Bill brought balls and paddles to show us that equipment may vary depending on the athlete or level of play.
I learned that there are different balls - some for indoor vs. outdoor and some for recreational vs. tournament play. The same is true for paddles - beginners may want lighter-weight paddles with a larger "sweet spot" while tournament players may want something that provides more power and spin.
The history of Pickleball in Lincoln is interesting. It started in the Fall of 2015 when Mayor Beutler was looking for a sport that would keep Lincoln seniors in town, be active, and make new friends.
John Hendry and Bill, who were involved in pickleball, reported that pickleball was the sport that was becoming extremely popular with seniors. After looking around Lincoln, they determined that the new Lincoln Peterson Park near 27th and Nebraska Parkway was the obvious choice for the project. It was in May 2016 that $20,000 from Lincoln Cares was dedicated to the conversion of the tennis courts into 6 beautiful pickleball courts.
It did not take long to realize that these 6 courts would not be sufficient to meet the rapidly growing member base. So, in 2017 5 additional courts were selected as future sites for dual use tennis and pickleball. Eventual selected sites were Henry, Eden, Ballard, Roberts and Seng. And with continued interest, there was a need to add 4 new courts at Peterson Park
Membership in Pickleball Lincoln Inc (PLI) has grown from 23 members in 2016 to 1200 members in 2023. There are additional people who schedule time even if they are not members of PLI - a total schedule shows 1539 individuals. This again indicates a likely need to expand the courts.
In 2025 there were renovations to to many courts, making some multi-purpose courts and resurfacing many. In 2026 lights are scheduled to be installed at Peterson Park.
All of the work - expanding the PLI membership and building interest - has been done with all volunteers - there is no paid staff at PLI.
Bill shared that PLI offers free lessons. People can make tax deductible donation to the Lincoln Parkinsons Foundation. No questions asked.
BIO
Bill Roehrs is a retired music teacher who taught 39 years in Hastings and Lincoln. He loves being able to combine his interests in sports and music.
After years of tennis throughout his adult life, he needed a shoulder replacement due to a high school football injury. This eventually led to his discovery of pickleball while on a trip to Arizona. He has stated that he has never been around a sport that does so much for so many people.
In 2015, Joleen Clymer, John Hendry and Bill Roehrs formed Pickleball Lincoln, Inc. (PLI). The new club had 23 members. Today, ten years later PLI has around 3300 players on the books.
Ten years ago, there were 2 outdoor pickleball courts in Lincoln. Today there are 42 outdoor courts, some of which are dual striped for tennis and pickleball located in city parks. Ten years ago, there were three indoor courts at St. Paul United Methodist Church. Ten years later there are over 50 indoor courts. (10 dedicated pickleball courts and 40 multiple purpose courts).
Bill continues to actively give lesson as well as promoting the value of pickleball.