First row: Bobby Freiberg; Second row: Theresa Meyers, Rich Karp, Mike Schwartz, David Pike, Keith Helker, Bruce Drinkwalter, Martha Urbin; Third row: Ed Glovinsky, Jay Sabatello, Howard Locker, Tony Gonzales, Steve Urbin, Bob Czajkowski, Ed Schneider, Steve Manns, and Fred Schmidt; Photo by Dannie Cortez.
Cynthia Schwartz
Every Sunday morning, a group of PebbleCreek softball players hang up their gloves and bats, pick up their paddles, and meet on the pickleball courts for a friendly, but competitive, round of pickleball. The organizer is Bobby Freiberg, a native New Yorker who moved to PebbleCreek with his wife Lori over 12 years ago.
Bobby and Lori Freiberg met in the Bronx, NY during their teenage years and have been married for 45 years. While Lori pursued a nursing career, Bobby was a Physical Education teacher for 32 years at P.S.100, an elementary school in the Bronx, New York. He was a member of a softball “bar league” that played in New York City.
After the Freiberg’s arrived at PebbleCreek, Bobby joined the PebbleCreek Senior Softball Association (PCSSA) league as a first baseman and right fielder and played on the Robson Field of Dreams. A few years ago, he hung up his cleats and became a third base coach for the “purple shirt team” – Anasazi Pools.
Bobby learned to play pickleball and has become well known on the PebbleCreek pickleball courts for organizing a group of softball players who also play pickleball. The softball-pickleball players meet on the weekends and occasionally on a weekday when softball games are not scheduled. When asked why he organizes this group of two-sport players, Bobby replied, “It’s all about fun. We have lots of laughs and it is great exercise.”
Theresa Meyers is a star player on the softball field and a tournament winner on the pickleball courts. Theresa commented, “For me, the biggest overlap is the social aspect of sports. While they are very different games as far as physical requirements, both require having hand/eye coordination and good reflexes.”
Ed Glovinsky is a member of the softball-pickleball group and a pitcher on the PebbleCreek Air softball team. Ed commented on why he plays pickleball, “I play because it keeps me in shape. Playing pickleball helps me work on my reaction time for pitching, and I love it!”
Mike Schwartz, a player on the Mary Couzen’s softball team, reminisced, “Playing softball at this age brings back memories of playing when I was in my twenties on Long Island. It makes me feel like a kid again. About pickleball—I was looking for a sport that I could play competitively with my wife. A bonus I have received in playing both sports is a camaraderie amongst many of the other participants and lasting friendships.”
The softball-pickleball players are a shining example of how PebbleCreek residents are living the dream in an active retirement community.