Chris Rossi - The Gospel of Pickleball

The Moonlight Graham Show

Much of the Moonlight Graham Show has been about telling the stories of former athletes. We have spent 274 episodes looking back on glory days and telling the stories that either made the highlights or shaped the person in the jersey. But this week, we look at a sport that is bringing athletes back to life while it grows on a national stage. Pickleball has been growing in popularity over the last decade. Today, names as big as Lebron James are involved as investors and sponsors. The game has gone from junior high PE classes and retirement communities to deserving real attention.

Chris Rossi, the self-proclaimed pickleball addict, has an origin story that sounds like the start of a great athlete’s tale. In his words, every pickleball player has their own journey. Rossi is the son of two PE teachers. He had a head start on the game that many had barely heard of. Pickleball started in the 1960s or so and grew sort of randomly in gym classes and retirement communities over the next few decades. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that the spread started leaving those two areas. He credits younger players giving their grandparents’ game a chance with the spread of a highly addictive sport. Rossi explains it as a progression of pickleball going from an old person’s sport to people in their 40s, then 30s, picking it up as it spread around the country.

Today, there are junior divisions, the Next Generation Series, and schools and colleges are picking it up. Rossi wants to see more youth development and believes that is the important next step in the sport's growth. Rossi sees pickleball as a sport that can be easily picked up in any community as it has lower barriers to entry than sports like tennis. He sees it as a game that can be picked up recreationally in many contexts by people of all abilities.