Growth of pickleball amazes top players

FALLBROOK – The explosive growth of pickleball amazes local players Beverly Youngren and Jennifer Lucore (mother/daughter), both accomplished competitors in the sport.

Youngren and her husband, Bob, have been playing, competing and teaching for more than 20 years. Lucore, a 1984 Fallbrook High graduate, is a professional pickleball player and a global ambassador for the sport.

Youngren and Lucore have visited Costa Rica, Jamaica, Spain, Netherlands and England to promote pickleball. Lucore recently returned from two weeks in Japan where she helped teach pickleball to the Japanese and pickleball tour groups. She has won 17 USAPA Nationals, 11 Canadian Nationals, four Internationals, four Tournament of Champions, and two US Open events.

Youngren and Lucore both love to have fun with the sport as well as traveling to share the happiness that pickleball brings to players everywhere. What they discovered while promoting and playing the sport is that many players did not know much about the history of pickleball, such as where does the name come from, who are the pioneers that volunteered to promote the sport, and how has the sport evolved? So, they decided they would write a book.

Writing the book took them on an adventure as they took trains, planes, ferries, RVs, cars and even bicycles to hunt down stories, facts, and memories.

"History of Pickleball: More Than 50 Years of Fun!" is the first ever history book on the sport and it shares pickleball's rise from a family game to America's fastest-growing sport. Readers learn of that pickleball's origins on Bainbridge Island, its hotly debated name, the development of the USAPA, pickleball pioneers and plenty of intriguing accounts from major figures in the industry. People that want to know everything about the sport will find the details in the book.

"History of Pickleball: More Than 50 Years of Fun!" is a must-have for those who love pickleball and want to understand its origins and modern day popularity. The book is available at http://www.amazon.com or http://www.pickleballcentral.com.