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During warm months, the St. James pickle ballers play outdoors at the at the Jonathan Daniels pickleball courts behind the Jonathan Daniels School on Maple Ave. Here are the current suggested times for play:

M-W-F   9AM to Noon  

M-W-F   4PM to Dusk   

Saturday   9AM to Noon   

Sunday   4PM to Dusk 

Though the courts are always open, these are times you’ll likely find others there to play with. If it rains on Mon or Wed , try going on Tues or Thursday.

The Super Seniors have scheduled these specific times:   Tues & Thurs  9AM to Noon. This is specifically for people age 70 and older.

 The St. James Pickleball League

In March of 2017, a group of people at St. James who are up for some fun and fitness started a regular pickleball league as a way to live into our call to wholeness and wellness. They began meeting in the gym of the Keene Recreation Center on Washington Street, and since then the group has grown exponentially. Partnership with the Rec Center and the Keene Lions Club has brought even more growth and a widening of the ownership of this project, so although it is no longer really St. James’ league, we like to remember we enjoyed starting it! 

If you are wondering, "What on earth is pickleball?" it is a wonderful racquet sport that is kind of a hybrid of tennis, badminton and ping pong.  It is played on a badminton sized court, has a tennis-like net, and players use a whiffle ball and solid, light weight racquets, sort of like oversized ping pong paddles.  People of all ages enjoy pickleball, which has the excitement of tennis without as much stress on the joints.  Or, it has all the strategy of ping pong, only bigger.  Or the enjoyment of badminton, only faster.  The sport is becoming very, very popular in certain parts of the country. Keene's time has come.

You do not have to have ever played pickleball before to take part in our league.  Many of us are total beginners.  Very happily, we have our own USAPA ambassadors at St. James, Rich Kalich and Ron Farina, to coach us!  (USA Pickelball Association - yes, it's a thing) If you've ever played any court or table racquet sport you'll catch on very quickly.  If you haven't, it'll only take you a bit longer. You also do not need to have any equipment to play.  We have everything you'll need to get started available.

With almost 300 people on our emailing list, there are a lot of people enjoying the game together.  If you want to learn more about pickleball, you can visit the USAPA website HERE

Excerpts from a book written 40 years ago entitled "The Other Racquet Sports" from a chapter on Pickleball.

"….players can abandon the worries of the world and laugh during rallies without being subjected to fines or technicals.  It is, in a word, sheer and refreshing fun…"

"Somewhere along the way this original concept of racquet recreation (to recreate the body and spirits) has been forgotten.  The dictionary definitions of recreation are: to refresh, entertain, divert, amuse, cheer, enliven, delight, gratify, please , relieve, reanimate, and renew".