Rossmoor Pickleball Club shares love of the game with students at El Dorado Middle School

Since last school year, volunteers from the Rossmoor Pickleball Club have come to El Dorado Middle School in Concord to teach students the popular and fun game of pickleball. Every Thursday, approximately 10-14 members of the Club teach students during the school's 1st and 2nd period PE classes. Club President Carol Cerioni said the Club became involved simply because "we want to give back to underserved schools in the community."

Cerioni noted that she is a friend of El Dorado MS Vice Principal Denise Carneiro, who told her that the Title I school would appreciate the Club’s support. The Club received a $350 grant from the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) that it used to purchase equipment, including nets and paddles. The Club also put out a call for volunteers, and more than 20 Club members responded.

"We all love working with the kids," said Cerioni, who is a retired school psychologist. "Many of the volunteers are retired educators, so they know kids and they were really excited about this program." She credited lead volunteer Danny Wong, who is a retired principal, with spearheading the project. He writes lesson plans each week that the volunteers follow with the students. It's a nine-week program, so they work with 8th graders for 3 weeks, then 7th-graders for 3 weeks, and finally 6th-graders for 3 weeks. "We have a blast out there with the kids," Cerioni said. "We started the program last year and it was so much fun that we wanted to do it again this year. It’s been a really pleasant and rewarding experience for everyone involved." In fact, they are hoping to expand to another middle school within the district in the spring.

“Part of what makes the experience so rewarding is the relationships we developed with the students,” Cerioni said. Wong chants with them before they start playing, shouting, "I say 'pickle,' you say, 'ball.' Let’s play Pickleball!" Although Cerioni initially thought the 8th-graders would think the chants were corny or silly, they do not, she said. "They're all taking part and enjoying themselves," she said. The volunteers first give verbal instructions, then demonstrate how to play, sharing their joy and camaraderie.

"It’s a great way to reach kids and the beauty of pickleball is it doesn’t require a lot of money, so kids at any economic level can play," Cerioni said. "It’s pretty easy to learn. You find some pretty talented kids who have great hand-eye coordination, but the kids who don’t have great hand-eye coordination can play too and enjoy it just as much. We want to get the kids enjoying themselves and having fun, which in turn, makes school fun." Apparently, their plan is working. She said Vice Principal Carneiro has told her that students bring out the pickleball nets at recess to play.

Another benefit, Cerioni said, is connections being made between older people and young people. "There are things we have in common," she said. "We still like to play and have fun and laugh and so do they, and that’s always a good thing! The students get to see that older people are still kids at heart, especially the pickle-ballers! It enriches our lives because we have something we love to do, it’s physical, it gets us out of the house and it's social. And that's true at any age!"