create and let it grow-pickledbd story

If you have a vision and a purpose, you can grow ANYTHING. Believe in people and let them be the driving force. Allow people to take charge and POP - a group is born and will continue to grow. Weed and feed. Continue to weed out the things (and people) who do not more the organization ahead and feed those things (and people) who have a vision and are willing to take risks.

Just the Facts
Members - 247
Hits on website - 5410
People at last dinner - 51

The  Beginning
Little over a year ago, April 2014, I started attending Pickleball games. If you don’t know the game, here’s a link. It is REALLY big here in The Villages. i took the Pickleball lesson 101, then 102, and 103. All free in The Villages. In between the classes, I practiced and slowing started making friends on the courts. 




Lunchtime with the Ladies
May 2014, A lovely lady started a lunch group and she called it "Pickled Babes." Jan was amazing in getting people to know each other and this was the perfect vehicle. The ladies continue to have lunch twice a month.

Getting Scheduled Court Times
In August 2014, I learned of a group playing outside the scheduled times published. Being the person I am, I decided I could also sign up for court times. Of course I wanted to involve the men and thus "Pickled Babes and Dudes" was born.

The Group Starts
It started with just twenty of us. Since there is are six courts with four people, my thought was to only have twenty-four people. I quickly realized that not everyone plays every day and that having more people than twenty-four would work and was needed. 

Monthly Dinners
My vision was to be inclusive, not put a cap on now many people can be in the club, we needed to play for fun. There are lots of people who play to beat each other up, I wanted a social element, so included monthly dinners. If people got to know each other, then the play would be play and the games would be more enjoyable. 

Website is Born
Of course we needed a website to have people sign up online. It would have the schedule, the names of people playing and updates of court changes. PickledBD.weebly.com was concieved.

Logo time
I created a logo that best represented us. A ball in the air with cross paddles of B and D. The Pickled would be whimsical, with shades of green. 

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Pickled Hats
Part of Pickleball is to introduce yourself at the beginning of the game. Gene had an excellent idea!! We would have hats with our names on it. He did the research, found a compnay and WOW - we know have visors and hats!! At my age, just remembering the score is about all I can do, having people’s names on their hats really helped me in getting people's names correct.

Looking Ahead
I would like to have a competitive piece to our group. There are so many excellent players I think that would enhance the group. I would like to also have a beginner lesson group for those who would like to work with others to LEARN and PRACTICE, beyond the classes of Pickleball 101, 102, and 103. This would be a practice session.

We might have to have additional courts at other recreational centers, since our group is growing and soon will be one of the largest Pickleball groups in The Villages. 

This club is a group that people saw a need and help out, Jan the Pickled Babes Lunch Lady, Gene the Hats Guru and all the Pickled Babes and Dudes who are a pleasure to play with!

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