Last year, History teacher Mr. Jeff Sichz and English teacher Mr. Aaron Sandberg decided to form the Lake Park Pickleball Club. They both had a passion for the sport, and decided to use that passion to start the club.
“Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in America” they said in an email. “We felt that there were both Lake Park students and staff who would enjoy playing some pickleball.”
Although pickleball may seem like a very new sport, in reality it has been around for a long time. Mr. Sichz and Mr. Sandberg said, “Pickleball was invented by several families on Bainbridge Island in the 1960s to entertain their children. and soon it was introduced to P.E. classes as a great activity for students to play either indoors or outdoors.”
Mr. Sichz and Mr. Sandberg have been longtime fans of the game, and Mr. Sichz has even played at the place where the game was invented. They want to make a casual environment for students and staff alike to play pickleball.
“The game is so much fun and we want to share that with students and staff,” they said. “One of the best parts about it is that both LP students and staff came out to play pickleball together last year. That was really fun and we’re hoping to repeat that again this year. What’s more fun than competing against your friends and teachers?!”
Mr. Sichz and Mr. Sandberg aim to keep hosting regular games where anyone is invited.
“Our main goal is to gather a core group of students who want to learn and play pickleball in a relaxed atmosphere,” they said.
The commitment to the club is easy, only meeting once every couple weeks, meaning anyone looking for a group of people to relax and have fun with has the opportunity to join the club without it interfering with other activities.
For Mr. Sichz and Mr. Sandberg, this is more than just a club; it’s an opportunity to share with the school the sport of pickleball.
The sport isn’t a small one either. “There are millions of players… who all enjoy the sport,” they said.
This club acts as a gateway into the wonderful world of pickleball, and Mr. Sichz and Mr. Sandberg cannot recommend you to join enough.
“We are always looking for new players who want to join us!” they said.
Everyone is welcome to the club, even complete beginners to the game, so anyone interested in finding a fun club to join should check out the pickleball club. The Google Classroom code is nmwq6sg, or you can scan the qr code embedded in this page.
