Three men in Washington State created the game of pickleball in 1965 to entertain their children, who were bored during the hot summer days. It began by “combining badminton nets, table tennis bats and a wiffle ball,” according to Great Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association.
Archbishop Carroll students now get to enjoy the game because a senior, Lucia Indelicato, started a pickleball club. She got the idea when she heard her peers talking about pickleball during the school club fair in 2024. More than 50 people signed up.
The club is promoted via posters taped up around the school and by announcements on Instagram from @achspickleballclub. Pickleball typically is played 2:30 to 4 p.m. Fridays in the West Gym. Changes to the schedule are announced on Instagram.
Indelicato sets up nets and prepares the gym before people start rolling in. The West gym welcomes more than 20 people, including students and staff, almost every Friday to play.
Mr. Thomas Quintois, Carroll’s athletic director, is the main faculty supporter of pickleball but Mr. Andrew Cavara, director of enrollment management, and Mr. Ron Cummings, the school’s engineering teacher, also join in the Friday games.
“Lucia is an amazing young person who proposed and delivered a club that has positively impacted our school,” Mr. Quintois said. “I look forward to continuing the club in the future and hopefully growing into a sport.”
Creating the club was a lengthy process that began last year. One challenge was finding a time when the club could use the West Gym, which also is used by other sports as well as the Grayson School, one of Carroll’s tenants. Indelicato also had to find a teacher who was passionate about the sport like she is and figure out what equipment she would use and where she would get it.
Mr. Quintois brought the passion for the sport. As for the equipment — that came from Mr. Gallagher, Carroll’s physical education teacher.
After many months of planning with Mrs. Julia Young, who is the assistant principal for student affairs, Mr. Quintois, Mr. Gallagher, and other teachers, Indelicato’s idea was finally ready for this year.
As for Indelicato’s plans regarding the club’s future at Carroll, she made it clear that she doesn’t want the pickleball club to end with her graduation.
“I would like the freshman Charlie Avon to take over the club next year because he is very passionate about pickleball and is a great leader,” she said.
Avon said he was excited to find out at freshman orientation that Carroll had a pickleball club because if it didn’t, he thought about starting one. Little did he know he would be president of the club as a sophomore.
“I’m honored with the thought that Lucia would give the club over to me,” Avon said.
