YEARS. EVERY YEAR. AND SO IT’S IT’S NOW AN AVERAGE AGE IN THE MID 30S. WHAT’S MORE, HIGHLY SKILLED RACKETS PLAYERS ARE TAKING TO THE GAME. JOHAN DURANT AND STEPHEN MITCHELL HAVE JUST OPENED THE BOSTON PICKLE CLUB IN HYDE PARK. BOTH ARE SEASONED TENNIS PROFESSIONALS, RANKED NUMBER ONE IN THE COUNTRY IN THE SPORT OF PLATFORM TENNIS. THOUGH THEY CLAIM TO STILL BE LEARNING PICKLE, THEY’VE QUICKLY BECOME THE TEAM TO BEAT AROUND BOSTON. AND THEY ENTERED THE NATIONAL CIRCUIT WITH A SPLASH. WE MENTIONED STEPHEN MITCHELL AND JOHAN DURANT. THIS IS THEIR FIRST EVER PRO PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT. YEP. AND THEY’RE SITTING HERE IN THE QUARTERFINALS RIGHT NOW. NOT TOO BAD. WE’RE GETTING THERE. WE’RE NOT NOT HIGH LEVEL UH, WINNERS YET. BUT I THINK WE CAN GET THERE. IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME. AND IF THERE IS STILL ANY RESIDUAL SNOBBERY FROM THEIR FORMER TENNIS FRIENDS ABOUT PICKLEBALL, MITCHELL WOULD LIKE TO INVITE THEM OVER FOR A GAME. AS SOON AS YOU GET THEM OUT IN THE COURT AND SMACK THEM WITH THE BALL A COUPLE TIMES ON THE PICKLEBALL COURT, THEN THE CHANGES ARE, OH, SORRY. HIDDEN PICKLEBALL ACTUALLY BE HIP PICKLE AND SOUTH BOSTON BRINGS AN URBAN LOUNGE VIBE TO THE GAME. CRAFT COCKTAILS AND ELEVATED BAR FOOD MAKE THIS A HAPPENING PLACE FOR A YOUNGER CROWD. TODAY, A POP UP FROM AWARD WINNING NEW YORK BARBECUE MASTERS PIG BEACH PICKLE CO-OWNER DUSTIN MARTIN. I KNOW FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN I STARTED TO PLAY MY PARENTS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF MENTIONED, OH, PICK PICKLEBALL. THAT’S THE SPORT THAT WE PLAY. BUT IT’S DEFINITELY TRANSCENDING GENERATIONS GETTING WAY YOUNGER AND THEN THERE IS REALLY YOUNG. IT’S REALLY, REALLY FUN. TEN YEAR OLD MAYA DENGA AND HER 12 YEAR OLD BROTHER JORDAN OF IPSWICH, ARE AVID PICKLE HEADS, THOUGH THEY PLAY TENNIS AS WELL. IT’S ANOTHER SPORT YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN. DEFINITELY. EVEN IF THEY SOMETIMES MEET RESISTANCE FROM THEIR PEERS. ONE TIME I WAS ON A CALL WITH MY FRIEND AND HE SAID, PICKLEBALL, WHAT ARE YOU, 90? BUT THE BEST NEWS OF ALL MAY BE THAT DIFFERENT AGES CAN PLAY WELL TOGETHER. WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO VILLAGE SPORTS CLUB IN PLYMOUTH, WHERE I TEAM UP WITH MY MOTHER, CHARLENA, FOR AN EPIC CLASH WITH THE HOT SUNS THAT ENDS IN A RESOUNDING YAY! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS AND NOISY TRIUMPH FOR TEAM SEYMOUR. OH MOMMY, THAT WAS SO FUN! OH, LET’S DO IT AGAIN. OH, MOMMY AND I GOT A TEXT FROM MY MOM TODAY SAYING THAT HER PICKLEBALL GAME HAS IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY SINCE WE PLAYED WITH THE HOT SHO