Slamming a spike down on the court to win the match, senior Xadriel Schreiner Cintron recalls his favorite moment from the first-ever pickleball club meeting. Pickleball is a sport similar to tennis, badminton and ping pong, except the paddles and court are smaller. Due to pickleball gaining popularity through social media, more than 40 students joined the club. From senior citizens to high school students, people have discovered the new sport as time to be social and spend time with friends.
“Pickleball can be a very social sport, my friends and I collectively agree that it’s just fun to play with all of your friends at the end of the day,” senior Shea Coughlan said.
According to senior Garrett Fleenor, the creation of the Pickleball Club was sparked during last year’s tennis banquet. Fleenor, along with senior Ary Rodriguez, Zechus Rodriquez, and the club’s faculty sponsor, Spanish teacher Ryan Geris discussed the feasibility of the club.
“We randomly played pickleball during our tennis banquet,” Fleenor said. “Geris and I both agreed we wanted to play (pickleball) more often. I just think it’s a club to get more people involved, it’s enjoyable.”
Schreiner Cintron said the club had a large number of people who wanted to join the first meeting because of how popular the sport is among students and its accessibility to all ages.
Multiple people who also play outside of school including junior Antonio Hayes expressed how this club has helped him gain more skills. Geris refers to him as a founding father during pickleball because of the skills he brings to club meetings.
“I play with my girlfriend and her family a lot so I had originally known all the rules, and a lot of people hadn’t before,” Hayes said. “It makes me sort of a role model, and allows me to help others out.”
Juniors Nolan Frizzell and Ryan Hutchinson, who are partners during competition, have already formed a tradition when they win a point in a match. Every time they play together they celebrate by jumping in the air while high-fiving their paddles mid-air, according to Hutchinson, this is how he thinks community is shown throughout the club, which is why he joined.
“Pickleball has always been fun and playing it at Miege makes it better because of the great community,” Hutchinson said. “Celebrating just makes the time even more enjoyable, especially when I win with my classmates.”
One of the newcomers to the club, junior Brady Smith, appreciates the club because of the competitive atmosphere and diversity.
“It was interesting to see how everyone competed well together, especially for the new club,” Smith said. “Everyone was ready to do their thing and it was fun to see all the different people that competed but came together at the same time.”
