Growing Pickleball in our Schools
One of the Southern Pickleball Academy's main goals is to grow Pickleball in the Aiken area middle schools and high schools, then expand into other school districts across the Southeast. The International Federation for Pickleball (IFP) wants to introduce Pickleball into the Olympics as a legitimate international sport by 2032 so our work needs to begin today! The Academy is working hard to develop and support these future Olympic stars...our students.
Even more important than the Olympics, we want to encourage our youth to put down their phones and pick up a paddle. The soft skills of conflict resolution, fair play, and integrity learned in this sport will take our youth far!
During the 2023-24 school year, the Academy supplied all the pickleball equipment requested by 12 middle and high schools through our grant program. More than $11,000 worth of pickleball equipment (nets, paddles, and balls) were donated through the Academy to these 12 schools...
Aiken High School
*Has a Pickleball Club*
North Augusta Middle School
Aiken Intermediate School
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Paul Knox Middle School
Highland Springs Middle School
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A.L. Corbett Middle School
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South Aiken High School
*Has a Pickleball Club*
Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle School
Kennedy Middle School
*Has a Pickleball Club*
Wagner Salley High School
Midland Valley High School
*Has a Pickleball Club*
North Augusta High School
*Has a Pickleball Club*
Silver Bluff High School
New Ellenton Middle School
September 5, 2023
Pickleball Professional Development Seminar for Aiken County Public School PE teachers
The Academy presented pickleball equipment to:
Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle School: 30 balls, 30 paddles, six nets.
Wagener Salley High School: 30 balls, 30 paddles, eight nets.
Aiken High School: four nets, 20 paddles, and 24 balls.
South Aiken High School: 50 paddles and 24 balls.
Highland Springs Middle School: 20 balls, 20 paddles.
A.L. Corbett Middle School: 16 paddles, one net.
Aiken Intermediate School: 30 balls, 20 paddles, three nets.
October 31, 2023
Paul Knox Middle School
Principal Rogers, Cindy Ogden, Coach Curry, Beth Eberhard, and Ben Lacy meet at Paul Knox Middle School to donate 30 balls, 39 paddles, and six nets.
January 17, 2024
Midland Valley High School
Ben Lacy met with Scott Talbott and Coach Richardson at Midland Valley High School to donate 40 balls, 40 paddles, and two nets.
Kennedy Middle School
Ben Lacy met with Coach Shuford at Kennedy Middle School to donate 30 balls, 30 paddles, and six nets.
January 23, 2024
North Augusta Middle School
Ben Lacy and Beth Eberhard met with Coach Crystal Bush at North Augusta Middle School to donate 30 paddles, 30 balls, and six nets.
March 13, 2024
North Augusta High School
Beth Eberhard and Ben Lacy met with Coach Crystal Cummings at North Augusta High School to donate 40 paddles, 40 balls, and eight nets.
July 17, 2024
Silver Bluff High School
Beth Eberhard, Bob Fogle, and Cindy Ogden met with Coach David Marshall at Silver Bluff High School to donate 20 paddles, 20 balls, and three nets. The students at Silver Bluff will now have the opportunity this year and beyond in their PE classes to play pickleball and to develop a pickleball club.
July 18, 2024
South Aiken High School
Beth Eberhard and Cindy Ogden met with Coach Chris Hamilton and Athletic Director Bob Polewski at South Aiken High School to donate six new nets and two sets of court markers to go along with paddles and balls donated last school year. Coach Hamilton relayed that the pickleball PE unit is the students' favorite sport - us too, Coach!
July 19, 2024
New Ellenton Middle School
Robbie and Cindy Ogden met with Coach Chase Bell at New Ellenton Middle School to donate 18 paddles, 20 balls, and three nets. Coach Bell was so appreciative; their existing equipment was simply not usable. Now, students will now have the opportunity this year and beyond in their PE classes to play pickleball and to possibly develop a pickleball club.
