Lisa Shaw – Addicted!

On fair weather days, you can find Lisa Shaw on the courts, most often at Presidio Wall. Six days a week she plays pickleball. In addition, four days a week she plays tennis, which she has played since a kid.  Lisa “loves” tennis, she explains, “but I’m addicted to pickleball.”  Lisa even played the day before she had knee surgery for a torn meniscus. It adds up to a lot of time on the court. No wonder she buys Epsom Salt in bulk. “Soaking for 20 minutes in two cups of Epsom Salt diluted in a warm bath takes away the aches.”

Lisa was leaving the Goldman Center after a tennis game one day, when a family asked if she’d be their fourth in a pickleball game. “I’d seen the game, my mother in New Jersey played it, but I had never tried it.” Curious, she picked up a paddle and stepped in. “I was immediately hooked.” After the game, her partners thanked her, but pointed out that she wasn’t quite playing Pickleball, but rather “tennis on a pickleball court.” Their remarks brought her up short; and she determined to learn the game.

Now, several years later, Lisa knows the difference. “I learned the value of the soft game and dinking. Pickleball is not all hard shots. Slamming is dramatic, but good dinks can win the game. They’re particularly important when you’re older and lose the ability to run around.” After pausing a minute, she conceded that pickleball also helped her with her net game in tennis.

“Pickleball is fun, it’s good exercise and it’s super social, you meet people you would otherwise never know.” Her first tournament partner was with 13-year old Jack Thorpe; soon after she partnered with Huy, a 40-year-old Vietnamese man. “Pickleball opened my world. I never would have known these people without Pickleball.”

Earlier this year, Lisa met the requirements to become a certified pickleball coach, a PPR, or member of the Professional Pickleball Registry. She’s taught and coached beginners and more experienced players. “I love teaching. It makes me feel so good when I see my students improve.”

Lisa feels that Tennis and Pickleball need to co-exist, just as they do in Lisa’s life. She believes that as we grow older, more former tennis players will pick up Pickleball. “The only way to answer the demand for places to play is to share the courts.”  Maybe so, but we’re sure Lisa would agree – playing for 20 minutes on a dedicated PB court probably feels better than even an Epsom Salt bath.

- Judy Goddess