Anonymous wrote:I saw the email yesterday about PB becoming a varsity sport. I don’t understand why it can’t be a club or a rec sport at high school. My kids are working hard to make varsity in their respective sports. It feels like an insult when some kid can take up pickleball and put down they play on a varsity sport on their college application. It’s not the same thing as years of intense playing, injuries and tryouts. What a joke.

Maybe your kids should concentrate on putting academic subjects like multivariable calculus, chemistry and Spanish on their applications to academic institutions, rather than relying on leisure activities for admissions. That's the real insult - that sports even count for college admissions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification for the people who couldn’t read the whole half page article:

Pickleball is a corollary sport, with bocce, handball, add slow pitch softball. It’s part of the inclusive program, for students with disabilities or average fitness. It’s the athletic version of non-AP/DE classes.

No one’s stealing your precious D1 scholarship or Ivy League admit by playing pickleball. Sorry if you’re so bitter that not everyone else broke their child’s body for a sport because they don’t share your insecurity about your child’s academic readiness for your sense of entitlement to attend an elite college.

Any sport that has limited number of kids on the court and rewards better coordination and fitness will not end up being inclusive. The kids who actually get to play will all be in good shape with good hand eye coordination

+1
Kids that play racquet sports such as tennis will become good PB and take spots on the roster. It is like warming up for tennis season in the spring.

-1. I seriously doubt a giant rush of physically able teens will be rushing to join a corollary sport in high school. Even if it is pickle ball.

Anonymous wrote:I saw the email yesterday about PB becoming a varsity sport. I don’t understand why it can’t be a club or a rec sport at high school. My kids are working hard to make varsity in their respective sports. It feels like an insult when some kid can take up pickleball and put down they play on a varsity sport on their college application. It’s not the same thing as years of intense playing, injuries and tryouts. What a joke.

All sports besides track (running) and throwing the javelin and swimming (survival skills - breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke) are pretty silly if you think about it.

Squash (thrashing a small black ball), badminton (hitting a dead bird), tennis (smashing a green bouncing ball with the oddest of scoring), volleyball (three goes to get a big ball over the net), soccer (why not use your hands?), football (take 70 players and throw 4 times), hockey (put knives on your feet and whack some black discs), rugby (football but use your hands), lacrosse (catch a ball in a net and run around), baseball (try and whack a ball and run around a square), gymnastics (who needs double somersaults with twists in daily life?), cricket (so confusing), flag twirlers (is this a sport?), cheering (loud dance class), etc.

How is pickle ball any less worthy than these?

Anonymous wrote:My DS plays tennis at one of the private schools in this area as a recruited athlete, and he will play at one of the D3 schools, like U. of Chicago, Williams, or Davidson. He also plays PB seriously. According to my DS, it took him exactly three weeks to become a 5.5+ PB player. Most PB players told him that, as a UTR 11.5 tennis player, he would become a 5.5+ PB player after three to three weeks of training. He also said that he likes PB because it is a very social and lots of girls play PB. An easy way to meet women.

I thought he was a 10.8

My DS plays tennis at one of the private schools in this area as a recruited athlete, and he will play at one of the D3 schools, like U. of Chicago, Williams, or Davidson. He also plays PB seriously. According to my DS, it took him exactly three weeks to become a 5.5+ PB player. Most PB players told him that, as a UTR 11.5 tennis player, he would become a 5.5+ PB player after three to three weeks of training. He also said that he likes PB because it is a very social and lots of girls play PB. An easy way to meet women.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Right, true for D1.

But, more importantly, the belief that there is a path beyond high school is what gets parents and district support for facilities and funding.

And pickeball is never going to be a college sport.

It already is an NAIA college sport which is usually how sports make the transition into college and become NCAA D1 sports. Heck, cornhole is now a college sport with Winthrop College offering the first scholarships.

“While we are working right now to establish pickleball at the collegiate level, our efforts are mainly at the team/club level,” says Justin Maloof, chief operating officer of USA Pickleball. “We are looking at perhaps a collegiate division for this year's National Championships in Dallas. It certainly won't be recognized as an NCAA Championship at that point but it's at least a start. We have no timeline as to when pickleball will be recognized by the NCAA but with the continued growth of the sport, it could happen quicker than we think.”

Because of the new NIL rules NCAA is only going to be contracting for the foreseeable future. No one is going to add any new sport—if the college of your choice doesnt' already have it as a varsity sport, it will not be one for 10-15 years (assuming that's a minimum of how long it takes for the terrain to change) and they're going to continue to cut varsity sports. No pickleball, no rugby, nothing new.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Right, true for D1.

But, more importantly, the belief that there is a path beyond high school is what gets parents and district support for facilities and funding.

And pickeball is never going to be a college sport.

It already is an NAIA college sport which is usually how sports make the transition into college and become NCAA D1 sports. Heck, cornhole is now a college sport with Winthrop College offering the first scholarships.

“While we are working right now to establish pickleball at the collegiate level, our efforts are mainly at the team/club level,” says Justin Maloof, chief operating officer of USA Pickleball. “We are looking at perhaps a collegiate division for this year's National Championships in Dallas. It certainly won't be recognized as an NCAA Championship at that point but it's at least a start. We have no timeline as to when pickleball will be recognized by the NCAA but with the continued growth of the sport, it could happen quicker than we think.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Right, true for D1.

But, more importantly, the belief that there is a path beyond high school is what gets parents and district support for facilities and funding.

And pickeball is never going to be a college sport.

I've been a booster every year my kids played. I've helped support and lead fundraising efforts. My kids never had a chance of playing in college and neither did most of their teammates whose parents also supported the teams and the athletic department

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Right, true for D1.

But, more importantly, the belief that there is a path beyond high school is what gets parents and district support for facilities and funding.

And pickeball is never going to be a college sport.

Oh you think so, Boo? Tell us more!

Did you just say boo? Even if this is a remote possibility the slots will be filled with tennis players trying to game the system because of how difficult it is to play d1 tennis

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Right, true for D1.

But, more importantly, the belief that there is a path beyond high school is what gets parents and district support for facilities and funding.

And pickeball is never going to be a college sport.

Oh you think so, Boo? Tell us more!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Right, true for D1.

But, more importantly, the belief that there is a path beyond high school is what gets parents and district support for facilities and funding.

And pickeball is never going to be a college sport.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

This is true for D1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Girls flag football is a varsity sport as well-about time they branch out from the traditional sports.

In MCPS?

Yes, and my daughter who has played rec flag football for the past 2 years is beyond thrilled. I just wish it were coed in MCPS so my son could play too.

Anonymous wrote:What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.

The same can be said for 99% of high school athletes

What's the point, you can't play it in college and never will.