For the last several weeks, a handful of locals have been frequenting the former high school tennis courts two days a week, with racquets in one hand, a sack of yellow balls in the other and a fiery competitive spirit burning in their eyes.

The men pair off into teams of two, taking to opposite sides of the net as they attempt to prove their skills and sportsmanship — and let off constant zingers and one-liners directed at their opponents while they’re at it.

The game they play is not the sport that was once played inside the fenced-in grounds, though, but a different one entirely, a recreational activity that is taking communities across southwest Michigan and beyond by storm: pickleball.

Thanks to efforts of longtime Dowagiac resident Bob Jirgl, he and his fellow pickleball enthusiasts have a place to play the popular game in The Grand Old City. Jirgl, with the permission of Dowagiac Union Schools, converted one of the former courts located outside the high school into two courts for pickleball last spring, repainting the boundary lines to accommodate the smaller play area the sport requires.

“There was no cost to the school to do this,” Jirgl said.

A fusion of tennis, badminton and ping pong, pickleball games are played in a 20 by 44 foot court, divided by a net into a pair of serving areas as well as non-volley zone known as “the kitchen.” Like tennis, players attempt to score points by serving a ball across to the other side of the court; however, the sport uses small ping pong-style racquets and a hollow plastic whiffle ball.

“You learn the game in five minutes, but it takes years to master,” Jirgl said.

Jirgl himself has been playing for about a year, he said. He and a number of other local residents have been holding biweekly play sessions at the converted courts for the past several weeks.

Dowagiac’s Mark Herman has been among the locals playing at the court. A longtime tennis player, Herman picked up pickleball a couple months ago, he said.

“It’s a fun game…and you get some good exercise,” Herman said.

The group plans to continue to meet and play at 5:30 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday, up through winter, with play resuming in April, Jirgl said.

People who know how to play, or would like to learn, pickleball are encouraged to come out during one of the afternoon sessions.

“There’s no signups or anything,” Jirgl said. “Just come out and play.”

The courts will be available for play anytime, though visitors will have to bring their own nets and equipment.

The courts are located outside of Dowagiac Union High School, located at North Paul Street.