In recent years, pickleball has become one of the most popular sports, and for good reason. Its smaller court size and lesser demand for athleticism make it appealing to players of all ages. Many cities, including Provo, have created pickleball courts for people in the community to enjoy. This year, Timpview Pickleball Club was introduced so students can compete with other pickleball players from schools across the state.
Timpview’s coach Bart Bradshaw has brought a lot of success this year, winning the first five games and going 6-1 so far this season. When asked about their thoughts on Coach Bradshaw, an anonymous player shared, “Coach Bart may be the sweatiest pickler I’ve ever seen and makes us feel like we’re competing for a natty. Nobody knew this [was] what we were getting into. My man Bart…helps us see our pickleball potential.” Coach Bradshaw has been an influential factor to the team’s success through motivating the team to perform at their best.
To an outsider, pickleball seems very similar to tennis, but inside the sport they are different. Not only are there different rules and regulations, but there are also controversies between them. Senior tennis player Jane Miller said, “When I was playing tennis competitively I sometimes got frustrated switching back and forth but now that tennis is over I think pickleball is a great sport.” She added, “[Pickleball] is easier to play with different skill levels, where [as] tennis is more frustrating to play people who are not up to your level.”
The team’s eventual goal is to become a sanctioned sport in the UHSAA. Achieving this would allow the team to compete for official state titles. An anonymous player commented, “Hopefully the sport can be sanctioned soon so Timpview can do what it does best, poach talent.” Becoming a sanctioned sport would not only be great for Timpview, but also for the sport of pickleball across the state of Utah.
A large part of the Timpview team is the girls players. The girls on the team work very hard and perform well on the court. Senior Jane Miller commented, “Our team’s strength is that we have strong girls. Most of our varsity tennis girls play on our pickleball team and have developed skills where other teams struggle to find girls to play … [which] becomes a weakness to them.” Timpview’s girls give the team an edge over the competition and are a large part of the team’s success.
We now look forward to the rest of the season for the team and hope they go far!
