Pickleball Magazine 2-6 | Page 23

While she wouldn’t take a dive off a four-story building, Elliott would do three-story falls, allow herself to be set on fire, and do a ton of stunt driving—especially for car commercials. She’s worked with Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July” and Peter Weller in the original “Robocop,” and Meg Ryan. But most often, the stunt performers work second unit, long after the big names have retired to their trailers. And while her stories of being a stuntwoman are impressive, Elliott always looks forward to and is proud of her work with pickleball. With a 4.0 ranking, she says she still has challenges when it comes to slowing down her play and with being “less of a power player.” But she’s qualified for the Senior Nationals in Birmingham, plays in most of her local tournaments and took silver in Women’s Doubles at the Albuquerque, NM, Senior Olympic Games, w here she also earned a bronze in mixed doubles. She’s a pickleball ambassador for McKinney, TX, assists in numerous clinics and is willing to help out wherever needed on behalf of the sport. “It’s just growing and growing now,” she said. “My son got involved, which is great, but I’d like to see even more younger people pick it up. I’d also like to see more schools introduce pickleball into their physical education programs. Just like anything else, we need the younger people to get involved and stay involved.”  • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 | MAGAZINE 21