MARY LITTLEWOOD:
A Game
Changer
BY PAMELA PALONGUE
Mary Littlewood is 82 years old, but a few extra years
haven’t slowed her down. She is still effecting change
in her community, providing the inspiration and
guidance for seniors wanting to enhance their lives
and health through sports.
M
ary Littlewood modestly
acknowledges that she was a
good pickleball player, but the truth is
she was a really great player, along with
being a huge influence in furthering the
sport in several communities in Arizona.
Because of her interest and enthusiasm
for teaching as well as for pickleball, she
joined with Sandra Stultz in giving clinics
all over the state.
Making inroads in the world of sports
was nothing new for Littlewood, who has
been a champion of promoting women
in sports since the 1960s. She promoted
competition for women in the sports
of volleyball, basketball and softball
at Arizona State University from 1965
to 1990 when she retired as the head
softball coach there. Mary’s career at ASU
included joining the fight for equality for
women in sports. That fight culminated
in the passing of Title IX — the Equal
Opportunity in Education Act of 1972.
This Act mandated that individuals
could not be discriminated against based
on gender in any educational program
receiving federal assistance.
Mary’s contributions did not go
unnoticed. She was inducted into the
ASU Hall of Distinction, the National
Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall
of Fame and the Arizona Softball
Foundation Hall of Fame.
40
Always having been competitive,
Mary looked for some way to stay
physically active after her retirement. She
discovered pickleball in 2002 at the age
of 68. The game provided a fun way to
not only be physically active but also to
compete against others.
When asked why pickleball is soaring
in popularity, Mary responded by saying,
“The court is 44' x 20' — badminton sized
— so when playing doubles, a player
doesn’t have to move a great distance.
While there are fiercely competitive
players out there, there are just as many,
if not more, pickleball players who love to
play the game for the fun of it. You don’t
have to have been an athlete in an earlier
life to enjoy this game.”
Mary also notes, “Up to now, pickleball
has been the most popular with retirees
for many reasons — the most practical
being that the majority of pickleball
courts have been located in retirement
communities. As more public courts are
built and more schools offer pickleball in
their curriculum, more and more younger
players will be appearing on the scene. It’s
a fun, exciting game for players of all ages
and from a variety of backgrounds.”
Littlewood has been sidelined
from the sport in recent years after
being diagnosed with wet macular
degeneration. Though she gives lessons
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in the sport, she no longer plays
competitively. The condition causes
distortion and a lack of depth perception.
She said, “It’s harder to focus outdoors
than indoors because of so much
background activity. Also, it’s impossible
to foresee what and when distortion will
occur. When the oncoming yellow ball
started to resemble a football rather than
being round, I knew it was time to quit.”
She has been able to slow the progression
of the disease with treatment, but
unfortunately at this time there is no
cure.
In the fall of 2013, David Jordan,
president of the USAPA, asked Mary if
she would consider being a co-author
along with the USAPA of a book on
pickleball. In previous years, she
authored several books and articles on
various sports as well as coaching. Mary
agreed to write the book, “Pickleball
Fundamentals,” which w