What is Spec Tennis? Newest racquet sports grows at IRCC in Viera

What would happen if tennis and pickleball had a baby?

You might get Spec Tennis, a new racquet game quickly gaining popularity.

Six months after Steve Cooley learned about Spec Tennis, he found himself coordinating weekly matches for up to 50 of his neighbors at Indian River Colony Club in Viera.

Inside the gates of the 55+ community for military veterans, the popularity of Spec Tennis is still growing.

What is Spec Tennis?

Played with a half-inflated tennis ball and an 18-inch perforated paddle, Spec Tennis uses the strokes and strategies of tennis, but requires far less running than either tennis or pickleball.

In addition, it is easy to score and can utilize existing tennis or pickleball courts.

Ideally suited for seniors, Spec Tennis is served underhand and played in a compact space, requiring less strength and agility from participants.

With an easy learning curve, new players are often enjoying the game in as little as 20 minutes.

At Indian River Colony Club, the introduction of the sport has resulted in more friendships inside the already tight-knit community of nearly 800 homes.

Spec Tennis quickly got attention

Cooley is the member volunteer who stumbled across Spec Tennis and recognized it as the ideal new racquet sport for Indian River Colony Club, an active adult community with resort-style amenities. What he didn’t expect was the hugely enthusiastic response from members.

“We started Spec Tennis this year as an experiment, but the feedback and participation has been so tremendous that it’s been added as one of our official amenities,” said Cooley. “The social aspect is incredibly strong. It’s really a house party that masquerades as a paddle sport.”

Cooley reflects on the larger picture from the shade of the community’s recently refurbished sports pavilion. Players at Indian River Colony Club range in age from their mid-50s through their 80s.  

“We now hold four weekly scheduled group events, which almost always fill all three of our courts with overflow crowds. But my biggest personal reward is that this sport has created new friendships that extend well beyond the courts.”

IRCC’s most popular weekly Spec Tennis group event is usually Thursday afternoon’s “Whack and Snack,” where players bring beverages and snacks and typically hang out long after the playing is done. 

The relative quiet of Spec Tennis is also gaining appreciation. The sport creates a significantly lower-pitched sound than pickleball, whose sharp acoustic profile and high concentration of rapid ball strikes have been known to trigger municipal noise complaints — and even lawsuits.

The balls and paddles for each sport use different materials, which predictably affects the generation of their respective sound profiles. Considered a neighbor-friendly alternative, Spec Tennis produces a sound much like traditional tennis.

More details about Spec Tennis can be found on its official website, www.SpecTennis.com. For a video explaining the differences between Spec Tennis and Pickleball, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pik2YtQcR4M

For more information about Indian River Colony Club, call 321-255-6000, visit their website at www.ColonyClub.com. or like their Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: What is Spec Tennis? Newest racquet sports grows at IRCC in Viera