Posted by By Staff Writers, Emma Keeler, Matthew Morrissey, Mia Gagné
“I love pickleball, It’s a sport anyone can learn to play, and a fun experience”
Valentine Morales, NPHS Junior
The rise of pickleball has proved to be a prevailing sport, making impacts from generation to generation as new interest spawns. Beginning from being a sport only played by those in retirement homes alongside side shuffleboard, it has surged rapidly, seeing a notable increase in January 2021, with various spikes in popularity, until it reached a peak in October 2022. Its minimal requirements and low difficulty allows for this surge to continue as a rampant event, its simplicity gaining interest. All that’s needed is two pickleball paddles, which can be found at local sporting stores, in convenience stores like Target, or Amazon, and of course, the pickleball ball itself, which will be alongside those paddles in said stores. Once the necessary materials are obtained, the only thing left to do is to gather your friend or group of friends, assemble teams, and find a local court to begin the highly anticipated game!
However, with the demand for pickleball high, the few courts available tend to fill up quickly, leaving eager players with the options to either wait, go home, or improvise and use a tennis court instead. The tennis courts, despite not being built for the exact use of pickleball, are relatively similar and are able to fulfill the needs for the game to thrive and function properly. This is ideal for the families and friend groups awaiting their game, but disappointing for the devoted tennis players who not only are watching a similar sport develop over them, but also are having courts that were originally created for them, being used for this same sport, stripping away opportunities for them to play on what is supposed to be “their” courts.
Sam DePoala, a junior on the Varsity Tennis team at New Paltz High School admits “ I love pickleball and it’s a really fun sport, but I don’t think I’d be for dedicating taxpayer money towards new pickleball courts considering that there is other projects that need attention, like things for the school budget and other educational programs within the school, and other basic things like roadwork in New Paltz.”
Along with this, Sam also has some very strong opinions with him also being a member of the boys tennis team. He feels that the creation of a varsity pickleball league within the high school would draw away from other sports like Tennis, which already struggles to put up numbers.
“I don’t think I’d be for dedicating taxpayer money towards new pickleball courts”
Sam DePoala, NPHS Junior
To combat the debate regarding whether Pickleball players should use Tennis courts when theirs are full, the proposal to use taxpayer dollars for the construction of new courts has emerged and left its controversial mark. While some students, like Lila Disciullo, are enthused by this idea explaining how they believe it would “add value” and “prevent people from using the college courts as often” other students, like Sam DePoala think the opposite.
Another issue presented with the new and rising interest in pickleball is the aesthetics and noise following the games. With the courts always being full, games are constantly being played, and the brisk sound of the ball hitting both the paddles and concrete, as it ricochets back and forth, is something that is both loud and repetitive. But, when interviewing two college students who live within a block of the courts located at Hasbrouck Park, they claimed the noise was never something that bothered them, stating that the lack of lights by the courts fully limits people from being able to play and therefore produce the sound after dusk anyways. A different group of college students, this time playing at the Suny New Paltz college courts, agreed, pointing out that music from speakers brought to games, is the only sound they could ever see causing discomfort, and even that has never been an issue.
In all, found across all interviewees we have found a universal interest and adoration for pickleball. “I love pickleball, It’s a sport anyone can learn to play, and a fun experience”- Valentine Morales – New Paltz High School student, and Pickleball player.
The Maroon 