Heather Iffert is no stranger to competition. She started playing tennis at age 8 and continued to play collegiately at the University of Tennessee. Iffert coached the North Central High School girls’ tennis team for 15 years and has taught tennis for over 30 years. While she still teaches tennis part-time, Iffert, more often, finds herself on the pickleball court.
“Tennis is my first love, but I just liked a new challenge,” Iffert said. “There’s a lot of strategy that you wouldn’t think about on a smaller court with a whiffle ball.” She caught the pickleball bug shortly before Covid, setting up a court in her driveway to play with her family. As the pickleball craze reached full effect, Heather played tournaments and causally with friends who encouraged her to enter the National Pickleball League (NPL) draft.
Twelve teams of co-ed players ages 49 and above from across the U.S. comprise the NPL founded in 2022 as the first and only professional pickleball league. The Indy Drivers is made up of seven female players and eight male players, with only four local team members. As an Indianapolis native, Iffert felt proud to represent the city where she was born and raised. “Being drafted to the hometown team was pretty special,” Iffert said.
Their season stretches from May to September, with five events in total. Team members practice and travel to events independently but arrive a day early to practice together as a team. Iffert, with only one team event under her belt due to a calf injury, noted the competitive team atmosphere and camaraderie. “There is so much cheering, and I mean loud, loud cheering,” Iffert said. “You just feel like you have been together for a while. It was a really easy transition into being a part of this team.”
After watching the Indy Drivers play in their second event from her couch at home, Iffert is excited to be healthy and ready to compete again. “I felt like I made a good headway at the first event and am looking forward to getting to know my team better,” she said. The Indy Drivers entered the season as reigning champions and are looking to defend their title at the NPL Championship in October. “We’re going in the right direction,” Iffert said. “Maybe it’s because we’re a little older, but we all do a pretty good job of trying to come out with some positives.”
Pickleball carries the stereotype of being an “old person sport,” and now, with its rise in popularity, naysayers call it a fad. Iffert asserts that pickleball is growing because immediate progress on the court is obtainable regardless of age and skill level. “You could take two beginner pickleball players who’ve never played before, and they can go out on a pickleball court and have success hitting the ball over the net back and forth,” she said.
Beyond that, pickleball is a great way to get active. “I am a girl who loves to get her 10,000 steps every day, and let me tell you, I have no problem getting that on the pickleball court,” she said. “I think it’s a lot more cardio and harder movements than what people give credit for.”
She encourages beginner players to invest in lessons to first learn the scoring and strategy, which can be challenging. “I just don’t think pickleball is going anywhere,” Iffert said. “Join the craze.” The pickleball championships will take place next weekend in Cincinnati, OH. Follow along on the league’s YouTube channel.
Interested in learning how to play Pickleball?
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Madeleine Pape is a content strategist at Maven Space. While finishing up her degree in journalism from IUPUI, she is dabbling in skateboarding and hot yoga. Two things that accomplish her summer goal of proving to herself that she can do hard things.
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