When 67-year-old pickleball instructor Richard Love received a call from fellow coach Tony Anakus, the proposal was straightforward: travel to South Africa to run a pickleball clinic for local children.
Love, a former Division 1 athlete and NCAA javelin thrower who transitioned to teaching pickleball over a decade ago, agreed to the trip alongside his wife.
Navigating the route to Cape Town
Love knew the flight from California to South Africa would be long, but he and his wife had a longer journey than they bargained for. Initial travel plans hit an abrupt roadblock when regional military conflicts in the Middle East disrupted flights through Dubai.
"News of the war kept getting worse and our airlines were pushing flights out 30 days at a time till Dubai was safe," Love explained. "It looked like the trip was not going to happen. Finally, at 2 a.m. one morning, I got a hold of the airline and I was able to cancel the flights. Moments later, I booked new flights that went from Atlanta to Cape Town and we avoided the Middle East completely."
After weeks of rescheduling and 26 hours of transit, the couple arrived in Cape Town. Before stepping onto the courts, they spent several days exploring the region's geography and wildlife. Their itinerary included wading through ocean waters to observe African penguins in their natural habitat, exploring local caves, bass fishing, and taking a river cruise to spot hippopotamuses.
The highlight of the tourist itinerary was a multi-day open-reserve safari. Love and his wife observed giraffes, impalas, zebras, warthogs, baboons, monkeys, and four of Africa's "Big Five": elephants, rhinos, lions, and Cape Buffalo.
The state of South African pickleball
For Love, who got his start in pickleball around 2010 by hand-taping lines on courts at the Bobby Riggs Racket and Paddle Club in California, arriving in the South African pickleball scene felt familiar.
The country is experiencing a rapid expansion of the sport, mirroring the early American surge. However, Love says the ecosystem faces distinct infrastructural hurdles:
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Organizing bodies: The nation currently operates with two competing national organizations working through tournament frameworks.
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Tennis crossover: Unlike the U.S. market, which required converting established tennis players, South Africa faces less initial resistance from existing racket sports.
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Economic disparities: The player base spans a wide socioeconomic gap, ranging from affluent club members to under-resourced communities.
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Equipment supply: Local access to modern equipment remains limited, with players frequently navigating complex international shipping and import tariffs.
On the court: The youth clinic at Zini Pickleball Club
The primary objective of the trip was a youth clinic held at the Zini Pickleball Club, serving children aged eight to 17.
Preparations began early on the morning of the event. Love, whose regular teaching takes place at Palm Desert Resort in California, admitted to initial pre-clinic nerves given the environment and the language barrier.
"The taxis full of kids dropped off the students and we kicked off the introductions to discover that not all the kids understood English or knew of pickleball or even knew where California was," Love recalled. "Normally, the big surprise when instructing is that the player skill levels are not what we expected. This was going to be a new challenge."
Equipment for the clinic was provided through donations, including gear supplied by Selkirk and paddles from Love’s personal inventory. Instructors noted that many children initially gravitated toward older, worn paddles and required reassurance before using newer models.
Adapting the curriculum
Love and three assistant coaches broke the group across four courts, beginning with the basics:
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Grip mechanics: The coaches utilized the "handshake technique" to teach a standard continental grip.
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Contact point: Early drills focused on basic hand-eye coordination and establishing an open face to clear the net.
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Serving and returns: The group transitioned to drop serves and basic serve-return patterns.
As the session progressed, unconventional adaptations emerged. Shoes donated weeks prior were kicked off as children preferred playing barefoot, and some mixed in their favorite sports.
"Kids decided mixing soccer, volleyball, and pickleball together was a much better way to play," Love noted. "In fact, in this new game, the number of bounces and the boundaries of the court were not limitations. We lost control. But we thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids display their athletic abilities in their conversion of our beloved game."
Long-term impact and community goals
Following the clinic and a group lunch, eight participants were selected by host Tony Anakus to receive ongoing mentorship, with plans to prepare them for the South African Pickleball Championships.
To support practice between formal lessons, organizers have established a fundraising target of a couple thousand dollars to pour a dedicated concrete slab near the children's residence in the Zini area.
For Love, the experience reinforced his core passion for sports administration and coaching.
"My favorite part of the sport is getting people who were on the couch or never played any sports previously hooked on pickleball," Love said. "You teach them in a clinic and then you see them 4–5 days a week playing. Sports were an important part of my life and sharing that love of sports is my favorite part."
