The next generation of paddlers, local high school students form pickleball clubs

Written by E. George Goold
April 15, 2023

ST. GEORGE —  As pickleball’s popularity surges throughout Utah, local teens are picking up paddles and forming clubs at some Region 10 high schools in St. George.

Pickleball players from local high schools play in a tournament at Vernon Worthen Park, St. George, Utah, April 15, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

High school pickleball players representing Desert Hills, Dixie, Snow Canyon and Crimson Cliffs formed 22 two-person teams and played a tournament Saturday morning at the pickleball courts at Vernon Worthen Park.

“This is our second annual high school pickleball tournament,” Dixie senior Ella Sophia Dunford told St. George News. “The first one was last year, and this has doubled in size since last year. We had about 12 teams last year and this year we have 22 so we’ve grown a lot.”

Camaraderie among the players was immediately noticeable as teams were formed any way they wanted — mixed doubles, two boys or two girls, even players from different schools mixed and matched to form tandems at the tournament.

“There’s way more skill levels that are accepted in pickleball, and you don’t have to start from such a young age to be able to get good,” Dunford said. “It’s an easier sport to get a hang of. Since there’s already so many courts being built or are already in use, there’s so many different chances and opportunities to play in St. George because of the nice weather.”

Indeed, the courts at Vernon Worthen Park were brilliantly lit by bright, hot sunshine as the high schoolers conducted the double-elimination tournament.

Some debated the right word for the sound of a pickleball hitting a paddle, with “thwack” being the general consensus. It depends on the shot, of course; direct volley-to-volley hits sound more like a “pop” and satisfying serves tend to have a nice “whizz” to them.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm, but right now there’s only two high schools that have pickleball clubs, so we’re trying to get it going a little bit faster,” Dunford said, adding that they’re trying to generate more enthusiasm and interest from people coming up.

“So I’m the president of my club (Dixie), but both my vice president and secretary are both sophomores, so that they can take it over and keep it going and grow it and we hope that eventually it won’t just be a club, it will be a high school team,” Dunford said.

Cousins Jonah Stewart Matson (left) at Desert Hills and Ella Sophia Dunford (right) at Dixie formed the first two local high school pickleball clubs, St. George, Utah, April 15, 2023 | Photo courtesy Becky Stewart Matson, St. George News

Dunford’s cousin, Jonah Stewart Matson, is a sophomore at Desert Hills and is president of the Thunder’s pickleball club. Dixie and Desert Hills are the only two local high schools that have pickleball clubs at the moment.

“We started in the Fall of 2021. I was just looking for people to play pickleball with,” Matson said, adding that he began as a tennis player before deciding he likes pickleball better because it’s more fun.

“So we decided to get the club started up and here I am,” Matson said. Like others, he too noted that the tournament was the largest it has ever been.

Jonah Matson’s mom, Becky Stewart Matson, told St. George News that there’s been a great deal of grassroots support for the high school pickleball clubs from parents, businesses, community members and fans of the sport.

She wanted to thank specifically sponsors such as Menchies, Cocoa Metro-Belgian Drinking Chocolate, Cross Court Pickleball Store (which donated pickleball bags) and Holbrook Pickleball (which donated paddles for the winners of the tournament).

Stewart Matson also thanked Wayne Bullock, assistant recreation manager and tennis and pickleball professional for the city of St. George. He helped build the foundation for pickleball success in St. George ten years ago, she said.

“The future of pickleball is bright,” said Matson.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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