4 minute read
Serving Up Something Different
Serving Up Something Different
ORIGIN STORY: PICKLEBALL AT FLINT HILL
Flint Hill’s back-to-school calendar is full of familiar events like the Uniform Exchange, Hopes and Dreams Conferences and Parent Tennis Social. That Parents’ Associationsponsored tournament is often the first community event of the school year and offers parents, new and returning, an opportunity to meet each other and make connections across grade levels and divisions.
This year, a planned tennis court resurfacing at the Upper School put event organizers in a bit of a pickle.
Since they’d have to reimagine the event’s location, Flint Hill Advancement Officer Olivia Landrum ’11 suggested reimagining the whole darn thing.
“It’s always been tennis, for as long as I can remember. During COVID I started playing pickleball with my family and thought it would be really cool to bring it to Flint Hill.”
And just like that, the sport sweeping the nation swept its way into Flint Hill tradition. The hype swept in too.
Tournament slots sold out in just one day — with a waiting list!
Pickleball combines the structure of tennis with the pace of ping-pong and the feel of badminton. While it has only recently become a household name, pickleball has actually been around for over 50 years. It’s surprisingly inconclusive how the sport got its unique name, but we asked Flint Hill 1st graders to hypothesize, and, “They were eating pickles when they invented it,” sounded very well reasoned to us.
Soon our Lower School students will know much more about pickleball. Thanks to a generous gift from a donor, it will be a part of their physical education program later this year.
PE Department Chair Jody Patrick is excited to introduce pickleball to the 3rd-6th grade curriculum. “It’s a sport that combines all that is healthy in skill development for our young Huskies — hand-eye coordination, footwork, racquet skills, partner teamwork and a positive competitive spirit!”
–Bridget Costigan P’23
It’s refreshing these days when a competition craze has nothing to do with screens or social media. Or years of practice, even! Pickleball requires less athletic prowess and formal instruction than other sports and is often called the great equalizer. Grandkids can play with their grandparents. Beginners can go toeto-toe with pros.
That inclusivity lends itself to the goal of sparking connections. At the PA Pickleball Social, 27 participants arrived at the Country Club of Fairfax on what was a beautiful September day, ready and eager to break a sweat. They started with an introductory lesson from the club’s director of racquet sports, Jonathan Moyer. According to Moyer, “It takes a little bit of time to learn the rules, but once you’ve got those down, you’re ready.”
The pickleball novices spent just 20 minutes in the beginner clinic before jumping right in to tournament play. “I can leave now. Everyone’s got it,” Moyer quickly observed.
Organizers designed the day as a round-robin tournament where participants changed partners after every game.
One couple arrived thinking they’d be playing together, but since the point was to mix and mingle, they were immediately split apart. They loved that.
By the day’s end, Bridget Costigan P’23 was named the 2022 winner, having scored the most points over the course of the tournament. She reflected about the fact that she almost didn’t sign up. “I was hesitant to take the time off work for an event where I wouldn’t know anyone, but I am so glad that I did! The Pickleball Social was really fun and a great way to meet other Flint Hill parents and reconnect with friends that I didn’t even know had children at Flint Hill!”
Event organizer Olivia Landrum said that “the spirit of community was evident. Everybody just went for it and really enjoyed each other.” She blazed the trail for a new Husky tradition, as they’re likely to repeat the event.
We may not know how pickleball got its name, but now we know how it got its start here at Flint Hill!
