Members of the Tellico Village pickleball and tennis clubs welcomed players from the University of Tennessee’s tennis teams Saturday for some friendly competition.
The event was another in a series put on by Lee Brockman, founder and president of the Tellico Village Volleys UT Tennis booster club, to give the team exposure in the Village.
“I started querying a lot of the residents here if they had ever gone to Knoxville to watch UT tennis and they were like ‘no’,” Brockman said. “I asked why not, and they were like ‘Well, is it that big of a deal?’ I said it’s incredible. And then I came up with the idea of, if we can’t bring Mohammed to the mountain, we’ll bring the mountain to Mohammed.”
Brockman originally organized exhibition games with UT tennis players so locals could see their skill and personalities and become fans. As part of the events, he would also take the players on the lake afterward with the help of volunteer boaters.
This year, Villagers got to participate by taking on UT players in either tennis or pickleball. Many members of both clubs came out to play against and with UT athletes in doubles games.
“It’s the beginning of their season, so this is a way for them to build camaraderie,” Gordon Young, Pickleball Club president, said. “And obviously we’re all pretty passionate about pickleball, so this works out pretty well because we get to enjoy that passion with young kids that are amazing athletes that have not played pickleball before, although it doesn’t look like it when you see them out there.”
Players were treated to a continental breakfast prior to the games, which began at 9 a.m and lasted until noon. UT athletes rotated between the Wellness Center’s tennis and pickleball courts, sometimes playing two UT players against two Villagers and sometimes mixing the teams to include one of each on either side. In a laid-back atmosphere, players got to joke with their sometimes partners, sometimes opponents and learn the game of pickleball while also showing off their tennis skills.
“It’s been amazing,” Patrick Harper, UT tennis player, said. “It’s been good to come out here and play with all the Tellico locals. … (It’s) my first time playing pickleball. Took a while to get used to it, but I think a few games in I got the hang of it.”
Though results did not matter, games were still competitive, particularly in pickleball, and plenty of Villagers came out to watch. Even after UT novices got up to speed on the rules and workings of the game, Villagers still held their own in fiercely contested matches.
“The thing is, pickleball is unique, it’s a smaller court, it doesn’t require the amount of movement you have to do in tennis,” Young said. “It’s a very fast game, so it’s based more on the reactions than it is on speed of foot. So us older folks can compete against younger, more athletic individuals.”
“Definitely the pickleball level is quite high,” Harper added. “It’s quite fun to play with the older people as well. They’re more crafty and you can tell they play a lot of pickleball.”
Games ended around noon, at which point attendees received lunch. In the afternoon, players got the opportunity to go out on the lake, with eight Villagers volunteering to serve as boat captains. The day ended at Brockman’s house with a pizza party.
Brockman said the event was a success and they were already planning the next one. While this tournament, coming at the beginning of the season, served to introduce players to the Village, another one in the spring will be held as a congratulatory, post-season celebration.
Brockman said he hoped the event might gather support for the team and invited anyone interested to join the booster club. The fee is $15, which is good for a Tellico Village Volleys T-shirt and inclusion in the club’s trips to watch UT tennis.
“We just want to help build Vol Nation,” Brockman said. “They deserve it, they don’t bring out the crowds nearly commensurate with their level of play. It’s been kind of what I call the greatest show on earth but best kept secret in Knoxville.”
Young added that he hoped they could also turn the event into a fundraiser for the team moving forward. Like Brockman, he was satisfied with the turnout and said they were already in discussion for future events.
“We’re happy to be here,” Harper said. “Just hanging out, everyone here is really nice to us and just grateful that they can come to our matches. I’m sure they love hanging out with us and being able to play tennis with us. It’s just been really good.”
