Lock Haven pickleball: build it and they will come
LOCK HAVEN, PA – Wednesday morning was a special morning for Ron Haffley, self-described local “ambassador” for pickleball.
The morning marked the first official use of the new pickleball courts at Hanna Park in Lock Haven. The longtime park tennis courts have been converted to pickleball use, through a collaborative effort between the City of Lock Haven and local pickleball enthusiasts.
For Haffley the use of the four new courts is the culmination of a dream. It started eight years ago, he said, when Haffley and wife Sherry were in Florida and took their tennis rackets to a court there. Instead of tennis they heard what he called an odd noise, the thwack of pickleballs hitting rackets. They fell in love with the sport and brought it back to Lock Haven, starting with a small group at the Lock Haven YMCA.
That small group has grown to 70 or 80 players, playing in recent years on the four courts at the Central Mountain Middle School in Mill Hall and now at Hanna Park.
And the courts at Hanna Park are not completely done yet. The city paved the old tennis court surface last year and another coat will be applied later and the individual courts will be painted (and maybe, someday, Haffley wished, with lights).
Meanwhile some 16 volunteers were at work earlier this week, painting and taping in preparation for the Wednesday kick-off..
Haffley’s group raised $20,000 towards the cost of site development and he thanked all those who contributed, including $5,000 from Geisinger, nearly that amount from the Clinton County Community Foundation, $2,000 in Clinton County Tourism money and $2,500 from Terrapin of South Avis. Haffley said the local YBC donated materials for a shed at the site and the CTC program at Central Mountain High School did the construction.
Local pickleball’s “co-ambassador” is Paul Ballat, Haffley said, and Ballat will be teaching the sport to newcomers who want to try the fast-growing sport. He said information for signups will soon be posted. Haffley emphasized that while there are rankings for players, the sport is as much social.
As for the need for additional courts, 22 players signed up Wednesday, but only 16 could play at a time. That group will be using the courts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9 to 11 o’clock, otherwise they are available for public use for pickleball.
Meanwhile Haffley was beaming Wednesday morning for two reasons: first use of the Hanna courts and his 48th wedding anniversary with wife Sherry.
