Sequim Pickleball Camp For Kids: The Sequim Picklers Club and the YMCA of Sequim held their first week-long pickleball camp for kids in August. The program aimed to teach youngsters the basics of pickleball while keeping them engaged in fun, cooperative, and competitive activities.
Camp Structure and Coaching
Lettie Flerchinger, SPC Director of Court Operations, and member Libby Hartman worked with Doug Hastings, a PE teacher at Grey Wolf Elementary and certified pickleball coach, to plan games and drills. Volunteer coaches maintained a three-to-one ratio of kids to instructors to ensure individual attention.
Early drills focused on serves, forehands, and volleys. Later sessions taught softer lifting shots, power from the back court, paddle and body positioning, swing paths, and footwork. Bernie Sorenson, an SPC volunteer coach, started the first day with a game to help campers get to know each other, making the atmosphere fun and welcoming.
Kids’ Experiences and Feedback
Nine-year-old camper Sammy Nicholson said, “It was a great way to start off my pickleball career,” and hopes for another camp next summer. Her mother, May Nicholson, a volunteer coach, said the camp was “amazing” and saw notable improvement in her daughter’s skills. Twelve-year-old Gavin Walker appreciated the personal coaching, sharing, “They helped me learn in ways that worked for me, and they even stayed after to play a game with me and my grandma. That made me feel really special and made me want to get better at pickleball.”
Community and YMCA Support
All SPC volunteer coaches were pleased with the campers’ progress, noting better court movement, longer rallies, and improved paddle decisions by the end of the week. Joey Belanger, vice president of operations at the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, said, “We were so excited to partner with the Sequim Picklers to bring this camp to the youth of our community. The collaboration between the Y and the Sequim Picklers bridged a gap of players from all age groups to have fun together while learning and playing America’s fastest growing sport.”
News in Brief: Sequim Pickleball Camp For Kids
The Sequim Picklers Club and YMCA of Sequim hosted their first youth pickleball camp in August. Kids aged 6–12 learned fundamentals, drills, and techniques with a strong volunteer coaching team. The camp emphasized fun, teamwork, and skill development, and organizers plan to continue similar programs in the future to grow youth participation.
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