Popularity of pickleball continues to grow in east Idaho, with goal of eventually becoming a high school sport

IDAHO FALLS – Is there a sport more fun than pickleball?

Judging by the non-stop action at the Spitfire Pickleball courts on a recent Thursday night, it’s hard to imagine a sport more inclusive and entertaining.

It’s no wonder pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country.

“I love pickleball,” said Lincoln Brunson, an eighth grader from Shelley, who’s playing in the American Youth Pickleball Organization. “My friends, they love it.”

Pickleball is a cross between tennis and ping pong, played with small paddles and a plastic ball.

The league is in its third year and features eight teams from area high schools, as well as a few middle school players like Brunson, who plays on the Shelley team.

The league competes at Spitfire Pickleball in Idaho Falls on Thursdays, and has expanded from 76 players a year ago to 156 this season.

“The goal is to grow the sport,” AYPO president Bryan Tom, said, noting the league recently became a nonprofit, allowing more opportunities for promotion and fundraising.

The league currently has teams from North Fremont High School, South Fremont Junior High School, Rigby High School, Madison High School, Hillcrest High School, Thunder Ridge High School, Idaho Falls High School, and Century High School in Pocatello.

The league is divided into three levels – beginners, intermediate, and advanced – with boys and girls competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

The regular season runs six weeks, followed by two weeks of tournament play.

Spitfire Pickleball is an indoor facility, but the sport can be played outdoors on modified tennis courts.

The city of Idaho Falls has indoor courts at the recreation center on Memorial Drive, at Tautphaus Park, as well as outdoor courts at Lincoln Park. Pocatello, Lava Hot Springs and Preston are just a few local areas that also have pickleball courts.

Part of pickleball’s appeal is that the sport is easy to learn, relatively inexpensive, and can be played at any age, which is why it has become so popular, Tom said.

He said the hope is to eventually grow pickleball into a varsity high school sport. With facilities and players ranging from Pocatello, Twin Falls and Boise, the popularity of the sport shows no signs of slowing.

Lynn Beck has been coaching the North Fremont team for all three years.

“The first year was a little bit ‘seat of our pants,’” she said of getting the league off the ground, noting the organization has managed to keep up with the sport’s growth and popularity.

“My particular goal is to make this a high school state sport,” she said, adding she’s talked to the Idaho High School Activities Association about the participation numbers and growing club teams.

“Because we’ve done the heavy lifting with AYPO, other schools are welcome to use it,” Beck said. “Because ideally, we’ll have Southeast Idaho, Northern Idaho … we could get to 40 club teams (the number needed to be considered to become a high school sport) easily. We could eventually have state-wide championships. It’s only a matter of time before it’s a college sport with college scholarships.

“Some of these kids are athletes but some of them are not. It’s truly a sport that any kid can play. It accommodates for disabilities, last year I had an autistic kid, and she was great.”

Carson Smith, a senior at Hillcrest who also wrestles, played pickleball with his friends, but joined the AYPO this year.

“Hillcrest finally got a team and I thought I’d try it out,” he said. “It was nice to see a bunch of my friends playing … It’s been super fun. There are tons of different people to meet and have some good, friendly competition.”

Smith noted there were some good middle schoolers also playing.

And that includes Brunson, whose family is heavily involved in the sport and even has a court in their backyard.

The eighth-grader has been in the league all three years and started playing pickleball at age 9.

He also plays basketball, but said pickleball has become a passion. He’s able to practice with his family and has played in various tournaments.

“It’s almost like you have a family here,” he said. “It’s a big community and you know everyone and it’s just fun.”