Pickleball has become increasingly popular throughout the last few years, and Central students are hopping on the bandwagon by creating a new pickleball club.
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) stated that pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the United States, with a growth percentage of 51.8% from 2022 to 2023.
Senior Marcus Kane began the club with a couple of his friends out of, according to Kane, a “want to allow more people to come play the sport. It is really easy to play and is a fun outside activity where you can meet new people.”
For Kane, pickleball has been a hobby for the past two to three years. It has generated fun memories for him that he wants more people to experience.
The club graciously gained funding through assistant principal Jodi Dierks and athletic director Robert Locken. The club was able to rent pickleball courts and provide equipment.
Typically meeting every week on Tuesday and Thursday, the club is open to beginners.
“All you have to do is show up, we have paddles provided. If you are willing to play, it is a great time,” Kane said.
Club sponsor Branden Smith has been the sponsor for many clubs in the past, including the gaming club – which ended because of the transition to eSports – and Beats by Eagles, which is a music production club, which has seen dwindling attendance since its creation. “The kinds of kids that were engaged with the club [Beats by Eagles] like to leave at 3:05,” Smith said of the dwindling.
Smith was looking for a way to still be involved in clubs at Central. When Kane came to him last spring asking him to sponsor pickleball club, Smith had never even held a paddle, but was willing to take a leap of faith and sponsor the club.
“There is a reason that people at the YMCA have old people leagues and that pickleball is growing fast,” Smith said, referring to the amount of fun and easiness the sport presents.
Smith also wanted to commend Kane’s leadership with the formation of the club. “He went and talked with the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation people and got us a permit to practice on courts, he also reached out to Mr. Robert Tucker (Central’s Boys Tennis coach) to use one of their courts at Gifford Park.”
The pickleball club has started off strong, Smith stated, and he encourages more underclassmen to join so that the club can continue strong through the next few years. “Central has a really bad problem with club starting with upperclassmen, and then as soon as those upperclassmen graduate, the club kind of flounders because people didn’t recruit,” Smith said.
This winter, they plan to continue meeting by reserving indoor courts and in the spring, “you can bet your bottom dollar that we’re going to start up again outside,” Smith said.
To stay updated with the club events and meetings, as well as get any questions answered, contact the club @omahacentralpickleball on Instagram.
