Retiree Spotlight: Keith Bisel
Photo Credit: Pickleball Hall of Fame
It is never too late to learn something new, especially in retirement. PERA retiree Keith Bisel took that to heart.
When Keith and his wife, Roberta, retired from Colorado Springs District 11, they set off in their RV to travel around North America. While they were stopped at an RV park in the early 1990s, Keith overheard laughter that piqued his curiosity. He went over to check out what was the cause of the laughter and found people playing pickleball. Keith then asked one of the players to use their equipment to try it out and that was the start of Keith’s pickleball career.
After learning to play pickleball, Keith went on to teach new players the growing sport of pickleball in nearly 70 locations. One of those locations was Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs. In 2003, Monument Valley Park had seven players; now that group has more than 100 people. In 2004, Keith and his pickleball partner entered the Arizona Senior Olympics. They also entered the Nationals Tournament in 2014. They won gold medals in both competitions.
Keith entered the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2021 for his work teaching pickleball over the years. Since 1993 to today, Keith has taught more than 4,400 new pickleball players.
Also during this time, Roberta became a line dance teacher, and the couple attended line dance rallies across the U.S. “Being active meant we could wake up with a song in our heart,” Keith said. “We could wake up with something to look forward to each day.”
After over 22 years and 500,000 miles, Keith and Roberta have been to 48 states and wore out three RVs. When asked what advice he would give to new retirees, Keith said, “Be active, eat healthy, and enjoy your moments.”
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