STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Think pickleball’s just for older folks? Think again.

This summer members of the Wood River Pickleball Alliance are teaching the fast-growing game to middle school students at The Space, an afterschool tutoring and enrichment program.

“We have 400-plus members and our mission is building community through the sport of pickleball,” said Duree Westover, a board member of the Pickleball Alliance. “We offer free classes at Atkinsons Park. And, now, we’re collaborating with The Space to provide a free pickleball camp in an effort to bring physical and mental health activities to their summer students by keeping them off screens and on courts.”

The kids started things off by running up to the net, the ball on their paddles.

Gravity Fitness donated the facility; the Pickleball Alliance, the coaches, and The Space, the kids.

“We’ve done a very good job at the 50-plus community and we wanted to give back to the community,” said Westover. “Our hope is we’ll get some of these kids out on the courts playing with their parents and their grandparents.”

Lee Sponaugle, one of the top pickleball players in the nation and an enthusiastic promotor of pickleball in the Wood River Valley, took charge of the first session of the five-week camp.

“Lee’s kind of a big deal,” Westover told the youth. “He’s a touring pro. He’s the top of the top.”

Duree Westover shows the kids a good stance.

With that introduction, Sponaugle bounded to the court.

“Who thinks pickleball is for young people?” he asked the kids. “In fact, the fastest growing group of pickleball players is actually those between the ages of 18 and 24. The best player in the United States is Ben Johns. He’s 26 and he makes $2.5 million a year. Anna Leigh Waters makes $3 million and she’s 18. She’s been No. 1 in the world for four years so she was No. 1 when she was 14.”

Twenty percent of American pickleball players are between the ages of 18 and 24, Sponaugle added. So that means that almost a million 18- to 24-year-olds are playing. Additionally, he said, 130 colleges now have pickleball teams, and colleges are beginning to give out pickleball scholarships.

“So, besides all the fun you’re going to have playing pickleball, there may be another reason for you to do it. “

Candice Stark watches as one boy finishes his serve.

The volunteer coaches started the youngsters off on warmup drills. They had them run to the net while holding a ball on their racket. They then had the kids run back as fast as they could to pass the ball to a teammate.

They then had the kids throw the yellow pickleballs, holes and all, over the net to those on the other side.

“One of the most important things in pickleball is hand-to-eye coordination,” Sponaugle told the youngsters.

Finally, it was time to begin playing the game.

The middle school students practiced their hand-eye coordination by throwing the ball to one another.

“Do we serve overhand? No, we serve underhand,” Sponaugle told the kids.

The kids let out a big cheer as one of the boys put his serve in the right box.

A few minutes later, one girl jumped for joy as she hit a target with her serve, winning a coupon for McDonald’s. Within minutes, another of the girls did the same thing.

Eva Rodriguez, 11, said she was excited to learn.

“I wanted to try something new, and my Mom said this is kind of like tennis.”

“Any physical activity where you get kids moving is always good,” added Candice Stark. “Pickleball can be a very social sport, so these kids will learn social skills and leadership skills.”