I
n late December, ESPN
aired the Margaritaville 2018
USA Pickleball National
Championships held in
November in Indian Wells,
CA. “To have an organization
like ESPN express interest is
a major step that’s going to
increase the awareness of our sport who
knows how many times over,” said Jack
Thomas, President of USAPA.
As the sport grows, so will its support
for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In 2016, the USAPA chose St. Jude as its
designated charity. This link between the
sport Thomas loves and the charity he
admires makes him happier than a win on
the court because, in 2014, his grandson
Andrew was diagnosed with a rare type of
cancer, and it was St. Jude that saved his
life.
A Rare Cancer
Thomas’ daughter, Holly, had been
concerned for a few years about a mole
growing on her son Andrew’s back. In
2014, a doctor agreed to remove and
biopsy the spot. It was spitzoid melanoma,
a very rare skin cancer. At the time,
Andrew was only 10 years old.
Over the next two weeks, his parents
met with local doctors and contacted
specialists from across the United States
in an urgent search for treatment. Finally,
they found St. Jude, and three days
later were on a plane to Memphis, TN,
from their home in Arizona. Treatments
invented at St. Jude have helped push
the overall childhood cancer survival rate
from 20 percent to more than 80 percent
since it opened 50 years ago.
“We were so fortunate that St. Jude
had one of the top experts in spitzoid
melanoma,” said Thomas. “He was
familiar with it and had written a
substantial amount of research on it.”
Andrew’s treatment at St. Jude
included excision at the tumor site
and a lymphadenectomy under his left
arm. Certainly it was a stressful time
for the family, but Thomas says the
most surprising thing about visiting his
grandson at St. Jude was how cheerful it
was. “It’s one of the happiest places I’ve
ever been involved with,” he recalled.
“I know it sounds strange, but despite
all the concerns about the children and
their illnesses, when you walk in those
doors, you see nothing but happy. All of
the posters and artwork are positive.
The care they gave Andrew, the
openness, the consultations with the
physicians and the nurses—all of that—
it’s truly an amazing place. And no one
has ever paid even a penny for their
child’s treatment. That’s remarkable.”
Today, Andrew returns just for
checkups. He’s in high school and
thriving. And, like his grandfather,
Andrew is an athlete through and
through. “He’s a tremendous baseball
player,” said Thomas, “a tremendous
athlete, but specifically he’s really a
great, young baseball player.”
A Chance to Do Good
In 2011, Jack Thomas and his wife
arrived for dinner just before 5 p.m.
on a Sunday night in Fountain Hills,
AZ. But, first, their friends wanted
to introduce them to a game that
combined aspects of table tennis,
tennis and badminton.
So the couples took to the court
for a quick game of pickleball. “Long
story short, dinner didn’t happen until
around 9:00,” said Thomas. “They
couldn’t get me off the court, I was
having so much fun.”
Since then, Thomas has served on
the board of the USAPA and, this past
year as the board president, he’s seen
the sport hit the big time. Pickleball,
which was created in 1965, now has
approximately 3.1 million players and
has been called the fastest-growing
sport.
The mission of the USAPA is to
promote the development and growth
of pickleball in the United States and
its territories. “Now, our aspirations
for the sport would ultimately be the
Olympics, and we believe that can
happen,” added Thomas.
He feels special pride in knowing that
as his sport grows, so does awareness
of St. Jude in communities nationwide.
“It’s really a neat feeling to have people
understand just how important St. Jude
is and how much St. Jude has given to
families, and certainly to the children
treated there,” said Thomas.
Since November 2016, the USAPA
has raised more than $55,000 for St.
Jude through a variety of avenues.
Some tournament participants have
asked supporters to sponsor them by
pledging 10 cents or a dollar per point.
Many tournament organizers donate
their entire tournament revenues
after expenses to St. Jude, or earmark
certain events within the tournament to
go to the hospital.
“People should support St. Jude
to the max, whatever their max is,
whatever they feel comfortable doing,”
said Thomas. “It’s an amazing place.
My grandson is here today because of
St. Jude.”
If you want to help support St. Jude,
let your passions guide you to dedicate
your next tournament or event and
raise funds for St. Jude.
https://www.stjude.org/about-st-jude/
stories/making-a-difference/jack-thomas-
pickleball-usapa-partnership.html. •
MARCH/APRIL 2019 |
MAGAZINE
33