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The Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation science will be offering a pickleball course in the fall 2024 semester and will be available to all majors.
“The class provides pickleball paddles, balls, and nets for the eight courts in the Hull double gym. Students will need to wear clothing appropriate for physical activity as well as athletic shoes; sandals and boots are not acceptable footwear,” said Dr. Rockie Pederson, the department of kinesiology and rehabilitation science chair.
The class is listed as “PE 4991 SP: Pickleball,” and is scheduled to meet each Monday and Wednesday from 10-10:50 in Hull 112 and will be taught by ATU’s head women’s tennis coach Shaun Wiseman.
Pederson said she was approached by Wiseman about making a pickleball class a year ago because of growing interest in the area, as it has become a popular sport for people of all ages. It takes about a year to approve curriculum classes, so it became available for the fall 2024 semester.
“Coach Wiseman is very qualified. He has done well in local tournaments,” said Pederson. “Pickleball is fun. Everyone should try it.”
Pederson pulled up pickleheads.com online for a simple definition for beginners.
“Pickleball is a blend of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. It’s played with a flat paddle, similar to an oversized ping-pong paddle. The ball is a lightweight, perforated plastic ball that’s slightly larger than a tennis ball (similar to a wiffle ball). This ball is ‘dinked’ (or hit) back and forth across a low net (2” lower than a tennis net) on a badminton-sized court,” said pickleheads.com.
“The gameplay is most similar to tennis, but the scoring is different—you can only win points on your serve. Pickleball is most commonly played in doubles, and the combination of this format and a small playing area makes it an inherently social game.”
Pederson said the department has flyers posted around campus in order to spread the word about this opportunity. Since it is not a lower-level course, students may have a harder time finding it. Reach out to rpederson@atu.edu with any questions or for more information.
