OAK CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OUTREACH

We were recently presented with a unique opportunity to provide support to Oak Creek Elementary School in Harrison School District 2. The gym teacher there, Ms. Emily Rikli, contacted us via our website requesting assistance with the pickleball program she has started for her 4th & 5th graders. In her email Ms. Rikli told me that she has been searching for an activity that would get all her students engaged and interested in participating in gym class. She tried basketball, but that resulted in some students just standing around the walls of the gym watching. She decided to give pickleball a try.

This turned out to be the one sport where she could get maximum interest and participation from all her students. She told me that all of the students are really enjoying pickleball. They come up with really fun team names and play very competitively. She holds mini tournaments for them on their three courts. Her pickleball program has positively impacted the entire school.

Unfortunately, like many stories you have probably seen or read of late, funding for some of the programs our teachers want to engage their students in is not readily available. Ms. Rikli's students were using wooden paddles that were not designed for pickleball and were extremely old, heavy, and worn. Some students even got splinters in their hands from the wooden paddles.  Schools like Oak Creek Elementary just don't have the budget for things like this. Many teachers, including Ms. Rikli, are forced to think out of the box or fund these initiatives on their own.

Ms. Rikli needed funding for her program and, fortunately, she came to the right place. I contacted a couple of our sponsors and was able to not only procure funding for her program but also provide her and her students with some paddles right away for them to play with.

I would like to give a big thanks and shout out to Mr. Bradley Harvey, of Harvey Investments, who, when I reached out to him, was more than happy to assist. He wrote a check to fund her program and provided a couple of paddles that he had laying around the house. Scheels Sporting Goods also provided a couple of sets of paddles. I was even able to secure four more brand new Selkirk Paddles as a part of their initiative to provide 8000 paddles to programs just like Ms. Rikli's around the country.

When Ms. Rikli informed her class that I was working on this for them, one student asked her, "so we are going to be able to play with real paddles?" I was able to go by the school on Thursday and present her with everything that I collected for their program. Ms. Rikli and her school Principal, Ms. Linda Donaldson, truly appreciated that we took the time to meet their need. I have included a slide show comprised of some of the pictures from the experience. To view it click here.

Being able to assist schools and programs with this type of genuine need is/was so rewarding. Ms. Rikli will be setting up an after school pickleball club in the fall for her students and the school.

Oak Creek Elementary School could always use more paddles, so if you happen to have any used paddles laying around the house or in your pickleball bag, I would be glad to collect them from you to take to the school. If you see me at Monument Valley Park or the Bear Creek courts and you have a paddle that you would like to donate, I would be glad to get it from you. Also, if you play at Venezia Park and you would like to donate a used paddle or two, please just email me or reach out via info@pikespeakpickleball.com and I will come pick them up.

Joe Johnson

President, PPPA