Educators Fill Summer Break With Pickleball
By Gina Clance, Net News Assistant Editor
Teachers and other school system employees spend so much of their time sharing knowledge that we might not think of them as people who want to learn new things. ALTA is changing that perception. Our new 2026 summer women’s pickleball league gave several metro area educators the opportunity to pick up a new skill and enjoy the learning process with friends.
C5 Brookwood Manor captain Kallie Clack said she and some of her coworkers jumped at the chance to hit the courts. “As soon as we heard ALTA was starting a women’s pickleball league, we knew we wanted to create a team,” she said. “We were actually sitting in a spring training session making a list of people we thought might want to play. I started reaching out to teacher friends, they reached out to their friends, and our team quickly grew from there.”
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country, and the new summer league gave school system employees the opportunity to fill up their summer break with new skills, new friends, and a new healthy hobby. “What started as a way to stay active and have fun turned into so much more,” Clack said. “As teachers, we spend the school year giving so much of ourselves to our students. Pickleball became an opportunity to recharge, laugh, exercise, and build friendships outside the classroom.”
The Brookwood Manor team was not the only group in that C5 division comprised mostly of educators. Anne Williams, captain of the North Forke team, said her group included a special education teacher, a counselor, an elementary school teacher, and a bus driver.
“Two summers ago, we decided to get together to learn the game of pickleball together for fun,” Williams said. “We were all thrilled to hear there would be a summer women’s (league). It has been so fun playing together women-only this summer! We had a great season and finished in first place for our division.”
ALTA’s inaugural season with single-gender pickleball leagues brought 101 women’s teams (over 1,200 players) and 44 men’s teams (nearly 600 players) to the courts. For people who have not played a competitive sport before and for those who don’t have a lot of time to spend learning and playing a new sport, pickleball has been a way to get more people outside.
“We had a great season! Every team we played was kind, and we truly appreciated the sportsmanship all around,” Clack said. “We even had opponents celebrate with us on a great shot and offer advice and strategies to our new players. We’re adding a practice day, so we’ll be even more prepared for next summer!”
