Field of Pickleball Dreams

Stardate 05.08.2026

The Pickleball Iowa County Committee met last night at the Williamsburg Rec Center to talk through the final steps before construction begins on four outdoor courts later this summer. Grant requests are out. Sponsors are being contacted. Momentum is building in a quiet, steady way.

Alongside the excitement came thoughtful questions from town hall members who care deeply about the future of this project.

What happens after the courts are built?
Who maintains them?
How will they be funded long term?
Will they remain free for the community as our board intends?

These are good questions. Necessary questions. The kind that remind you this is bigger than painted lines on asphalt.

This is about stewardship.

When I think about this project, I can’t help but think about my own dream to build a vacation home on wheels. I’ve shared openly about my lack of hands-on construction skills. I’m learning as I go. Measuring twice. Watching videos. Asking questions. Taking one step, then another.

That same spirit is present in this committee.

Back in late 2023, when the mayor told me a pickleball committee would be required and suggested forming a 501(c)(3), it felt like a mountain. A small group of women who were already playing indoors at the rec center quietly raised their hands and volunteered. What has grown from that moment is one of the finest teams I have ever had the privilege to be part of.

Over time, these women have become like family to my wife and me. We’ve laughed together, worked together, and walked through the long process of turning an idea into something tangible for our town.

Last night, as the questions came forward about sustainability, I raised my hand.

I shared that my next book project will be dedicated to this community. As with all my books, every dollar of proceeds will be donated. This time, the funds will go directly to Pickleball Iowa County to help ensure these courts remain cared for well into the future.

There is also a documentary in the works titled Field of Pickleball Dreams. It will tell the story of the volunteers who have poured their time, energy, and heart into making this town an even better place to live.

I looked around the room and realized something simple.

This is how lasting things are built.

Not through grand gestures, but through ordinary people showing up again and again with a willingness to help.

Scripture came to mind as I drove home:

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9

No one in that room is weary. They are steady. Hopeful. Committed.

The finish line is beginning to come into view, yet there is no rush to get there. There is care in every step because everyone understands this is meant to serve generations who haven’t even picked up a paddle yet.

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

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Captain’s Addendum

Bones: “You know, Spock, humans build things long before they know how they’ll maintain them.”

Spock: “Indeed, Doctor. Yet they continue anyway. Fascinating optimism.”

I’ve seen this optimism firsthand. It lives in meeting rooms, on clipboards, in group texts, and in the quiet determination of volunteers who want to leave something better than they found it.

Sometimes faith looks like a prayer.
Sometimes it looks like a plan.
Sometimes it looks like four pickleball courts waiting to be painted.

I’m grateful to witness all of it.

May you live long and prosper.