Tallahassee Pickleball Association

TPA News

Member Spotlight: Jim Larmore
by TPA board member JoAnn Cox

Have you ever been at The Pickle Pad and you run into an 83-year-old balding gentleman with a hearty laugh, piercing blue eyes, and a serve that is almost impossible to return? Then you have come across TPA member Jim Larmore!

Jim plays five times a week for approximately 13 hours of doubles, mostly at The Pickle Pad. He has played some outdoors, but prefers indoor play. Playing pickleball gives Jim something to look forward to, and in his words, “I have the best time when I play because I forget about everything else and focus on the game. I don’t even think about some of my ailments.” Speaking of ailments, Jim has had a few as he has been active all of his life in sports, including handball, paddleball, table tennis , racquetball, basketball, softball, and bocce ball, but Jim says he is simply addicted to pickleball. Jim was once the Wisconsin State Champ in racquetball, and his skills transferred over nicely to pickleball

In the last Senior Games, Jim walked away with 4 medals across pickleball, table tennis, and bocce ball events. He quipped that there “is not a lot of competition in my age category!”

Jim said he doesn’t play any differently when he’s playing for fun or when he is in a tournament. “I just always play with enthusiasm and let the chips fall where they may.” Jim advises new players to hit the ball against a wall to get started and try a few lessons, but most importantly, to play with people who are better than you---that is how you will improve your game. He does not let anything bother him on the court, including playing with beginners. He said that, “we all were beginners once---always have patience when you play.”

One area Jim would like to improve upon is wearing protective glasses while playing. He knows it is the right thing to do, but he doesn’t think he plays as well with them on.

Jim jokes that Tallahassee needs to find a sugar daddy of sorts to build more indoor complexes, like those in other cities.

Jim grew up in Milwaukee and is an official Cheese Head. He has a degree in marketing and has worked for several top-notch companies including General Motors, IBM, Ross Perot, and Blue Cross. Outside of pickleball, he has interests in volunteer teaching in the subject of math, and watching the Green Bay Packers and Buccaneers. He has six children and 12 grandchildren, most of them living in the Denver area. He has gotten two of his children and three of his grandchildren interested in playing pickleball. Sadly, Jim lost three dogs last year, and he said it was very sad, but having the extra time has given him more freedom to play pickleball.

Jim concluded the interview jokingly saying, “I hope this interview article attracts some lady friends for me!”