Get ready and grab your paddles. Pickleball is back, and ready for new members. Having only been created last year, the pickleball club, hosted by Adam Schwenzfeier in room 436, has rapidly become popular.

Alexa Figueroa, a sophomore, says that pickleball is more fun than it looks. To her, it’s “pretty fun, entertaining and takes your stress away.” After trying other sports on Lehman campus, she found the most comfort and joy in pickleball.
She says everyone on the team is supportive, and Mr. S is a motivating and supportive coach. With most of its members graduating this year, she hopes more people will join the club and recommends it for anyone interested in trying something new.

“I joined as a joke, but the sport seemed fun so I stayed,” said Leonardo Burgos, a senior. He says pickleball is a great place to relax, play and make new friends. One perk of the club that he shared was that you get to travel around the city with the team and participate in tournaments. He encourages people to join and believes that once you learn, you will come to like pickleball as a sport.

“Mr. S is cool, he brought it to the school because he is passionate about it and wanted to share it with students,” said Justin Gomez, a senior. He didn’t think he’d get into it but he did because he wanted to try something new. It was “surprisingly difficult” and at first,  he couldn’t play and was just learning. However,  now they play outside and he actually plays. The environment is “ very welcoming” and you can make friends and socialize. They travel to four tournaments and you’re able to get more cardio in and it keeps you fit.

“It’s really, really, really exciting, because it’s such a great and growing sport,” said  Jabdiel Alicea, a senior. He just wanted to try something new and that it seemed dumb at first but then it started to grow on him. He thinks Mr. Schwenzfeier is a great, motivating coach and recommends pickleball as a sport. “The more I played, the more I learned… The sport increases sportsmanship, keeps you active and you get to have fun. Overall, it’s just a great sport.”

The club meeets after school every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Room 436.