E
T
A
M
I
T
THE UL ICKLEBALL
KIDS P
r
o
i
n
u
J
A
P
A
US
t
h
g
i
l
t
Spo
Wyatt Stone is an aspiring
pickleball athlete with goals
to play at the pro level and
to participate in outreach
initiatives to grow the junior
pickleball movement. He
started playing pickleball
last September and was
hooked after attending the Texas
Open as a spectator.
Wyatt trains with his coach, Matt Lazarine, who has
encouraged him to complete the Level II International
Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA)
Instructor Certification. Wyatt uses his certification
volunteering to help others learn the sport.
At age 13, Wyatt went to his first tournament in January
and won gold medals in three events at the Oklahoma State
Games. He has been competing ever since and has earned 16
medals in nine tournaments. Wyatt sees a shift happening in
that there are more kids on the courts now than when he first
started playing pickleball, and adds, “You know what? They
love the game as much as we all do!”
Wyatt recently joined the Pickleball Rocks team as National
Junior Player Development Manager. “Wyatt has a great
reputation for being not only a very good young player, but
for being a great advocate for players of all ages and skill
levels. I see him leading an amazing youth movement, and
he will be great at it. We are so happy to have him on our
Pickleball Rocks team,” says Rodney “Rocket” Grubbs,
Pickleball Rocks CEO.
Wyatt’s long-term goal is to challenge himself to get as
many juniors involved in the sport of pickleball as possible.
You can check out his website at WyattStonePickleballJunior.
com. He’s worked as an editor of the USAPA Juniors
Pickleball Facebook page, which has steadily grown by
highlighting the development of the junior movement. You
can also get involved by using #USAPAJuniors on your junior
social media posts.
www.usapajuniors.org
72
TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM
Wyatt will lead a USAPA Junior initiative with a mission to
mobilize other juniors regionally. The main objective of the
new Junior Program is to create awareness for junior players
by providing relevant content and events through social
media platforms. For more information about the program,
send an email to [email protected].