PickleballMEXICO
By Javier Regalado
PICKLEBALL BRINGS HOPE
Pickleball for the World provides a road out of poverty for three brothers .
Victor , Jairo and Mike are three of five kids in their family . They are U . S . citizens born in California into a hardworking family of illegal immigrants , whose parents decided to move back to Mexico with their children .
Ever since , they ’ ve had to confront a crude and difficult life . Living in poverty in Mexico is heartbreaking . But that didn ’ t stop the three brave brothers and their friend Uriel , who wanted to find a way to help their parents . Every day , they made a treacherous one-hour commute from their small town to Ajijic , Jalisco , through narrow and winding roads on a bus to be at the tennis courts early . A tennis coach , Juan Carlos Castro , gave them work as ball boys . The tips they made financed their transportation and helped feed their family .
Throughout the years , Juan Carlos taught the boys how to play tennis .
Eventually , they assisted him in teaching clients how to play .
Then came former pickleball pro Samuel Recinos from Oregon . An expat who made his way to Ajijic from Puerto Vallarta , Sam saw the abilities and talents of these boys and started to coach them to become pickleball players . The kids fell in love with the game — so much that they committed themselves to Sam ’ s guidance of hard practice and a strict discipline of training . The boys have not only become great players , but great people . Pickleball has given them confidence , selfesteem , and hope for the future . Sam and Juan Carlos have done an exceptional , incredible job with them . Sam has given his time at no cost for three years .
Sam planned to take the kids on a summer U . S . tournament tour , so the boys could get the exposure of high-level playing . He contacted Rafa Fillipini of Gearbox , who provided the kids with equipment and resources . But they had a problem — the boys had no U . S . passports to travel , and they had no birth certificates to get a passport . Sam raised some funds and has received help from Dona Rosenson in Texas to find a way for them to get their passports and travel back to their natural-born country to play in tournaments and earn a source of income . By the way , the boys speak perfect English . They have a dream of playing on the pro tour , saving money , and attending college one day .
These are the stories we want to support with Pickleball for the World ( PFTW ). PFTW is a 501 ( c )( 3 ) nonprofit organization , created to change lives and communities with pickleball throughout the world . We believe pickleball is a unique sport that transforms lives by building a global community of solidarity .
The International Federation of Pickleball and PFTW have teamed together to generate funds through donations , to make pickleball a philanthropic power . The PFTW website is under construction and will be ready soon with a follow-up on this story .
The Liga Profesional de Pickleball México ( LPPM )
LPPM is working hard to support Juan Carlos Castro and Samuel Recinos to establish an International Pickleball Academy in Ajijic , Jalisco , Mexico . The idea behind this academy is to support other underprivileged kids in finding a road out of poverty through pickleball . For more information , please email
info @ lppm . mx . •
Pictured ( l to r ): Mike , Uriel , Jairo and Victor .