Highlands women bond over pickleball
They call themselves the Pickleball Ladies.
Most weekdays for the last two years, a community of about 60 local women have networked and bonded over pickleball — first at two backyard courts that the group’s founder, Debbi Milner, created from her home’s tennis court on Jaycox Road in Philipstown, and now at the town park.
In addition to exercise and fun, the gatherings provide a place where “we talk about everything, from the birth of a grandchild to the death of a family member,” said Maria Helbock, coordinator for the Philipstown Food Pantry at First Presbyterian Church in Cold Spring.
It’s “girl golf,” said Dana Levenberg, a player and state Assembly member whose district includes Philipstown. “The men are doing their business on the golf course. Women are doing their business around the pickleball court.”
Milner said she founded the group partly to help her cope with a separation from her husband of more than four decades. The group became a forum to “discuss options,” she said.
The Pickleball Ladies are organized into two groups: the “Relish,” for beginners and less competitive players, and the “Chips” for players with more experience.
A wide range of Highlands women have joined the group. “Humans crave connectivity,” said Rebecca Pearsall, the chair of the Philipstown Behavioral Health Hub. The Pickleball Ladies have “everything to do with uplifting women,” she said.
Margaret Hayford, who does freelance motion graphics for ad agencies, joined about a year ago after moving to Cold Spring from Queens. Barrie Overend, a yoga instructor, said she had been looking “to get involved in this community” when the group connected her with Helbock.
Overend began volunteering at the Philipstown Food Pantry and became one of the Pickleball Ladies’ earliest members. She helped teach others after getting lessons at Taconic Sport & Racquet in Hopewell Junction.
Maureen Tompkins, an investment advisor, was an experienced pickleball player when she moved last year from Sag Harbor to Cold Spring to be near her children and grandchildren. Rebeca Ramirez, community and visitor relations manager for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, told her about the group, said Tompkins.
“We just laugh and laugh and laugh,” she said.
The Pickleball Ladies have entered a new phase. Milner and her husband just sold their home and its pickleball courts, and are moving to Ormond Beach, Florida, a 75-minute drive from her beloved Disney World. She credits the Pickleball Ladies with giving her “the strength to come back to myself and to learn to love myself.”
With her relocation, the games have moved to Philipstown Park on Route 9D, said Helbock, who now coordinates the group, along with Judy Farrell, a member of the town council.
Related: Converting a Pickleball ‘Snob’
They also plan to play at a new court being built at Mayor’s Park in Cold Spring. Lines for the court will be drawn on the basketball court in the next few weeks, said Jeff Amato, chair of the Cold Spring Recreation Commission. He said the village already has a portable net.
Helbock said she hopes to continue the games five days a week from 8 to 10 a.m. For now, the group doesn’t plan to create competitive leagues or tournaments. But that could change, she said.
What probably won’t change is that the Pickleball Ladies will remain, well, for ladies, said Helbock. Men “would take it to a different level,” she said. “They would make it more competitive. They wouldn’t want the mushy love stuff.”
Anyone interested in learning about the Pickleball Ladies can email Maria Helbock at [email protected].
