This year, Benilde-St. Margaret’s has a new pickleball club. There has been talk of this club for the past few years but it was only recently approved to become an official club this past September. The presidents and creators of the club are juniors Lulu Ruscinksi and Eva Rahn.
Pickleball is a sport that can be played at any given age. Many players say how it is fun and easy to socialize while pickling. The sport can be played for fun or can be played competitively. “I enjoy playing pickleball because it takes time and control, and you have to be patient when playing, but you can also attack the net, which makes it very nice. I grew up always playing tennis, and it translates well from that. Pickleball can be casual or competitive, and it’s always a great way to socialize with friends and family. It is a great bonding experience for people of all ages and something you can play for the rest of your life,” senior Maggie Graczyk said.
I enjoy playing pickleball because it takes time and control, and you have to be patient when playing, but you can also attack the net, which makes it very nice. I grew up always playing tennis, and it translates well from that. Pickleball can be casual or competitive, and it’s always a great way to socialize with friends and family. It is a great bonding experience for people of all ages and something you can play for the rest of your life.
— Maggie Gracyzk
With Pickleball being a rising sport, there has been an abundance of applications to join the new club. The year-long club will be entering tournaments throughout the year. “We’re going to be bonding together and getting to know each other more and having some fun, having fun tournaments. As of now, about 30 [members] in this spring…but we’re going to be opening up more spots in the spring,” Rahn said.
Practice will be inclusive for all players, whether they are a beginner or have been playing for a while. Everyone will have an equal opportunity to learn rules and etiquette. “We’ll start off with a few light drills just trying to get some rallies and get people used to holding the racket touching the paddle. We will get everyone used to the scoring and the rules. And then we will just start getting really competitive and hitting the ball across the court, learning some of the techniques of the strokes and everything like that,” Graczyk said.
The leaders of the club hope to pass the club down to underclassmen when they graduate in order to keep the club going in the future. With the presidents, Ruscinksi and Rahn, being juniors this year, they will have to give it to one of the freshmen or sophomores when they graduate. “We’re reaching out to the freshmen and sophomore classes and already have some people in the club so that hopefully in the future they can keep it going, and we can pass down all that our equipment for them to use,” Ruscinksi said.