USAPA Junior
USAPA JUNIORS NEWS
SPOTLIGHT
NORTH CAROLINA
HOSTS PICKLEBALL
CHARLOTTE EVENT
FOR JUNIORS
P
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KALE KLEIN
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K
ale Klein, 15, from
Brigham City, UT, home
of the Tournament of
Champions, began
playing pickleball when he was
just 7 years old and competed in
his very first tournament a year
later. Introduced to the sport by his
grandparents, who live in another
pickleball hotbed, Sun City, Arizona,
his family took the game back to
Utah. With a newfound passion—and
a few years of fundraising, collecting
donations and gathering supporters—
the Kleins convinced the city to build
permanent pickleball courts. With
17 courts just steps from his own
backyard, pickleball has turned into
a regular family activity for Kale,
his parents Trudee and Kyle, and
younger brother Tate.
Kale hits the courts with his
grandfather Larry, uncle Keith and
father in numerous tournaments.
He’s currently a 4.5 player and is
working hard to improve his game
to make his way to the 5.0 level, and
eventually on to pro status. When he
was 11, Selkirk offered to sponsor
Kale as a junior player. He’s thankful
to work with a company that has
treated him so well and has a great
reputation. His favorite shot is the
Erne—or jumping the kitchen. He’s
left-handed, which helps to catch
people off guard with his jump. Kale
helps his dad put on free clinics
throughout the season to teach
and help improve the abilities of
local players. He’s played pickleball
everywhere from Hawaii to Alaska,
Maine to Texas, and various states in
between.
Away from pickleball, Kale enjoys
basketball, baseball and tennis.
He enjoys singing and is a vocalist
for his church worship team and
volunteers on Sunday babysitting the
kids in the church nursery. He takes
his education seriously, evidenced
by his Honor Roll placement.
Kale loves the statistical aspect
of pickleball and often studies
tournament results and percentages
for many of the top players. He also
loves pick-up games, so if you ever
see him out on the court, he would
love to play with you. Just watch out
for the mid-court drive, his powerful
overhead, and try to not let him jump
the kitchen on you!
ickleball kids throughout
the state of North Carolina
descended on the
beautiful city of Charlotte
for an inaugural juniors event that
featured a pickleball clinic, round
robin tournament and a fun-packed
parent/child event.
Players were introduced to
advanced-level instruction that
included drills using a pickleball
machine, while parents picked up
a few paddles themselves and
challenged their peers on the courts
since the event also featured three
open courts. Special thanks to
Selkirk Pickleball, which donated
25 pickleball paddles to the first 25
registered players.
Pickleball Charlotte hopes
to continue to draw interest
and become a magnet for
youth pickleball. It will team
up with the USAPA and the
Professional Pickleball Registry.
Both organizations are introducing
newly designed programs for our
nation’s pickleball youth.
For more information on how you
can become involved with the juniors
program, email [email protected].
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 |
MAGAZINE
71