‘Pickleball for All’: MCPS Expansion Opens Doors for Inclusive College Sports

Vinnie LaCosta, a senior at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, enjoys team sports, but he didn’t always get the chance to play on a school team because of the competitive nature of the programs.

Over the years, LaCosta, a student learning to be independent, has found a home in sports like bocce in Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) companion athletic program. The program is an initiative to “increase opportunities for participation in school-based athletics for all students, particularly those with disabilities,” according to the MCPS website.

This fall, LaCosta will make history as a member of the first-ever collegiate pickleball team at Einstein, after the school district announced it would expand the paddleball sport to all 25 of its high schools.

MCPS Systemwide Athletics Director Jeff Sullivan announced during a press conference at Winston Churchill High School on Thursday that pickleball will be offered as a varsity sport in the varsity athletics program at all high schools.

Sullivan said MCPS is confident they are the first district in the country to offer pickleball as a varsity sport.

“The goal of the associated sports is to have a 50/50 ratio of students with and without disabilities,” Sullivan told MoCo360 on Thursday. “We believe pickleball will attract all students, it’s just so inclusive.”

MCPS already has two additional sports: bocce, which is offered in the winter, and allied softball, which is offered in the spring. Sullivan said the school district previously offered handball for the fall, but last year only two schools had handball teams. Although participation in handball has declined, Sullivan said a pilot pickleball program at 11 schools has proven popular.

“It was a huge success,” Sullivan said.

Thanks to the help of the professional DC Pickleball Team, Rockville pickleball equipment company JOOLA, and grant money, all MCPS high school students, including LaCosta, will now have the opportunity to play the sport at no additional cost to the school district’s already tight budget, Sullivan said.

Alex Gomez-Ordonez, 17, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, said expanding the sport to all schools would bring more competition, more games and, of course, more fun. Montgomery Blair was one of 11 schools piloting pickleball.

“A lot of students find it difficult to join a college sport,” Gomez-Ordonez said. “By making (pickleball) a college sport for all schools, more students will have the opportunity to participate.”

During the press conference, students like Gomez-Ordonez played alongside fellow students, coaches and professional DC Pickleball player Vivian Glozman.

Vinnie LaCosta started playing pickleball with his parents, which is a testament to how inclusive the sport is, said Vinnie’s mother, Aimee. Vinnie said he doesn’t always beat his brothers, but he does beat his father, Bill, in games.

According to the New York Times, Pickleball is easier to learn than sports like tennis and has a slower pace, making it a sport that is accessible to people of all ages and levels.

“You get to play with (all) generations,” Aimee LaCosta said. “We’re in our 50s, and we get to play with him and his brothers and all their friends. … Now he’s going to be on the very first Einstein pickleball team.”

Montgomery Blair pickleball coach Beth Sanchez and her co-coach Kesa Summers said the expansion will legitimize pickleball as a varsity sport in the school district and therefore encourage more students to play. Varsity pickleball players will have equipment, uniforms and even a varsity pin to put on their varsity letter jackets, Sullivan said.

“I expect it to be a very popular college sport,” Summers said. “I think other schools and districts will follow suit.”

Additionally, Adam Behnke, chief operating officer of the DC Pickleball Team, said it could put many students on a “path to pro” pickleball. Montgomery County has a history of producing professional pickleball players, such as Ben Johns, who was ranked the No. 1 Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) player in the world in 2022.

“This is going to be one of those things where we can all say we were at the forefront of making pickleball history,” Behnke said. “That’s going to have a lasting impact on all of us in our community.”

While MCPS is making history with the first collegiate pickleball program, students like Alex Gomez-Ordonez are focused on having more fun.

“It’s not a dumb sport. It’s a fun game,” Alex said. “It’s taken seriously and (everyone) should play it.”

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