Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
Across the country, people are dinking.
If you’re unfamiliar with that term, you are probably not one of the many millions of Americans who play pickleball.
The Sports and Fitness Industry Association annual report for 2025 reports that nearly 20 million people played pickleball in 2024, which marks a 45.8% increase from 2023. The report states that the increase from 2021 to 2024 is 311%.
It’s safe to say that pickleball is exploding.
From parks and gyms to preschools and colleges, people are grabbing paddles, forming twosomes and playing to 11.
The area’s JCCs are embracing the trend, with a Jewish communal twist — and it’s helping to foster camaraderie and build friendships across generations and other lines.
Jamie Feinstein is the director of health and wellness at Kaiserman JCC in Wynnewood, and she said that what makes the sport special is its ability to unite people.
“I think that’s one of my favorite things about pickleball — the way it’s so inclusive of so many different types of people. It’s a little bit easier physically than tennis. It’s a little less running around. It’s not a contact sport,” she said. “I just love how it kind of breaks down barriers between different populations that wouldn’t normally be able to connect and hang out together through the game.”
Feinstein gave a personal example. Her own daughter participated in a tournament at Kaiserman called Picklepalooza when she was eight or nine years old.
“She was paired up with a gentleman in his 60s, and the two of them won. She was so excited,” Feinstein said.
At Katz JCC in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the head pickleball pro Avi Yehuda said that the ages of players range from children to folks in their mid-80s. Some people come after school and some come after senior programming.
“I was playing pickleball for a few years, and then one of the guys [at Katz] approached me and asked about opening a program here,” Yehuda said. “Four years later, we have over 300 people who play here now.”
Feinstein said that playing at a JCC is special. It gives Jews of all ages and denominations and from all diasporas the chance to meet and learn about each other. But beyond that, it can offer a place for non-Jews to learn about Jewish culture.
“Pickleball can really break down barriers. Having people come in that are Jewish — but also not Jewish — into a safe, communal space and learn and play together, it’s such an authentic way to break down barriers between different people that maybe wouldn’t be playing together,” Feinstein said. “[They are] just learning more about Judaism and the Jewish community by being in a JCC.”
Skeeter Seifert is the assistant fitness and wellness director at Katz JCC, and he said that pickleball is another way for people to engage with a Jewish organization in a way that isn’t explicitly Jewish.
“There is something for everyone here, and if it’s not here yet, it will be shortly,” he said.
While interests are varied, pickleball seems to rise above others in terms of demand.
“We found that it doesn’t quite seem to matter how much pickleball time we offer; it is never good enough — which is a very cool problem to have, but a problem nonetheless,” he said.
The solution? Katz is opening 11 brand-new pickleball courts this summer. The courts are multiuse, but there is much more demand for pickleball than tennis or basketball.
Kaiserman is doing something similar, as it just added a new gym with six courts.
At Katz, as of now, most of the open-play pickleball time that accommodates anyone who shows up comes during the day. That works for retirees and kids on summer break, but it doesn’t always work for professionals who want to top off a busy work day by playing.
“Most of our open play hours right now are during normal work hours, so we’re hoping to open that up to other demographics,” Seifert said.
But it’s not just open play. The JCCs have held tournaments and clinics. They have used pickleball as a vehicle for fundraising, either for themselves or other causes. The aforementioned Picklepalooza at Kaiserman is one such example. It is run through the third-party company that helps Kaiserman produce its pickleball offerings, with 100% of the proceeds going to the JCC.
“It’s all ages, all levels, and it’s just such a fun way to play. It’s a crash course if you’ve never played — you learn drills and then within an hour you’re playing a lighthearted, fun game with other people,” Feinstein said. “It’s just such a fun way to build on pickleball and build community and have a fun afternoon together.”
Seifert said that Katz JCC has yet to hold a fundraiser for itself, but has helped build up other community organizations.
“We’ve done a lot of community-minded things like social events, barbecues and different get-togethers like that. But most of [what we’ve done has] really been [having] our pickleball community enjoy the sport, learn the sport, be physically active and have that community for people,” he said.
Some of these events at Katz JCC have been more general — like a potluck — while some have been more Jewish — like a falafel party.
Regardless, they have all been fun and community-minded. Yehuda said that many people began playing the sport during the pandemic, and that he remembers a time when everyone at Katz played while breathing heavily through a PPE mask.
“It started growing organically, with more and more people here enjoying our gym,” Yehuda said.
Feinstein said that pickleball’s rise doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. When she joined the JCC three years ago, it was of huge interest to the public, and that interest has only increased since.
“We thought, ‘How are we going to make this happen? How can we get this population here?’ It’s a growing need and want in the community,” she said.
