The avid pickleballer shares the common mistakes she sees people make.
From the moment she stepped out of the limo, The Golden Bachelor‘s Ellen Goltzer won over the audience with her vivacious personality and sense of humor. The former health teacher and current pickleball captain quickly became a fan favorite, and she also served her way into Gerry Turner’s heart. Ellen’s emotional elimination right before the hometown dates shocked Golden Bachelor fans, and many viewers want to see her on their screens again — ideally, as the Golden Bachelorette. (While we don’t know if a spin-off is happening just yet, we’ll be keeping an eye on all things Golden Bachelor news — including who Gerry picks in the finale at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 30, which we’ll be recapping, as per usual.)
Ellen was a contender in the dating competition, but also — as we saw during one of the group dates — a force to be reckoned with on the pickleball court, where she and Kathy defeated the other contestants to win the tournament. It’s no secret that pickleball has exploded in popularity over the last year or so — it’s one of Katie’s favorite pastimes — but even though the sport is accessible, it can be risky. On The Golden Bachelor date alone, we saw a couple of injuries (even if one of them was just a ploy for attention, it was still believable). As a former gym teacher and a current pickleball captain, Ellen knows a thing or two about how to enjoy the sport safely. We tapped her to share some tips.
Katie Couric Media: First off — Katie would love to play pickleball with you.
Ellen Goltzer: You tell me where, and I’m there! I would consider it a joy and an honor. She’s probably much better than me.
How did you get into pickleball?
I had retired from teaching health at a Long Island middle school, and I wanted to stay active. I wasn’t ready to do the golf thing. My friends were [playing pickleball] and I said, “You know what, let’s give it a shot.” It just was great. It was something I could do, it didn’t hurt my body, and it made me feel active. I didn’t feel like I was going to the gym and doing sit-ups, I felt like I was having fun and exercising at the same time.
Why do you think pickleball has gotten so popular?
I used to teach it in the ’80s in high school Phys Ed when it first came out, and the kids just didn’t like it. And then all of a sudden, people started playing it again. The older generation realized, “Oh my god, this is something I can do.” They can get the ball over the net, which is an accomplishment in itself when you’re in your 60s and 70s. So it just took off like a bat out of hell.
Do you have any words of advice for someone who wants to get into it without getting hurt?
First of all, it’s a very good sport for people who want to stay active without overdoing it. It’s fairly easy if you stick to the guidelines. What causes injuries is that people forget they’re not 25 years old — they feel like they are because they can hit the ball over the net. But they’re not. Everybody needs to take a couple of lessons to get the foundation on how it’s played. It’s not like tennis — it’s a totally different game. It’s more like ping-pong. It’s a little bit easier to play, which can lead to overconfidence.
What are some of the biggest mistakes you see people make?
You have to be really careful, because people overestimate their ability, and they can go for shots that they really shouldn’t go for. If you’re not a few feet away from something, let it go. That’s my biggest advice. Also, never, never, never go backward. You can turn your body to the side and shuffle, but you cannot go backward, because you’re going to lose your balance fall. If you play it sensibly, logically, and for fun, where you just want to get some exercise and have a good time, that’s fine. If you want to be the hero and get shots you can’t make, it’s going to be very dangerous.
Do you have a go-to warmup before you start your games?
I think people forget to stretch. They forget that you’re using a lot of the leg and back muscles, so you need to do a few light lunges and small leg lifts. Grab onto the knee and pull your leg in to get the quads and the hamstring stretched out. Then do some serves to get the arm muscles moving before they get into a game. Just stretch a little, for five or 10 minutes. Overall, the most important thing is to listen to what your brain is telling you. If you know you’re putting yourself in a precarious position, don’t do it. It’s not like we’re playing for the Olympics — I don’t think pickleball is going to be in the Golden Olympics anytime soon. Maybe The Golden Bachelor, but I’m not so sure about the Golden Olympics.
You could definitely be in The Golden Bachelor Olympics. And to that point, how did your pickleball teammates feel watching you in that tournament?
They all said to me, “If you hadn’t won that pickleball match, you wouldn’t have been able to come home.” But the truth is, it was fun. Nobody cared about winning or losing. It was really more fun than competitive. During the time we were playing, my castmates didn’t really know the rules that well. For example, someone from the other team has to move up to the net if I’m serving to them, and they didn’t know that, so I would encourage those people to move up. Even Gerry said, “You know, you were coaching the other team…” He said that was really nice. I said, “Well, what can I tell you? I’m a gym teacher at heart, I can’t help it.”
