Excels Review

                       Ping Pong VS Pickleball

Ping Pong is classic. Pickleball is the newest thing that many people think is for the older crowd. In this article we will be focusing on which excel sport is better. We will let YOU decide which is better.

                               PING PONG

‘Ping pong is a sport for the next generation.’ Says Chris Duvall. ‘This game is so intense, fun, and easy to learn. Young people think that it is a great game and easy to play.’ ‘I think they are doing great, I see improvement every week.’ Says Mr. Morris, the Ping Pong coach, ‘The most important thing is that they are having fun.’ It's fun, nostalgic and riveting. Who will win, who will lose, every week another champion is crowned. The sport is competitive seeing as it is an Olympic sport and Pickleball is not. Even though the sport is competitive, Excel is a competitive but safe space, everyone is friends there and I think that Ping Pong is the reason why. With the intensity and edge of your seat experience, it truly is the better sport. In an interview with three time winner, Archer, he gave his secrets to success. ‘Stay with the rally until you have an easier shot,’ says ping pong champion Archer Bess ‘For the serve, put a backspin on it and stay with the rally.’ ‘It’s fun to win.’ he said. ‘It’s also nice to beat Grady because he is so good at ping-pong and in my opinion, better than me.’ I can tell that he and Grady have been rivals in ping-pong for years and I must say that I am very excited to be along for the ride. For Archer, playing ping-pong feels like home. This only can help to prove that ping-pong is not only the better sport but it is also showing how precious our memories are and what a wonderful sport ping pong is for helping to create them. These are the things that the ping pong excel members will look back on in 20, 30, 40 even 50 and so on years! Later Chris Duvall was interviewed and he had a lot to say. ‘Ping Pong is for the young, pickleball is for the old’ said Chris. Chris strongly believes that pickleball is in the past and ping pong is in the future. I can’t help but agree. I had the pleasure of watching several of their games and I must say the players are talented. The game I watched was incredible and I am lucky to have been so fortunate as to witness such an amazing game with such talented players who have very bright futures in front of them. In closing, wherever we are in the world, whatever is going on in our lives, we will always have ping-pong.

PICKLEBALL

I have a question for you, what do you think when people say pickleball? Really? Isn’t that a sport for old people? To any average person it probably is, but to the people who play the sport or watch it, it is so much more than a rumored “old peoples game.” Pickleball is a fun, competitive sport that is very active and attracts younger crowds. Curious to see what the Excel Pickleball team thought about the sport, I went to interview them during one of their practices, “You're outside playing, it's active, it's the perfect hybrid of ping pong and tennis,” said Alex Smiros. “It's better because it's outdoors, and you get more exercise,” Drew Evans said, when asked about why he likes pickleball better than ping pong. “If pickle was a game for old people, no one would play it.” Going in, I thought Pickleball was a boring game that my grandmother would try to get me to play, but I was surprised at how active and fun the sport is. I was also in awe of the number of people the sport attracts at Masco. Ms. Monaco, the teacher in charge of this Excel, said “A lot of them came in knowing how to play, some were completely new.” “But pickleball is easy to pick up - literally, and we are also thinking of having a tournament later in the year.” Pickleball also has a lot of health advantages. When scientists were studying blue zones and the people that live there, they found out that a factor that helps them live longer is playing pickleball. Pickleball helps you stay engaged physically, socially, and mentally. Everything an old person needs! 

So what do you think? Which is better, Pickleball or ping pong?

"Can Pickleball Help You Live Longer?" Masco Minute, sec. 1-2. Ardmore Institute

     of Health, www.ardmoreinstituteofhealth.org/news/

     can-pickleball-help-you-live-longer. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023. 

Works Cited

Bessin, Archer, et al. Personal interview with the author. 7 Nov. 2023.

Alex Smiros, Drew Evans, and Ms. Monaco 10/10/23