According to a Sports and Fitness Industry Association report, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States for the third year in a row across every age group. Pickleball is a racquet sport that is played with a paddle, a plastic ball and a low net on a court about half the size of a tennis court.
As its popularity rose around the community, sophomores Isabel Laroque and Chelsea Bachman created a pickleball club at Conestoga to get more people, especially teenagers, involved in the sport and grow its popularity. After their parents introduced them to pickleball, they wanted to bring the sport and its popularity to Conestoga.
Advised by chemistry teacher Amy Alvarez, the club plans to meet weekly on Wednesdays after school in the small gym and use the school’s pickleball equipment. Laroque and Bachman aim to provide students a place to play the sport and have fun with their friends. To grow the club, they began with recruiting members and spreading the word.
“We first handed out flyers all over the school, and then we also had our advisor, Mrs. Alvarez, put a picture of the flyers on Schoology for everyone to see,” Laroque said. “And we had a segment on Good Morning ’Stoga.”
The club had its first meeting on April 10 to introduce the rules of pickleball to its members, with around 20 students in attendance. To increase the accessibility of the sport, Bachman plans to allow for multiple levels of play to appeal to various levels of competitiveness.
“We plan to do a competitive friendly style. Depending on the type of person and whether they want to play competitive or friendly, we can do either,” Bachman said. “Like a round robin, a tournament, anything like that, and anything that (the members) really want to do.”
The latest meeting took place on April 23 after school in the small gym. Laroque and Bachman introduced playing and pickleball skills as well. Laroque wants for students from a younger generation to take part in the sport.
“This club is really fun because it’s bringing friends and support together,” Laroque said. “It brings (pickleball) to younger generations and gives it more popularity with younger people instead of just older generations.”
Alex Carder can be reached at [email protected].
