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As the weather warms up, so does the popularity of outdoor sports. So, if you're looking for something new to do this year, try Pickleball. We play Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 to 11 am. Sometimes we start earlier and sometimes we play later. It all depends on the weather and how soon the sun rises. Join us! Just remember to wear appropriate court shoes and not running shoes. When you first come expect a warm welcome and lots of help learning to play. One of those friendly people is Ron Selberg. Ron told me: "I moved to Solera from Highland. I first became interested in Solera while playing golf at Oak Valley golf course, while Solara was being built. We came to an open house by the builder in 2005. After seeing the community, the gym, tennis courts, greenbelt and free In- N-Out hamburgers that day we had a chance to buy a house on my favorite hole number 7 at Oak Valley. "I was a navigator and flight test engineer in the Air Force for 22 years and worked for Lockheed Martin another 20 years as a program manager for special operations. I played tennis for about 10 years before switching to Pickleball. I really like the informal culture of the Pickleball group where we don't have teams or set competitions. First four players to the court each day will begin play. Then we switch partners so that after a couple of hours, everybody has played with everybody else and no one knows or cares how many games you won. I play three days a week. "Pickleball is a lot like tennis. The objective is to hit the ball into the opponent's court one more time than they hit it into yours. There are a couple of unique rules of the game, like scoring and the kitchen, that are a little difficult to explain in words. Fortunately, we have YouTube. There are instructional videos for any aspect of the game that you would care to learn about. Then come out to one of our Pickleball days and learn by doing. There are always extra paddles and experienced players who can help with the basics. You'll soon be into games, where your partners can help you with the specifics of scoring, the kitchen rules, and all the rest. I think you'll find that we celebrate our good shots and laugh at our bad shots and HAVE FUN DOING IT!" Questions? Call Sandy Stearn at (717) 542-0481 or George Dietz at (614) 940-9506. PICKLEBALL PADDLERS 42 | LIFE IN SOLERA | JUNE 2024 | Ron Selberg