COCKEYSVILLE, Md. — Pickleball, the low impact, paddleball sport that’s drawing people of all ages.
Pickleball’s got a grip on our country. And now there’s a new indoor pickleball place in Baltimore County. And it’s a dilly of a club.
Dill Dinkers has opened its first pickleball club here in Baltimore County in Cockeysville.
Pickleball is part sport, part social hour. That’s appealing to pickleball enthusiasts like Jenna Lessans from Owings Mills. She came out to play for a few minutes and stayed for over an hour.
“So excited to have another place to play,” Lessans says. “I'm a stay-at-home mom, always looking for somewhere else to play, and this is just a great opportunity to have some fun.”
The club features six, cushioned courts in a climate-controlled building. And if you're new to the game, all you have to do is show up ready to play. Dill Dinkers will loan you some equipment and show you how it works.
More than 500 people hit the courts in the opening weekend, says owner Steve Ator.
“It's easy learn and you can play with people who play to the same ability as you,” Ator says. “You can come into our club [and] we have demo paddles. It's not expensive to get started.”
Pickleball is beginner-friendly, Ator says. He should know – he started playing a few months ago.
“Pickleball is this growing sport, hottest sport in the country, so it's like wait a minute, let me give this a shot,” he says.
Ator is Towson University alum. He played football, baseball and basketball at Aberdeen High School. Now he owns the first Dill Dinkers franchise in Baltimore County, which will be joined by a White Marsh location this winter, he says.
The Dill Dinkers franchise launched in 2023 in nearby Columbia. That’s the hometown of founders Will and Denise Richards. There are now 65 Dill Dinkers around the country.
They have open play, where you just show up and you're paired with a partner. Or you can reserve courts in advance. You can check them out at dilldinkers.com.
