By Joshua Kay • Photos by Susan Ayer

Pickleball, said to be the fastest-growing sport in America, has a signature sound: the hollow pop of a hard paddle striking a plastic, Wiffle-like ball. You can’t miss it as you approach a game in progress. You’ll also hear the squeak of sneakers, whoops of delight and amazement, laughter, the occasional groan of defeat, and a light clack as players head to center court at the end of a game to tap each other’s paddles and say, “Thank you.” Christy Howden and Leslie White, co-owners of Wolverine Pickleball, never tire of this soundscape. To them, it signals pure joy and is a siren call to come and play.

Pickleball looks at first like a mashup of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. Perhaps it is, but soon one discovers it’s very much its own thing. It’s a game that rewards ball placement and patience over power. A game that is easy to learn but difficult to master. A game that brings people together across ages, genders, and backgrounds in defiance of the national division that marks and mars our time. Pickleball is rapidly entering the big time, with three professional leagues, increasing coverage of tournaments—a major network has started airing tournament finals—and players all over the country clamoring for more facilities. And it just so happens that in Wolverine Pickleball, Ann Arbor has one of the premier pickleball centers in the Great Lakes region.

Wolverine occupies two cavernous, converted warehouses at 119 Jackson Industrial Drive. It features eight professional-grade hard courts and a pro shop stocked with dozens of paddles, accessories, and shoes. White, Howden, and their staff are happy to let you try out any number of paddles and provide expert advice on which might fit your game and your hand—in fact, a player stopped in to switch demonstration paddles as I interviewed Howden, who asked what she liked about the first one, gave her another to try, and quickly worked with her on her grip.

Wolverine Pickleball owners, Christy Howden and Leslie White

The daily schedule at Wolverine offers game-play sessions divided by player skill level as well as an array of group and individual lessons provided by certified coaches. These lessons include Learn to Play sessions, where a coach can get a gaggle of total newbies up and playing within 30 minutes. This ease of entry is one of the reasons for pickleball’s rocketing growth. Another is that players are quickly hooked as they discover that what seems to be a simple game on the surface is surprisingly and engagingly complex. Add in pickleball’s affordability—a workable paddle doesn’t have to be expensive—and it’s a recipe for success.

Pickleball is played on what looks somewhat like a small tennis court, but it’s not mini-tennis. The first seven feet on either side of the net are marked off as the “non-volley zone” (aka, “the kitchen”), meaning players can’t camp at the net and hit the ball on the fly. This rule reduces close-range overhead smashes. The hollow, ventilated ball loses speed as it travels and doesn’t bounce high, so even powerful shots can travel only so fast. The serving team must allow the return of a serve to bounce before they hit it, so there’s no serve-and-volley game. This puts the serving team at a disadvantage, unlike other paddle and racquet sports, because the receiving team has a much easier time getting to the kitchen line, where they can cut down available angles and command the court. Couple the receiving team’s advantage with the fact that a team can only score when they serve, and one begins to understand why pickleball strategy is complex and, for many, counterintuitive but fun to learn. Rather than just whacking away at the ball, which tends not to work against a decent player, a deft touch is needed to work your way forward and gain an advantage. All of this means that finesse and touch are key to playing good pickleball, largely neutralizing strength and speed disparities and allowing people of different ages and overall athletic abilities to have fun competing with each other.

Doubles is the norm at Wolverine. The short games, small courts, and mixing of playing partners after each game make pickleball a highly social sport. This social aspect is what co-owners White and Howden enjoy most about running their business. White said, “[I] love when I see people make friends that they met here.” As much as she enjoys seeing players get better at the sport, she said, “I really love the friendships. That’s my favorite part.”

Howden takes pride in “the community we’ve built. People are looking for connection,” she said, “and this is a great way to do it.” She added, “I just want people to give pickleball a try. Come out and try it.” She loves “the testimonials from people about how much it’s changed their lives.” Both Howden and White noted that many Wolverine players picked up pickleball at transition points in their lives to try something new and meet people, whether that was when they were new to town, had experienced a loss or divorce, or were freshly empty-nested or retired. Many have rekindled their inner spark through pickleball. For some, the game allows them to discover athleticism they never knew they had.

Howden and White met through their daughters, who played together on a travel volleyball team. White was the first to find her way to pickleball, when she accepted a friend’s invitation to play in 2016. “When I first saw [pickleball],” she said, “I thought it looked so simple.” A multi-sport athlete, she found that pickleball is actually “one of the most complex [sports], strategically,” and she was hooked. In 2017, she invited Howden to play. In time, the pair started running round-robin tournaments, which grew to involve approximately 200 players. Seeing this demand, and noticing how they and other players had to drive to different venues each day to find games, Howden and White decided to open a facility where people could gather and play every day. They initially considered renting space in a sports complex that was being planned. That project fell through, but Howden and White continued their search. In mid-fall of 2020, they found a warehouse just west of Ann Arbor that had been occupied by a food distributor.

“We had been looking for a long time,” Howden said. “It’s hard to find the right warehouse, especially in Ann Arbor.” She recalled that when they first saw the interior, the floor was filthy and gummy, but pickleballers came together to clean the place, lay down the court surface, and paint. With this help from the community, they had people on their four courts within ten days of getting the keys. “It was wonderful magic,” Howden said. More and more players continued to show up, necessitating expansion. When Howden and White heard the connecting warehouse would be vacated in late winter, 2022, they pounced on it, bringing the facility to eight courts in 17,500 square feet. “Again, we had community help,” Howden said. “Everyone just loves pickleball.”

In addition to daily games and lessons, Wolverine holds pickleball mixers every Friday evening where players can bring their own beverages, enjoy potluck food, socialize, and get a few games in. But Howden and White aren’t stopping there. They are building a new facility at 235 Metty Drive that will feature twelve courts, an expanded pro shop, party rooms, lounge areas, beer, wine, cocktails, food trucks, and outdoor activities like sand volleyball, bocce, and cornhole.

“We just want to keep building our community,” White said. “We want everybody to come and play and have a good time. That’s what it’s all about.” She noted that by growing in stages, from running tournaments to opening Wolverine with four courts, then adding four more, she and Howden have been able to learn and adjust over time, so building the new facility feels like a manageable next step rather than a huge leap.

Now, with Wolverine thriving and new players continuing to come in, the biggest challenge for White and Howden is ensuring that everyone competes at the right level so they can be successful, challenged, and keep growing in their abilities. “It’s a delicate balance,” White said. “It’s hard to recognize your true level.” Howden agreed. “We try to find everyone the spot where they belong, where they’ll have a great time. We pride ourselves on trying to link people up.” Wolverine offers sessions at every skill level, from novice to expert. White and Howden advise that players be patient and embrace the process of learning the game. Doing so opens the door to personal growth and a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

In two short years, Howden and White have built a warm, welcoming community. White recalled a player who had experienced a painful loss telling her, “This is my sanctuary.” Another, who had also picked up pickleball to help him find a path forward after loss, smiled at White after playing for two hours and said, “Pickleball is life.”

Howden and White are all smiles, too. “It still blows me away,” White said, reflecting on how Wolverine has grown. Or, as Howden said about their work, “We created the best jobs ever!”

Learn to play at Wolverine Pickleball located at 119 Jackson Industrial Drive in Ann Arbor. Visit them online at wolverinepickleball.com, or give them a call at (734) 489-1723. You can also email them with questions at hello@wolverinepickleball.com.