Indoor pickleball is now in full swing

February 5, 2025 by Ben Pounds

You can get a chance to swing your paddles at your pickleball indoors this winter at Clinton Community Center.

It’s available through March on Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at the gym at 101 South Hicks Street. Three courts will be available for anyone to play, but you must bring your own equipment and it’s first come first serve. During this time there will still be a court available for basketball. Pickleball resembles tennis but has a smaller court and is growing in popularity.

Parks and Recreation manager Levi Martin said the indoor pickleball program started due to public requests to city Manager Roger Houk and Mayor Scott Burton.

“I think it’s a sport that I feel like all ages can go after,” he said. He and special event coordinator Taylor Cullison said it had been picking up in popularity. Indoor pickleball in Clinton began Jan. 14. That week, turnout peaked on Saturday, Jan. 18 when 16 people showed up to play.

Early Tuesday afternoon on Jan. 21, Steven Brooks and Michael Selcer came to play during their lunch break. The sounds of their rackets echoed in the gym as they lunged and swung to hit the ball.

“About anybody can pick it up and learn it pretty quickly. It’s something right here the community can do easily after work or on lunch break,” Brooks said calling it good exercise and “a lot of fun.” He said he grew up playing tennis and found it similar but with less court to cover and easier for novices to learn.

Seltzer said Brooks recruited him to play during lunch and he’d only been playing for six months. He said he enjoyed the exercise and socialization.

“It’s a lot like work but it’s a lot of fun,” he said. He said he appreciated that the price of equipment was reasonable.