Retired Broadcaster In Vienna Finds New Passion As Pickleball Instructor

VIENNA, VA — When Vienna resident George Dwyer retired from broadcast news in 2017, the last thing he could've imagined was becoming a pickleball instructor. The former news producer and reporter, who had gigs with Voice of America and ABC News, decided in retirement to join a job seeking website and used one keyword for his job search: storytelling.

But it wasn't a communications or journalism job that came up in his notifications. He almost immediately received an alert about a pickleball instructor job from a YMCA in Northern Virginia that claimed to have "good storyteller" in the description.

"I thought it was funny," Dwyer told Patch.

But he didn't just brush aside the job listing. He obtained a coach's certification and was referred to a pickleball instructor position in the City of Alexandria in 2019.

From there," Dwyer said "this thing just snowballed," and he became involved with pickleball instruction at a homeowners' association in Clifton, the YMCA in Arlington and other positions in places like Vienna and Falls Church. Today, he regularly teaches pickleball at the YMCA in Arlington, Georgetown University, and Vienna while also serving on the advisory board of George Mason University's Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution.

"I get people calling me for private instruction," said Dwyer. "It's just been amazing, and I couldn't have seen this coming from a million miles away."

Dwyer's success in securing pickleball instructor stints shows how pickleball has grown in popularity over the years. The demand for pickleball has led to plans for indoor pickleball facilities, as well as new pickleball facilities in public parks and facilities. In Vienna, the Vienna Community Center has indoor pickleball courts during the winter, spring and fall, while Glyndon Park and at Meadow Lane Park have shared-use outdoor pickleball and tennis courts.

"At the Vienna Community Center, there's always more people than there are courts," said Dwyer. "Playing pickleball, you have pleasant conversations you meet new people and you play."

One benefit of pickleball is that players, young and old, athletic or not, can play on equal footing. Dwyer, a former tennis player, said pickleball is an easy sport to learn with easily portable and inexpensive equipment. He said new players can learn basics of pickleball rules and play in a 60-minute lesson.

"As an entry level thing, if you have any racket sport history, you can be really good pretty quickly, "said Dwyer. "For people who haven't played sports…it's pretty easy for them to pick up."

He calls pickleball an easier sport to learn than tennis, table tennis and racquetball with smaller court dimensions than tennis. Because the game is often played with teams of two, pickleball players get the added benefit of socializing with their neighbors.

Looking back on his broadcast career with experience in international reporting, Dwyer can now see how pickleball instruction can draw on his career experiences, especially with the public diplomacy experiences at Voice of America.

Take for instance his visits to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India, where his wife, Krishna Roy, is from. He first taught pickleball in Kolkata four years ago and didn't think people had interest in it.

But when he recently returned four years later, he found an association had formed. He did a pickleball demonstration at three places, one of which had 40 players attend.

"It's continuing to grow, and it hasn't leveled off in the US either," said Dwyer, noting that there are 70 federations for pickleball around the world.

Just like relations between the U.S. and China started to open with "ping-pong diplomacy" in the 1970s, Dwyer sees pickleball as a tool for diplomacy and encourages foreign service officers with the State Department to share the game abroad.

"It's been a lot of good, and there's a lot to do in other countries," said Dwyer.

Another memorable experience was teaching pickleball to the governor of Washington state, who he knows through his wife. That even opened a discussion with the governor on supporting a more environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic balls used in pickleball.

As pickleball grows in popularity and expands locations, Dwyer says there's also been efforts to make quieter pickleball paddles. In Vienna, noise from the pickleball court at Glyndon Park led the Town Council to restrict playing hours.

"I'm sympatric to them the hours restrictions the players might not like it, but there are people living nearby," said Dwyer, a Vienna resident since the 1990s.

Dwyer has taught pickleball to several Town Council members, including Chuck Anderson and former member Nisha Patel. The Town Council members have discussed the efforts to meet public demand for pickleball and find locations with less noise issues and a dedicated court not shared with tennis. One place under consideration is Southside Park, which Dwyer notes is not in a heavily populated area and has ambient noise. Another possible option is the former Vienna Baptist Church that Town Council voted to demolish.

To date, Dwyer estimates he has taught pickleball to over 1,000 people.

"I'm getting to know my neighbors who live in different parts of town," said Dwyer. "It makes me feel more connected."