By Tino Magana Guerrero,
Staff Writer.
When you think of high school sports, football and basketball are probably the first to come to mind. This makes sense because they are so popular; however Pickleball has gained popularity in recent years. It’s like badminton mixed with tennis but with a smaller court. Despite gaining such popularity, most schools don’t usually offer pickleball. Which starts the question: should schools have pickleball?
According to the Athletic Directors 411, one reason why schools don’t offer pickleball as an extracurricular is not only because you need a unique field/court to play the game, but you must also find enough students who would actually like to play pickleball. Physical Education teacher and flag football coach Luis Patrick said, “I think pickleball is a great game. I think it’s growing, I think it’s exciting, and I think it’s a great opportunity for those who don’t have a sport to get interested in something new. I think at one point it could be a school sport but right now I think as it takes time to grow it would be hard to find court times because Tennis has a fall program and a sporting program which may be difficult now.” The school district would also need to find the funding for pickleball, which is an issue because the district is already facing a budget crisis without adding on an extra sport to the roster.
Some people may argue that pickleball does not have as many benefits to the human body since the court is smaller than a tennis court. However, pickleball has many benefits! According to Cleveland Clinic, pickleball improves heart health, burns calories, enhances muscle and bone strength and boosts brain health.
One could run a pickleball tournament like a badminton tournament: with multiple 15-25 minute rounds, multitudes of matches would fit into a single event. Sophomore Oliver Klein agreed and said, “Yes, because it’s too short.”
One could make it worth the gas money and run a pickleball tournament like a badminton tournament. With multiple 15-25 minute rounds, one could see several games in one evening.
Students should be able to play pickleball because according to mondoworldwide, a pickleball website, pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Like badminton or tennis, it’s also a pretty easy sport to get into. Low cost pickleball paddles range about 30-130 dollars, once you have acquired one all you need is yourself, a pickleball and then you are all set!
