Picklers serve a new club at Grinnell

Sounds of sharp thwaps fill the Auxiliary Gym inside the Charles Benson Bear `39 Recreation and Athletic Center as neon green and pink wiffle balls ricochet off of paddles. Players move to keep the ball in play or to achieve a cross-court, point-winning shot. In teams of two, club members fill all four courts battling to be the first to 11 points. The game in play –– pickleball.

Co-presidents and pickleball enthusiasts Saya Geisendorfer `27 and Alexa Hatcher `27 described pickleball as a lot like tennis, but played on a smaller court, with a lower barrier to entry, making it easier to play.

Pickleball club was founded just last semester by Geisendorfer and Hatcher, who were inspired by the success of badminton club –– another low-impact racket sport. Together, they struck out to bring their favorite racket game to campus.

As first-time student organization leaders, Geisendorfer and Hatcher said the process of creating the club was a long one. It began over the summer when they enlisted four of their friends to join the club’s executive board, drafted their first constitution and assembled a budget –– all while not knowing how many people would want to play. 

“Putting together a budget was also interesting,” Geisendorfer said. “We were like, we want to provide nice paddles to the club members. But nice paddles cost a lot, and that’s a lot to ask for a first-time organization right off the bat, especially when they don’t know how many regular members [will join the club]. So that part was just something to figure out.” 

Though it took until the end of the fall semester to hold their first club meeting, Hatcher and Geisendorfer reported high turnout.

“Most of the time all four courts are filled. So that’s 16 people, and people are waiting to be subbed in on those courts,” Geisendorfer said. 

The pair finds the high attendance for the club encouraging, allowing players to rotate through courts and teammate pairings.

“People do come with their friends,” Hatcher said. “Usually a friend to play with, but then it’s nice to kind of switch up teams so that … everyone can meet everyone. And it’s been nice because we have had some regulars, and you can tell people are becoming friends and getting to know each other.”

Emily Lackershire `27 joined the pickleball club as the social outreach coordinator because she is friends with the co-presidents. Both she and another one of the regulars, Grant Thurman `27, said that the club has been a place for them to meet and play with a lot of new people of all class years and skill levels.

Felix Bernardo `25, a new member of the club, said he appreciated how open the sport is to different skill levels. 

“It’s nice, because as someone that’s slower, I’m not that fast. So it’s [pickleball] more about reflexes, which I think I’m better at,” Bernardo said.

“We’re trying to make people aware that this is open to any skill level, like you could have never played before,” Thurman said. “We can teach you. And it’s fun no matter how good you are.”

Geisendorfer said, “Our members make the club, and they shape the club. They’re an integral part of the club, because they can teach other members, and they help set up some of the times, and just being there means a lot to us.”

As the club attendance continues to flourish, both co-presidents are looking to the future, considering tournament style events with prizes and club t-shirts, as well as other ways of leaning into the pickle theme. Until then, the club will continue to meet in the Auxiliary Gym in the Bear on Sundays from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m.