According to Pickleball Athletic Club, “Pickleball has emerged as America’s fastest-growing sport, with an astounding 311 percent increase in participation over just three years. The sport now boasts 19.8 million players in 2024, representing a 45.8 percent jump from the previous year.” Redwood seniors have been no exception.
With summer around the corner, many seniors have found themselves with more free time. As a result, many seniors have begun to play pickleball more often as a way to exercise and spend time with friends.
Senior Isabella Kletz has played pickleball with her family throughout her life, but has recently begun to play more with friends.
“I played occasionally before with my dad and my family, but not a lot,” Kletz said.
Since then, Kletz has started to play pickleball more as a way to stay active and spend time with friends. She would encourage others to try pickleball, too.
“I feel like there’s not really a lot of stuff to do anymore with friends that doesn’t involve being on your phone,” Kletz said. “It’s just nice to be outside and be active.”
Senior Dylan Poncet explains that he had gained free time during the second semester of his senior year, allowing him to start playing pickleball more.
“Once people were done applying to college, we had a lot more free time after school. And people didn’t have sports going on,” Poncet said. “It’s a fun activity to do with your friends that doesn’t take too much work.”
Poncet explains that throughout the semester, pickleball has grown more popular.
“Every week or two, more people will join, because they’ll hear about it from other people, and they’ll show up. So it went from 8 to 10 people playing to now we have a group of 30 people that play,” Poncet said.
Poncet is one of many seniors who are able to play Pickleball, whether it is at Piper Park, Town Park, or through club memberships.
With senior year coming to an end and the weather warming up, pickleball is a great way to socialize and stay active with friends in the final months.
