picked up a paddle in 25 years until he heard pickleball was
being offered at a club near his hometown of Madison, CT.
“I started playing from noon to 1:00pm every Friday against
my soccer coach back in college,” Meredith said. He added, “It
was frustrating because these 50- and 60-year-old guys would
kick our butts every week.”
Meredith, who earned his degree in physical education from
SCSU, put down the paddle after college to focus on soccer. A
competitive soccer player since age 6, Meredith competed on
semi-professional soccer teams in Sweden and Costa Rica and
coached youth soccer and played in an over-30 soccer league.
But he retired from all his soccer commitments, including the
league and coaching regional youth teams, this year to focus on
pickleball.
As he tells it, he got tired of walking around like a wounded
warrior for several days after soccer tournaments. He said he
enjoys pickleball because the people are more laid-back and he
can have fun competing without taking a huge toll on his body.
“Pickleball is something that I can play for the rest of my life,”
he said. “I recently competed in a tournament in Florida and
everyone I ran into, from the tournament directors to the other
players, was an enjoyable experience. The quality of the match
and the experience was fantastic. I get to play a sport I love and
meet nice people.” •
JUNE 2016 |
MAGAZINE
37