Like many former military people, Navy combat veteran and Temecula resident Joe Wilson struggled to adjust to civilian life.
Of all things, a sport helped him transition.
Now Wilson, 44, wants to help others by staging a National Veterans Pickleball League tournament this fall. He has launched a GoFundMe page.
Wilson started playing two years ago in Washington, where he grew up, and fell in love with the game. He left the Navy in 2013 and said he had felt adrift since then.
“After transitioning from the military, I found transitioning into civilian life difficult,” he said. “I sought out different activities to help alleviate these difficulties and that is when I came across the game of pickleball.”
“Pickleball is a way to get out,” Wilson said. “It helps me feel good about life.”
It was natural because he’s played sports since he was a kid. After a year of college, he joined the Navy to give back “to the country that gave me opportunities.”
Now with pickleball, Wilson has found plenty of comradery in the sport and he hopes his nonprofit league can bring the same joy to other veterans struggling to adapt to civilian life.
“My hope for the NVPL is that no veteran, including their family, would be discouraged from participating because they do not have the required equipment,” he said.
Wilson’s charity, of which he is the CEO and which was started last year, could help pay for court fees and equipment, such as paddle balls, portable nets and safety glasses. His goal is to raise at least $5,000. He has collected about $500 so far.
He’s also trying to find a local location for the event and is looking in Temecula and at other area pickleball venues.
Long term, Wilson would like to have a permanent place where veterans could play locally. He’d also like to do more for veterans with disabilities.
“Who’s willing to help?” Wilson asked. “I’m thinking huge.”
Temecula resident and military veteran Joe Wilson, third from left and wearing a bow tie, is seen in Aug. at The PickleFlix Film Festival at Regal Cinemas in Temecula. (Courtesy of Jordan Bryant)
Local pickleball boosters are certainly creative.
The PickleFlix Film Festival was held in August at Regal Cinemas in Temecula. An afterparty was at a restaurant in Old Town Temecula. It was billed as Southern California’s first pickleball-related film festival.
Jordan Bryant, 33, a graduate of Temecula’s Chaparral High School who also played tennis there, organized the event.
YouTube videos show a packed cinema for the event, which had the slogan of “Laugh Now, Play Later.” The event sold out, with 351 people watching 25 pickleball comedy films, Bryant said. Top pickleball entertainers from all over the world were there.
“Rounding up these guys was not easy,” said Bryant, a Temecula resident.
Who would have thought a game could be the inspiration for comedy.
Wilson, an actor in a comedy film that Bryant produced, said the festival was fun.
“I have met some of the kindest, most encouraging people through pickleball.”
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He and his wife Windelyn, who retired from the Navy in 2023, moved to Temecula in 2021 after looking at more than 100 houses. The couple does their research. They have two children, a college student and a middle schooler.
Wilson said the veterans he’s met from playing the sport have also benefited from it.
“They always look forward to the next game,” he said.
Wilson’s goal is to have his tournament in November near the Veterans Day holiday.
The timing would be great.
Reach Carl Love at carllove4@yahoo.com.
