USAPA LAUNCHES
MUCH-ANTICIPATED
RECREATION DEPARTMENT
BY JUSTIN MALOOF
USAPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
he USAPA is hard at work launching a much-
anticipated new Recreational Programs
and Services Department. Former USTA
employees Hope Tolley and Jason Jamison
have joined USAPA to spearhead initiatives in this vital
growth area for USAPA. Tolley previously served as
USTA’s National Coordinator of School Tennis while
Jamison served as National Schools Manager. The
new USAPA department will focus on supporting
programming for juniors, collegiate/young adults,
adults, and senior participants of the sport. With the
addition of this new department, USAPA aims to provide
and enhance opportunities to play the game in multiple
settings for participants of all ages and abilities.
“Given the broad appeal of pickleball, I look forward to
identifying and supporting new initiatives to continue
the strong growth of the game,” said Tolley. Given the
importance of recreational support, USAPA also created
a new at-large board position to provide some additional
input and support. USAPA welcomes Philip Bullen who
is now serving in this capacity.
USAPA Juniors are often referred to as “the future
of pickleball.” With an estimated 3.3 million pickleball
players in the U.S. alone, we see more and more kids
playing pickleball every day. To further accelerate the
growth of Juniors, USAPA is looking to implement
programming more broadly with schools and after-
school entities nationwide. Tolley and Jamison have
been hard at work and are on the verge of providing
USAPA with a variety of tools and resources to those
who teach the sport. Schools, youth organizations,
parks & recreation departments and other agencies will
soon be able to request and receive dynamic activities,
fun play rotations, videos and other tools to enhance
their programs.
To execute a redesigned junior program, the USAPA
will rely heavily on the strength of the organization’s
volunteers and utilize its established ambassador
network as the main delivery system. Additionally, two
longtime volunteers of the organization, Bob Nibarger
and Steve Manolis, are serving as leads for the USAPA
Junior Committee.
In addition to juniors, adults comprise several
unique generations and USAPA is preparing to identify
specific initiatives appealing to each specific age
range. The organization plans to leverage the innate
qualities of the game including fun, camaraderie, and
its welcoming culture with specific initiatives tailored
to each adult demographic. Millennials, currently the
youngest generation of adults, will be a critical group to
engage and broaden the base of players participating
in the sport.
As with juniors, the USAPA is dedicated to
determining how best to establish partnerships with
organizations that will foster collaboration to grow the
sport. Additionally, USAPA will again utilize the many
talents and abilities of its strong cadre of dedicated
volunteers and ambassadors to reach targeted
audiences.
Ultimately, USAPA’s goal is to grow pickleball
participation by providing opportunities that appeal to
everyone. This will be accomplished by understanding
and recognizing both the similarities and differences
among players of all ages. USAPA believes that
pickleball is universally appealing, but also creates
value in different ways for different players. Like the
sport itself, our players are unique and this contributes
to the broad appeal of the game.
MARCH/APRIL 2019 |
MAGAZINE
9