By Gene Galin
Pittsboro, NC – What began as a conversation between two fathers searching for another activity to enjoy with their children grew into a summer youth league, a new teaching format and, on Saturday, August 1, a community pickleball festival in Pittsboro.
Pioneer Pickleball concluded its inaugural summer season at McClenahan Street Park with youth singles and doubles tournaments, an adult competition and an atmosphere that brought children, parents, grandparents, coaches and local vendors together around one of the country’s fastest-growing sports.
For organizers Reggie Piard and Richie Bryan, the event represented more than a tournament. It was the first public test of an idea they developed over the summer: Pickleball could be organized for children in much the same way communities organize soccer, baseball and basketball, with teams, practices, game days, age-appropriate rules and an end-of-season celebration.
“We wanted to bring it to the community, bring it to Pittsboro,” Piard said while matches continued nearby. “And look what we have – our Pickleball Fest.”
The local experiment is unfolding as pickleball undergoes a significant generational transition nationally. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association reported in June that 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, more than five times the 4.2 million participants recorded in 2020. Teenagers and young adults ages 13 to 24 now have the highest participation rate of any age group, challenging the lingering image of pickleball as primarily an activity for retirees.
In Pittsboro, that national trend could be seen in children learning to serve, rally, communicate with partners and compete for medals on courts where their parents and grandparents might ordinarily play.
A Father-Son Idea Becomes a League
Piard and Bryan said the concept grew from a simple question: What sport could they play with their children that would be accessible, social and enjoyable for players of very different ages?
“Clearly, my kid plays, his kids want to play, and, you know, we’re great dads,” Piard said with a laugh. “We want to play with our kids.”
They began gathering at the Pittsboro courts and quickly recognized pickleball’s unusual intergenerational appeal.
“Pickleball is the kind of sport where I can play with a 7-year-old or I can play with an 80-year-old, and we’ll have the same type of game,” Piard said. “It’s definitely a social sport.”
That does not mean the younger player automatically wins – or that Piard always defeats his older opponents. When jokingly challenged about whether he chose children and senior citizens because they were easier competition, Piard quickly named two experienced players who regularly beat him.
“I know a lady named Martha who’s 75 who whoops on me every day,” he said. “And I know a gentleman named Bill who’s 80 who whoops on me, too.”
The exchange captured part of pickleball’s appeal. Age may influence mobility, strength and experience, but the sport also rewards placement, patience, touch, anticipation and decision-making. A younger athlete’s speed can be countered by an older player’s control and understanding of angles.
Pioneer Pickleball describes itself as the first youth sports pickleball club in central North Carolina. Its stated mission is to develop young players in a fun and inclusive setting while emphasizing skills, confidence, sportsmanship and long-term enjoyment rather than short-term results.
Its distinguishing local feature is an attempt to make pickleball resemble the structured recreational leagues that families already understand.
Finding a Missing Youth-Sports Structure
Bryan said the idea gained urgency after he noticed that children often experienced pickleball only informally.
Young players might hit a ball with a parent, face a grandparent during a family gathering or encounter pickleball briefly in physical-education class. What appeared to be missing locally was an organized league in which children could regularly practice and compete against others close to their own age.
“I just started seeing it and then was asking questions to Reggie, like, ‘Why are there no kids?'” Bryan said. “Why is there no kids’ youth sport, like we have with everything else?”
Both organizers brought experience from Triangle United Soccer Association. Richie described himself as a director, while Piard said he coaches. Their soccer backgrounds gave them experience with team formation, practice plans, player development, scheduling, parent communication and season-ending events.
“They can only play their grandparents or they can play their dad,” Bryan said of young pickleball players. “But they can’t come out here and play against similar ages or peers.”
The two began recruiting families and eventually assembled approximately 20 willing participants for the initial season.
The Pioneer summer program ran through June and July for boys and girls primarily in the under-8 through under-13 age groups. Players practiced once a week, participated in Saturday game days and completed six scheduled matches before the festival. The program’s published format placed six children on a team and gave each player multiple doubles matches with changing partners.
That team structure represents an important departure from the informal way many people discover pickleball. Rather than simply placing children on a court and asking them to imitate adults, the organizers attempted to create a progression – instruction, repetition, simplified competition and eventually a tournament.
Inventing ‘Dink’ for Younger Players
One of Pioneer Pickleball’s central challenges was adapting the game for children who might struggle with full-court rallies, conventional scoring and the pace of adult play.
The organizers responded by developing a modified teaching game they call “Dink,” borrowing the familiar pickleball term for a controlled, soft shot played near the non-volley zone. Their version emphasizes a smaller playing area and simplified competition intended to help younger children sustain rallies and learn proper movement and paddle control.
“We invented a new game called Dink so we can teach 8-year-olds how to play the proper game, but at a small level,” Bryan said. “So they’re not struggling.”
At Picklefest, the Youth Dink Singles Tournament was open to children in the under-8 through under-14 range. Its published format guaranteed at least four games, with contests played to nine points, requiring a two-point margin but carrying a maximum of 11 points. The tournament was scheduled from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the McClenahan courts.
The smaller game also gave children more frequent contact with the ball. In many youth sports, beginners can spend long periods waiting for action. A young outfielder might go an inning without fielding a ball. A developing soccer player may touch the ball only a handful of times during a crowded game. A modified pickleball court can provide repeated opportunities to strike, move, recover and make decisions.
That repetition was evident during the festival as children progressed through multiple preliminary rounds before entering championship brackets.
After pool or bracket play, the participants were scheduled for additional rounds before medals were awarded. When I suggested the organizers might someday present winners with a green jacket, as at the Masters golf tournament, the group considered a pickleball variation.
“A gold jacket,” one suggested.
“Yellow for pickleball,” another added.
For the first tournament, medals were sufficient. The larger reward was giving children a genuine competitive goal after weeks of instruction.
From Season Finale to Community Festival
The initial plan was to conclude the summer league with an end-of-season gathering for players and their families.
“We wanted a kind of end-of-season bash,” Bryan said. “We wanted kids to celebrate, parents to come out, grandparents to come support them.”
The idea soon expanded.
Adult players asked to participate. Local vendors expressed interest. Music, food and inflatable attractions were added. What had been conceived as a youth tournament developed into a community event stretching from the afternoon into the evening.
“It just kind of blossomed into Pickleball Fest,” Bryan said. “Then we got a few local vendors who were like, ‘Hey, we’ll come support it.’ So it just took a life of its own, as these things do.”
Pioneer’s published festival schedule included three competitive divisions. The Dink tournament was followed by youth doubles for under-12 through under-14 players from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The doubles event also guaranteed at least four games, with games played to nine and capped at 12 points.
An adult doubles competition was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. for players 18 and older, with a DUPR rating of 3.5 or higher recommended. DUPR is a widely used pickleball player-rating system. Adult games were scheduled for 11 points, requiring a two-point margin and capped at 15. Men’s, women’s and mixed teams were permitted in the competition.
By including children and adults on the same program, Pioneer reinforced the organizers’ contention that pickleball can function as a family and community sport rather than as a narrowly defined age-group activity.
The festival also provided the young players with an audience. Parents and grandparents did more than drop children at a practice. They watched games, reacted to points and saw measurable progress from the beginning of June to the first day of August.
Measuring Progress One Rally at a Time
Asked what had put the biggest smile on his face during the program’s first two months, Piard did not mention tournament results, medals or undefeated teams.
He pointed to development.
“Some of the kids here, the first time they were here, they didn’t even know what pickleball was or how to hold the paddle,” Piard said. “To see them competing now and actually winning matches – outstanding. It puts a smile on my face.”
Bryan offered a similar assessment, although he acknowledged that the program began without a proven blueprint.
“We didn’t know,” he said. “Pickleball for kids’ experience has really just been a P.E. thing, and there’s been no real kind of league that’s been set up where kids can compete in tournaments.”
The organizers experimented with rules and drills, watched how children responded and adjusted the program during the season. Participation itself became a measure of success, particularly when players began inviting friends.
“More kids have started to come,” Richie said. “That first step – kids inviting their friends – that’s great.”
Pickleball’s Changing Demographics
For years, pickleball’s public image was closely associated with senior communities and retirement developments. Older players remain an essential part of the sport, but national participation data now paint a more complex picture.
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States for five consecutive years. The number of “core” players – those participating at least eight times annually – increased from 1.4 million in 2020 to 7.5 million in 2025. Women represented 42.9% of all players in 2025, up from 38.6% five years earlier.
Most notable for programs such as Pioneer is the rise of younger players. The 13-to-24 age group recorded the highest participation rate among all ages in the association’s 2026 report.
USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport, now promotes junior competitions, school resources, coaching materials and age-specific tournament divisions. Its junior programs serve players under 18, with singles and doubles opportunities and competition categories including 12-and-under, ages 13 to 14 and ages 15 to 16.
In April, USA Pickleball announced a national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to expand youth access through equipment kits, training modules and structured programming. The governing body reported that its charitable initiatives had engaged more than 315,000 young people and distributed more than 13,000 paddles from April 2024 through April 2026.
Those national efforts suggest Pioneer is not operating in isolation. Communities across the country are confronting the same question Piard and Bryan asked in Pittsboro: How can a sport that has grown rapidly among adults be converted into a sustainable youth activity?
A Sport Children Can Carry Between Generations
One of pickleball’s advantages is that children do not have to leave the sport behind when a season ends.
A young soccer player may need a full team, a large field and two goals to reproduce a regulation game. Baseball requires enough players to cover positions. Tackle football requires extensive equipment and organization.
Pickleball can be played with two or four participants, a net, paddles and a relatively small court. That makes it possible for children to practice with siblings, parents, neighbors and grandparents.
Piard and Bryan said some Pioneer players have already begun challenging older family members with improved skills.
“They’re now playing with a bit more knowledge with their grandparents,” Richie said. “And the grandparents are not happy about it because I think a few of these kids are now getting on, where grandparents had the bragging rights early on.”
“Not anymore,” Piard added.
That generational connection may help distinguish pickleball from youth activities that become segregated by age. Children can compete in their own divisions while still sharing courts and conversations with adults.
Pioneer’s own website describes an adult recreational league as a future extension of the youth-team concept, inviting groups of six players to form teams with names and jerseys.
If the adult league develops, families could participate in parallel programs rather than occupying separate sports worlds.
Lessons Imported From Soccer
Although pickleball was new territory for the organizers, youth coaching was not.
Piard and Bryan drew heavily from their soccer experience. They understood that children benefit from predictable schedules, recognizable teams, age-appropriate expectations and a culminating event.
They also viewed pickleball as a complement to other sports rather than a competitor that should demand year-round specialization.
“Especially at this age, experiencing multiple sports tests your brain and gets your agility,” Bryan said. “For me, this is a great way that kids who play basketball or other sports – baseball – they’re out here, they’re working, they’re moving.”
The Pioneer season was deliberately placed between June 1 and August 1. For several participants, the timing allowed them to play pickleball during the summer before returning to soccer or other fall activities.
“Soccer season’s about to start up again next week,” Bryan said during the festival. “These kids will kind of go back to their full sports, and hopefully we’ve given them a fun summer.”
That scheduling decision could prove important to the program’s future. Families already navigate crowded calendars, travel commitments and rising youth-sports expenses. A defined summer season may allow pickleball to attract multisport athletes without forcing them to abandon established teams.
The model also gives Pioneer a clear annual rhythm: registration in the spring, practices and league play in June and July, followed by Picklefest at the start of August.
Innovation With Limits
The Pioneer organizers use the language of innovation frequently. The organization’s name reflects their belief that they are exploring new ground in youth pickleball, and its website calls the club the first of its kind in central North Carolina.
“We searched America,” Bryan said. “We really searched far and wide for a youth pickleball sport setup. We haven’t found one. We kept saying, ‘We’re pioneers.'”
Junior pickleball tournaments, clubs and training programs already exist in multiple states, including events organized through National Junior Pickleball and USA Pickleball. A North Carolina regional junior event has previously brought together players ages 8 to 18.
What may be more unusual is Pioneer’s specific combination of recreational-team structure, modified youth rules, summer scheduling and a festival-style championship in a smaller community.
The program’s long-term significance will depend on whether it can retain families, recruit coaches, secure court time, maintain affordable fees and continue adapting its rules as players improve.
Pioneer listed the cost of its eight-session inaugural summer program at $110 for early registration and $125 afterward, including a game-day jersey. Festival events carried separate registration fees ranging from $20 for youth Dink to $35 for adult doubles.
Those costs are modest compared with many travel-sports programs, but affordability will remain an important consideration as the club grows. Equipment, court availability, insurance, staffing and tournament operations all create expenses.
The organization is seeking volunteers for coaching, game-day assistance, concessions and fundraising, suggesting that community participation will be central to its ability to expand.
Coaching Beyond the Scoreboard
Piard serves as Pioneer Pickleball’s director of pickleball. He has played actively since 2019, has won local tournament medals at the 3.5 and 4.0 levels and holds certification through the Professional Pickleball Registry.
His competitive background provides technical credibility, but his comments at Picklefest concentrated primarily on children who arrived with no previous experience.
That focus reflects a broader challenge in recreational youth sports. A program must provide enough competition to keep games meaningful without allowing competition to exclude beginners.
Pioneer’s use of modified formats may help address that tension. Shorter games give inexperienced players multiple chances to begin again. Changing doubles partners encourages interaction across a team. Guaranteed matches reduce the risk that a child’s tournament experience will end after one early loss.
The organizers’ willingness to adjust the format also matters. Richie said the children could have rejected the new drills or resisted the changes.
Instead, the players returned and brought friends.
The next stage will be determining whether the system still works when participation grows. Twenty players can receive significant attention from coaches. A league with 50 or 100 children requires additional courts, trained volunteers, equipment, scheduling systems and procedures for balancing teams.
Growth would be a welcome problem, but it would still be a problem requiring careful management.
Looking Toward Halloween and Another Season
Piard and Bryan repeatedly described Picklefest as the “first of many.”
During our interview, they hinted at another event around Halloween but declined to reveal details.
“Watch out for us,” Piard said. “Halloween time – a little sneak peek there.”
Whether that becomes a themed tournament, another festival or the beginning of a new season remains to be announced.
The immediate task is evaluating the first summer. Organizers can examine participation, player retention, parent feedback, scheduling, competitive balance and the effectiveness of the modified Dink format.
They will also have to decide how the children advance. Beginners who struggled to hold a paddle in June may be ready for a larger court or more conventional rules next season. Older players may need a stronger competitive pathway. Newcomers will still require introductory instruction.
A successful youth system must be able to welcome beginners without holding back returning players. That could eventually mean multiple age groups, skill divisions or seasonal programs.
National pickleball organizations are building similar pathways from introductory play to junior tournaments and collegiate opportunities. USA Pickleball says youth competition can help players develop strategy, sportsmanship and teamwork while connecting them to advanced tournaments and college clubs.
Pioneer’s role may be to create the local starting point.
A Small Court With a Larger Purpose
The August 1 tournament did not attempt to crown national champions or produce professional athletes.
Children came to a public court. They learned a new sport. They practiced through the summer. They formed teams, invited friends, played in front of family members and completed a tournament.
The festival demonstrated that youth pickleball can be organized as something more substantial than an occasional physical-education unit or a casual game with adults.
It also showed how community sports often begin: not with a large institution or a major financial investment, but with parents asking what their children need and whether they can build it themselves.
Piard and Bryan saw a gap between pickleball’s exploding adult popularity and the limited number of structured local opportunities for children. Their solution was to borrow useful elements from soccer, modify the game for smaller players and invite the community to participate.
The result remains a work in progress. Claims of pioneering innovation will ultimately be measured by the program’s durability, inclusiveness and ability to serve families beyond its inaugural summer.
But on the courts in Pittsboro, the early evidence was visible in rallies that lasted longer than they had in June, serves that crossed the net and children who once did not know how to hold a paddle now competing for medals.
For Piard, that improvement was the point.
“Just having the kids out here and developing,” he said, “puts a smile on my face.”
Families interested in future Pioneer Pickleball programs, volunteer opportunities or possible fall events can follow the organization through its website and social-media pages.