KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — In the world of pickleball, there are bangers and dinkers.

A banger is a player who thrives on whacking the pickleball hard and forcing a frenzy of rapid-fire, back-and-forth shots on the court. A dinker is a lobber, one who takes a softer approach and prizes placement over power.

Bill Case, 79, is a dinker. To him, it’s not how hard you hit the ball that counts. It’s where the ball lands that matters.

Case made his case for dinking as he stood in some shade after a match in the sun at the pickleball courts at Rotary Park on Beachwood Avenue on Wednesday, July 13. He started by noting that each partner in a game of doubles is responsible for covering ten feet of space on their side of the pickleball net.

“The strategy is to try to separate those partners and create lanes, or opportunities, for the pickleball to land,” Case said. “By dinking, you’re drawing one player off the court, leaving the other player to defend 20 feet of the court. That’s the strategy that the pros use.”

Case is a dinker off the court, too. Sharing his toil and talents, he is doing everything he can to make sure new pickleball courts land in communities all throughout York County and beyond.

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“What we really need is more permanent, dedicated, year-round pickleball – indoors and outdoors,” he said.

Some local communities – the Kennebunks and York, among them – do have courts and opportunities for play. But even more courts and opportunities are needed, according to Case.

What is pickleball? Sports Illustrated summed it up in an article back in May, calling it “the progeny of tennis and ping pong.” Sure enough, players use a paddle and swat a plastic, wiffle-like ball over a net on a small court that is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long.

But make no mistake: pickleball is its own thing.

“Some people refer to pickleball as the invasion of the tennis players,” Case said, referring to efforts over the years to officially impose tennis-like rules on the game. “We don’t want tennis rules. We want pickleball rules.”

Case and his wife, Brenda, started playing pickleball a decade ago, when their friends in Florida introduced them to the sport. The game itself has been around for almost six decades.

According to USA Pickleball, a website dedicated to the game, the sport was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a “short ferry ride from Seattle, Washington.” Three fathers – Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum – are credited with creating the game for their children, who “were bored with their usual summertime activities.”

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Over the years, the game has taken hold in the United States and in Canada. And it’s showing no signs of stopping.

“The game is growing internationally as well, with many European and Asian countries adding courts,” according to USA Pickleball.

Case already has done his part to add courts right here at home, working with others to establish ones in such communities as Portland, Saco and Kennebunkport. If you would like to work with Case to set up pickleball courts in your community, feel free to reach out to Case via email at wmc7678@gmail.com.

And if you just want to learn how to play the game? Case said he will teach you for free, something he said sets him apart from most coaches who charge for their services.

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“I do it for the promotion of the sport, and I enjoy doing it,” he said.

And even refereeing it. The Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships take place in Naples, Florida, where the Cases live for part of the year. Case served as an official ref during the first three years the Open was held.

“First year, we had 850 players,” Case said. “Second, we had 1,200. Third, we had 1,600. Now there’s almost 3,000, from, I think, 30 countries in the world.”

Pickleball is often associated with senior citizens and is indeed a sport well-suited to them – it does not involve “a lot of running, and it doesn’t take a lot of power to hit a ball 20 feet,” as Case said.

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“The majority of the people I play with are older,” Case added. “That’s why people are into pickleball – it’s a slower, softer game. It’s easier on people.”

But this is also true: The game is well on its way to catching on with all ages. Students play pickleball during their physical education classes at school, Case offers as an example. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has given the game a boost as well, Case added – after all, matches are played in the great outdoors and players are distanced on both sides of the net.

According to Case, communities that have a strong senior demographic would be wise to support pickleball as much as possible, by providing multiple venues and several hours each day in which to play. The Kennebunks are an example of towns in which there are more seniors than young people, he added.

“Most parks and rec departments focus on the youth,” Case said. “The youth have programs in school, as well. There’s not a heck of a lot available for older people.”

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And the benefits of a town having pickleball courts are mutually beneficial, according to Case. Not only will seniors and others have places to play the game, the town likely will have solid partners in promoting the game and maintaining the courts. Pickleball players are organized and take ownership of their local courts, keeping them orderly and clean, Case said.

“The parks and rec department doesn’t have to do anything,” Case said.

Kennebunkport is an example. Case was instrumental in working with the town to revitalize its tennis courts on Beachwood Avenue and setting up four pickleball courts there, according to Kris-Ann Andonian, who also played a few matches there on July 13. When Andonian moved to Kennebunkport three years ago, the courts were cracked and taken over by weeds.

“Bill was out here every day with his blower and his saw,” Andonian said.

She pointed out a few benches that line the fence that encloses the courts. She referred to a container, with wide piping used for slots, which allows players a spot to place their paddles. Case made each of these things, Andonian added.

“I just want him to get the accolades he deserves,” she said.

The effort has been worth it, Andonian suggested.

“Look at it,” she said, referring to all four courts, which were echoing with the sounds of balls getting whacked and of players calling out scores, laughing and enjoying themselves. “This is just a regular day, and look at how many people.”

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For Case, the exertion is just part of why pickleball appeals to him. The main reason he enjoys the game, by far, is the camaraderie. He and his wife have played at around 70 venues throughout the country, and in the process have become part of a network of pickleball enthusiasts who spend time together on the courts and off. Down in Florida, for example, the Cases and other players meet at courts on Monday evenings for an event they call “Dink and Drink.”

“Everybody brings their own cocktails and appetizers, and we play loud rock music,” Case said. “We just have a great time ... Everybody goes out to dinner together ... Not only is it a physical exercise, it’s a very social sport.”