Pickleball has become a huge thing these past couple of years. This sport used to be  an uncommon sport but has been played more by younger generations. This sport is very prominent in Utah but has quickly spread around the USA. For us locals, we don’t have many options when it comes to playing this sport. Being as big as this has turned into, people have gotten more  serious. But with this, they are very welcome to have new people come and try the sport they adore.
In the valley, we have a couple of options when it comes to playing pickleball. The closest court that we have to use is at the Fruita Community Center open only during weekdays from 8:00-12:00. These courts are on the basketball courts with portable nets the FCC puts up for the public to use. The FCC does a great job  making this new fun sport available for the surrounding citizens. The infamous Reed park is also being rebuilt. They are putting in 4 new professional courts to have more courts available. These courts will be done in the fall of 2024. One more set of public courts are by Stocker Stadium at Lincoln Park. They have eight courts available there with stadium lights so you can play from dusk till dawn. At this point, the valley has 12 public courts and 4 more to come.
When an individual gets into pickleball, they may think they will need to go and get the nicest and most expensive pickleball paddle out there like the Selkirk LUXX Control Air Invikta priced at a whopping $250. Having this nice of a paddle to start with will be pointless because the individual does not have the experience to use the paddle to its full capacity. As a beginner, the individual should get the Monarch Dragon Slayer Pickleball Paddle priced at only $60. Spending more than $20 on a paddle will give you a good paddle to grow into to have more time with that paddle till you can upgrade to one of the best paddles. When it comes to playing,the athlete needs two things. A paddle and determination to demolish on the court. As they progress they will eventually want to get shoes and a bag but you  only need a paddle to start up.
As our valley is growing, so is this sport, and having more and more places to play pickleball will only make it more accessible and will progress to grow the community.