By: Ernest Gurulé
It’s a two-word line, spoken almost as a throwaway, but one that has lived on and on. ‘Tennis, anyone,’ is the line, long, but perhaps, wrongly attributed to movie tough guy, Humphrey Bogart. But in an era where the nation’s senior population is the fastest growing demographic, the line today would be not so much a question as much it would be an invitation. ‘Tennis everyone’, makes so much more sense, especially in Pueblo.
Pueblo native Gia Montoya teaches tennis for the city’s Park and Recreation Department, perhaps one of the city’s most successful programs. “We have a good solid group of fifty-plus in both sessions,” said Montoya, who teaches both mornings and afternoons. “They are out here, enthusiastic and ready to learn something new.”
But, Montoya, who’s been playing competitive tennis since middle school and even competed at the college level for her CSU-Pueblo tennis team, says there’s a growing competition for court time with the now growing popularity of Pickleball. For those unfamiliar with Pickleball, a quick explanation:
Pickleball is one of the country’s fastest growing sports. It’s similar to tennis in that it combines the elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis (all three use rackets). It’s also a game that all ages and skill levels can play. Its rules are similar to ping-pong and can be both competitively and socially played. But one wall Pickleball players are running into—and not just in Pueblo–is that there are too many Pickleball players and too few actual Pickleball courts.
Pickleballers are being forced to play on tennis courts and that is causing a small kerfuffle between the competing forces. But in Pueblo, said Montoya, it’s not at the point where there’s blood on the court. Far from it.
“It’s pretty even right now,” said Montoya, in counting the sides. It’s even drawn a symbiotic curiosity on both sides. “Tennis players are trying out Pickleball and Pickleball players are wanting to play tennis.”
As a tennis vet who honed her skills on the same courts where she now works, Montoya sees the beauty in both games. “Tennis is harder to pick up,” she believes because there’s a bigger area to cover. “Pickleball on the other hand, if you get minor direction, you can go out and play,” she added. But, as skill levels increase, both games can get not only competitive but entertainingly so.
Pueblo is no different than a lot of places where Pickleball seemingly came out of nowhere, said Montoya.
But the city has reacted and is already working on a solution. “We are in the process of building Pickleball courts,” Montoya said. They should be finished within a few months and will be located at the city’s Mineral Palace Park.
Despite having to divide her attention between the more traditional tennis and its upstart ‘kid brother,’ Pickleball, Montoya’s not one to complain. In fact, she likes the idea that her parks and recreation colleagues have found a middle ground so that everyone gets what they want.
“We’ve worked it out pretty well,” she said. “When we first started allowing them to play Pickleball (on the tennis courts), there were some conflicts…but we found that we have enough courts.” “We’ve been pretty lucky in meeting the needs of both and the Pickleball community feels like we’re accommodating them.”
One thing that hasn’t and may never be worked out on municipal courts, whether it’s tennis, Pickleball or basketball is how to make everyone happy with court time. “We do have time restrictions,” said Montoya. In Pueblo, as it is in a lot of places, courts are reserved for an hour at a time, an hour and a half for doubles players.
While there may never be a perfect solution to dividing time to satisfy both groups, Montoya thinks Pueblo has found a place that is near the happy middle. And that works for everyone, especially Montoya. “That’s one of the biggest joys I get from being out here in the tennis community,” she said. Because Pueblo is a smaller community, her job often gives Montoya those moments when she gets to cross paths with old friends, including teachers and coaches. “It just the best part of the job and makes everything so much easier.”
