SNAPSHOT
Play More Paddle Men’s Division 2 & 3 Paddle Champions By Alexandra Craft, Director of Membership & Communications Four years ago, Jim Prey invited Roger Kelly to try a new sport: Paddle Tennis. Roger was immediately hooked. “I joined BCC for golf, but the highlight for my membership now is being part of the paddle team,” Roger Kelly proudly shared. “I love playing paddle. It’s so much fun.” A quick learner and a natural talent, Kelly immediately started as a Division 2 player. “The thing about paddle is you get better really quickly, it’s not as frustrating as golf,” Kelly shared enthusiastically.
I joined BCC for golf, but the highlight for my membership now is being part of the paddle team. As the name suggests, Paddle Tennis is an adaptation of tennis. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller and the net is lower. Rather than a strung racquet, players use a solid paddle and a depressurized ball. Because of the smaller court size, play is rapid and often reaction-based, with a strong emphasis on net play. Because of the pace of play, and a unique scoring system that results in longer matches than alternative racquet sports, paddle is a mentally challenging game of strategy. “When you’re playing paddle you step on the court and two hours later you step off and you have not thought about anything else other than hitting that next shot and strategizing with your partner,”
12
August 2020
BCC's Men’s Division 2 paddle team win the Interclub Championship on our Roland Park Paddle Courts—February 18, 2020
BCC's Men’s Division 3 paddle team win the Interclub Championship at L'Hirondelle— February 27, 2020
said Kelly. A tennis rally is a quick burst with time to reset in between, the walk between holes in golf allows for reprieve, and Kelly is quick to point out that in that time it is easy for work, bills, and outside distractions to creep in, but for him— paddle is different.
short years ago, has risen to become one of the top players at BCC and has been eager to grow the game as a Division 1 and Division 2 player himself.
Bryan Del Monte added “besides all of the camaraderie, it is also a sport that requires different thinking with the angles and the pace. It isn’t one- or two-dimensional... which makes it an interesting challenge.” With a sport where the whole court is not necessarily in play, but the walls are, Del Monte (who has been in the game for two and a half years) points out that paddle really is four-dimensional, bringing more excitement to the sport as well as added opportunities for new and engaging challenges.
The paddle players at local clubs are made up of a network of individuals with varying interests and skill levels, and BCC’s paddle community has grown rapidly. Played in the winter, the game allows athletes to build relationships and stay active even through snow, rain, and inclement weather. For many, it’s a great way to continue getting outside during the colder months following the golf season. “As soon as golf is over, we are so excited for paddle. I never thought I would have liked something as much as golf,” stated Feeley. The paddle season lasts 20 weeks, and players compete in a series of matches that culminate in a playoff determining a season champion.
In paddle the game doesn’t stop until someone makes a mistake, and in a sport where 94% of the mistakes made are by the last person to play the ball, it is no wonder that for all its similarities, paddle is a much different sport than tennis. “Tennis is a game of winners, paddle is a game of mistakes,” explained Tyler Feeley. Feeley, who began his paddle journey only five
The momentum of paddle and its growth over the past few years at BCC is truly a result of years of recruiting, encouraging, and engaging new participants in the game. “You get a few of the right people that get hooked on the game, and they get more people hooked on the game, and it just grows,” said Feeley enthusiastically. The growth the game has seen over the past five
