Kathy Aalto having fun on the pickleball
courts.
Lindsay Laven
It’s been a year and eight months since Kathy Aalto took the novice class at PebbleCreek to begin her pickleball journey. It was love at first bounce! She immediately began playing anywhere from 2-4 hours a day, often seven days a week. When a shoulder injury sidelined her for about four months, she slowly worked her way back into the game and has since moved up to a 3.0 level. She surprised herself when she decided to try some club tournaments and loved the competition, taking a silver medal in the Women’s Final Four with partner Anne Gaus.
“No sniveling, whining, or gossipy ladies allowed.” This is the first requirement for joining the Crazy Pickleball Ladies Hand and Foot Club, started by Kathy last May. This rule – coupled with “give back to your community” – is the philosophy by which Kathy lives her life. Her plan on the court is to play well, play hard, improve her game, make new friends, and have fun! If she doesn’t get a smile or a laugh out of you when playing with or against her, she has not met her most important pickleball goal. This philosophy applies not only to her time on the pickleball courts, but to time involved in all her activities. Her humor and craziness are evident every time you see a T-Rex, Grinch, umbrella hat, or rainbow tutu on the courts. If you don’t see Kathy playing on the courts, you might see her taking photos of you and your friends playing this crazy game of pickleball.
Kathy and husband, Marty, came to PebbleCreek from the Northwest two years ago with a goal to be closer to Kathy’s brother in Prescott. Marty’s love of professional sports and PebbleCreek’s proximity to spring training and professional hockey, football, and baseball made the community their obvious choice. Shortly after moving in, Kathy knew that PebbleCreek would also be perfect for Andy, her 43-year-old son who has Down syndrome and was living independently and working in Oregon. Andy lives next door to Kathy and Marty in his own home and works at the Indian School Safeway where he greets many of his PebbleCreek friends.
Kathy is an entrepreneur. She has a history of establishing and building successful businesses. She launched two regional publications, a Northwest gardening magazine and a wedding magazine. The skills needed to manage both businesses were also the skills needed to raise six accomplished kids. Her abilities and energy show in all the volunteer positions Kathy has taken on in PebbleCreek. She started and maintains the Pickleball at PebbleCreek Facebook page, designed and publishes the pickleball newsletters and club bulletins, organizes and manages the Crazy Pickleball Ladies Hand and Foot Club, teaches glass mosaic classes for creating tables and yard décor, and is willing to step up for things that need doing.