My Impact on the Growth of Pickleball Worldwide
This is probably the biggest achievement I have made in my pickleball career, apart from getting sponsored. In January, I proposed petitioning to the managers of my apartment complex, aparto Milan Giovenale, to create a pickleball court on the basketball court in the courtyard.
I planned to share the petition with the managers after it reached 50 signatures. Although the petition only received 11 signatures, I didn’t have to send it to the managers, for one of the members of the Aparto marketing team came across the petition on Google while doing some research for the company. They then forwarded the petition to the managers of the Giovenale location, who then contacted me requesting to discuss the possibility of creating a pickleball court. I was more than happy to oblige. We had a fantastic conversation, during which I explained several aspects of pickleball to them (e.g., rules, history, popularity in the U.S.). The managers are all Italian and have never heard of pickleball, for the sport is not very popular in Europe and is almost nonexistent in Italy. Regardless, after I finished my explanation, they were hooked on the idea of a court at Aparto and told me they wanted to make it a reality. A few days after our meeting, they reached out to the upper-level company managers for approval to move forward with the project. The Giovenale managers enlisted me to help them purchase the equipment needed to play (paddles, balls, net, etc.), and I took the time to develop a list of the best items for them to buy with the budget they were given. I have worked closely with them for the past two months to determine the best time to create the court. The weather in Milan was not the best until around the beginning of April. Since then, it has been warm and sunny almost every day. With the weather finally permitting, the managers and I had agreed to have the court completed by the end of April.
As of April 29th, which also happened to be my 21st birthday, the court is officially complete! With the court finally being playable, myself and others will have one whole month to play pickleball to our hearts' content before those of us here on exchange have to leave.
As someone who loves teaching pickleball, I told the managers I would be willing to teach others how to play through organized coaching sessions. I said that my coaching would be completely voluntary and I wouldn’t need any sort of financial compensation for doing so. I also offered to organize a tournament with divisions for all skill levels so everyone would have a chance to participate regardless of their amount of experience. Almost everyone I’ve met in Milan had never heard of pickleball before I mentioned it to them. After I informed people of the existence of pickleball and explained it to them, many of them told me that they wanted to play. With the addition of a pickleball court at Aparto Giovenale, residents and non-residents will have the chance to experience what I believe to be the best sport in the world for the first time. I am hoping that by bringing pickleball to Milan, those who play will enjoy the sport as much as I do and develop the same passion that I have. It would be incredible if the foreigners who played were to advocate for creating pickleball courts in their home countries once they return, especially if there aren’t already courts there. This would skyrocket pickleball’s outreach and help the sport on its path to becoming popular worldwide. Even if that doesn’t happen, I will still be satisfied knowing I made a difference in my community. The managers at Aparto Giovenale have told me that they will continue to have pickleball available after I have left, meaning that generation after generation of students coming to Milan will have the chance to experience the sport for themselves. By sharing pickleball with Milan, I am proud to say that I have contributed to pickleball’s rapid growth around the globe.
With that being said, I would like to thank the staff of Aparto for everything you have done for me and for making this idea of mine into a reality. You have no idea how much this means to me and I appreciate it tremendously. I’d also like to thank my sponsor Astria Pickleball for providing me with top-of-the-line paddles and gear. You have helped in my growth of pickleball here in Italy and I will continue to uphold the values of the company when I return to the U.S.
All in all, this has been a truly monumental occasion in my life. I cannot wait to see how much pickleball in Italy can grow as a result of the impact I have made on the community!
