On any given day at the Lincoln Park Senior Center, when the indoor facility isn’t being used to host a dance class, yoga or tai chi, a group of older adults get their heart rates up with a friendly game of pickleball.
The low-intensity paddle sport has gained massive popularity over the years and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. For the older adults at Lincoln Park Senior Center, it’s an active pastime where they get to have fun, compete with one another and feel free.
“(I feel) freedom. We laugh a lot … we are happy, that’s the point,” said Felix Celis, 65, who started the pickleball club at the senior center a few years ago.
Now, a group of five to eight people practice at the center almost daily. On Friday afternoons, the group competes in friendly two-on-two or one-on-one matches for up to five hours.
Celis learned how to play the game through watching Youtube videos and has picked up techniques through his own practice. Now, he teaches his fellow players tips and tricks.
On a recent Friday, Celis ran practice drills with Georgina Guzman, 62, who’s been going to the senior center for about a year.
“The game is very addicting,” Guzman said. She looks forward to the end of the week when she gets to play with her friends.
A few years ago, Guzman was diagnosed with osteoporosis, which reduces bone density and makes them weaker. Through physical activity like pickleball, she’s been able to rebuild her strength.
“I feel good, my depression is gone, my cholesterol has gone down and I feel better, I feel happy, I’m excited to come,” she said.
Guzman boasted that their club has been able to keep up with younger players, too. On occasion, the group plays against a few students from UCLA.
“We are elderly people and they are just kids, but we put up a fight,” Guzman said.
Though they’ve found a groove with their weekly games, the older adults who attend the Lincoln Park Senior Center said they would like to have a dedicated instructor to teach them proper rules and how to reduce their risk of injury on the court.
“Sometimes, because we want to win, we get so caught up in the game that we forget that our body is not fit for a certain movement,” said Alvino Bravo, 71.
Bravo started playing the sport one year ago after he retired and said it has made him feel strong and capable.
“The people that attend here, they are looking for company, they’re looking for friendship,” Celis said. They have found that on and off the court.
How to get involved:
Lincoln Park Senior Center
3501 Valley Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90031
Interested in aging on the Eastside? Read more about what older adults told us they need from local senior centers.
