Freshmen Ben Zhang and Aiden Lai, two self-taught pickleball players, run and own Ace Pickleball, a program dedicated to providing a welcoming learning environment for enthusiasts of the game. Classes currently take place at Hall Memorial Park, Lai said. Both Zhang and Lai have owned this course for about a month now and have 12 students at their course, he added.
In pickleball, the court is separated into two parts – usually the back and the front, Lai said. The kitchen is the front portion where you cannot step in to volley the ball, Lai said. Dinking is where you can drop the ball really short into the kitchen, he added.
In their course, students learn techniques such as dinking and volleying, and even techniques that Lai and Zhang created themselves, Lai said. Most of their lessons right now are beginner-friendly, so they’re starting with teaching simple material that they’re planning to expand, he added.
“We use dinking and light touches with the ball as warmups,” Lai said. “We then assign our students to different (sections), and then we start doing drills – like dinking and volleying. And then in the very end, we teach them how to play the game, because in pickleball there’s serving rules and (other) stuff.”
Before being introduced to pickleball in the seventh grade, Zhang played table tennis while Lai played badminton, Lai said. Part of the reason they decided to create a pickleball program was because of the sports inclusive nature, he added.
“Pickleball is open to whatever age or skill level, even if you’re just starting out or if you’re advanced,” Lai said. “It’s open to everyone, so that’s why we got into it. If it’s inclusive, we can play it with all types of people – it’s really nice.”
Zhang and Lai have both been playing pickleball since seventh grade, Zhang said.
“The first time I played, I found the sport really interesting, and I also found myself good at it,” Zhang said. “Pickleball can sometimes be very fast-paced – it’s very exciting. There’s a lot of teamwork going on – especially if we play doubles. There’s a lot of coordination required.”
Zhang and Lai strive to help their students succeed, Lai said.
“We want to help them improve and get them to a high enough level, and then maybe they can participate in tournaments themselves so that they can actually have a fun competitive experience,” Lai said.
Zhang and Lai observe their students as they play to ensure that they are successful, Ace Pickleball student and freshman Arjun Viswanadhal said. Viswanadhal previously had issues with his cross-drops; a cross drop is when two opposite players are at the front, but instead of being directly close, they’re across the court from each other, said Viswanadhal. They would dink the ball across the court lightly, he added.
“My teacher already noticed the flaws in my gameplay, so the first thing that we did was review it – my cross drops,” Viswanadhal said. “What we did is we dinked the ball across the court – I think it really taught me a lot.”
The group dynamic between the students at Ace Pickleball is really strong – each student at the course is already familiar with each other, Viswanadhal added.
“I haven’t really made any new friends (at the course), but deeper friendship connections I would say,” Viswanadhal said.
Their goal for Ace Pickleball is to gain at least 30-50 students by the end of 2024, Zhang said.
“There’s not that many people that really like playing sports in general, but we’re trying to convert those people to start (liking sports),” Lai said. “Most of our audience that we’re trying to get are people who are newer to sports. We want to try to get them more active.”