Move Over Golf, Relationships Are Thriving on the Pickleball Court

15 comments on “Move Over Golf, Relationships Are Thriving on the Pickleball Court”

1. Ava’s story about Pickleball 4 a Purpose truly struck a chord with me, especially the idea of connection across generations. For me, those connections have taken a very personal form with my grandmother, who has advanced Alzheimer’s and neurological challenges that make walking difficult. When she came to the U.S. recently, someone was always with her, partly because she loves to talk, even if the conversations often circle back to the same questions about what grade I’m in or what I’m doing. There’s something quietly meaningful about those repeated moments, a comfort that goes beyond words.
   Because of her neurological condition, it’s important for her to keep her hands active, so we played catch with stress balls to help maintain her strength and coordination. Those moments taught me about the subtle but powerful ways relationships sustain us: the patience, presence, and consistency required to truly engage with someone else, especially when they face challenges.
   That sense of steady, meaningful engagement has influenced how I approach my own form of networking. Like Ava, I’ve learned that building relationships is not about rushing toward a goal or tallying immediate benefits, but about cultivating a web of genuine connections that can grow into something larger. For my robotics team, this has meant reaching out to people who can offer real expertise and guidance, like Dr. Salisbury at Stanford, robotics application engineers at Eli Lilly, and professionals at AWS’s global robotics department. These conversations are thoughtful exchanges that provide valuable insight and opportunities for the team to learn and evolve.
   Much like Ava’s chapters expanding Pickleball 4 a Purpose internationally, we share lessons and stories from our team’s conversations on our blog. Through this, the experiences we gather reach beyond our immediate circle, crossing borders and time zones, quietly helping others who are tackling similar challenges.
   Those slow, steady moments with my grandmother — tossing a stress ball back and forth, one catch at a time — remind me how meaningful connections don’t happen overnight. It’s about showing up again and again, being present, and letting relationships grow in their own time. That’s something I carry with me when reaching out to mentors and professionals for my robotics team. It’s not just about what I can get right now, but about building something real that lasts and helps everyone involved. And in the end, it’s those small, consistent efforts that create the strongest foundations, whether on the pickleball court or anywhere life takes us.

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2. When Ava said pickleball lowers the walls between generations, I immediately pictured a different court: our track infield on meet day. I’m a jumper-hurdler, but my PRs aren’t the point here. What I notice is who makes the meet work. Most of the people measuring boards, raking pits, and checking standards are decades older than me. I used to treat them like background. But those quick conversations, thirty seconds at the pit or a nod at the start line, changed how I compete.

   One afternoon sticks with me. Wind chewing across the backstretch, heel taped, the sand in the triple jump pit just raked flat. My run-up kept stuttering, and I was landing past the board. An older official watched two attempts, walked over, and tapped the runway with the rake. “Half a shoe back,” he said, then dragged three short lines into the sand and told me to count them out loud on the last steps. I jogged back, breathed once, and went. The board met me instead of the other way around; the hop and step flowed, the landing felt quiet. Later at high jump he showed me a chalk mark trick for takeoff so I’d stop reaching. I didn’t hit a PR that day, but I left with a better setup and the feeling that I wasn’t out there alone.

   Your intergenerational brackets gave me language for what I was already living: performance is a relationship. On paper, track is individual. In reality, my time only drops if I plug into the informal network around me. That’s also a business lesson. You’ve built a model where the “customer experience” is the conversation itself, and the product is belonging. And trust is the key if you want to improve. Track meets have the same flywheel when we actually talk to the people keeping the sport running. The loneliness piece you mentioned is real; you can feel it at practice when everyone is heads-down and no one looks up.

   The best gains I’ve made didn’t come from a new drill or new spikes. They came from asking and listening. Your courts formalize that. Our infield could, too.

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3. Me: Hi, my name is Brandon Lan, and I am endlessly grateful to the Wharton Global Youth Program for giving me an opportunity as well as a platform and voice to connect with those around me!

   Wharton Global Youth: Hi Brandon, great to have you here. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?

   Me: Well, to start off, I love soccer. I live, breathe, and do almost everything soccer. This love and passion has driven me to play continuously for nearly 10 years now and also reach out to those around me who also see soccer as the beautiful game that it is. Besides that, I am a rising junior attending Valley Christian High School located in San Jose, California.

   Wharton Global Youth: Brandon, tell us a bit more about your enormous love for soccer.

   Me: Well yes, a bit similar to Ava Weissman with pickleball, I work with those from my community that have not been able to fully develop their love for the game. For example, I have been spending my weeks at a nearby summer day care program coaching energetic kids. While I have yet to raise a grand 30,000 dollars, I still help out those around me whenever I can. Whether it be technical training like practicing dribbling, playing small games, or just passing the ball around to practice proper technique, the kids and I always have a smile on our faces while building teamwork and many other necessary skills. During the small games, I always join one team, and the kids on the other team always shout about how it’s so unfair that I’m joining in. Afterwards, I provide feedback to each individual helping to hone their skills to someday play for a local club team. Some might also say it’s as if I’m scouting for the next Lionel Messi!

   Wharton Global Youth: So you’ve been helping out your community this way, Brandon, and we hope you continue down this path. One last question before we end this segment, how did you get into coaching others and what has been the most meaningful to you on this journey?

   Me: I got into coaching others after I was coached by a family friend who was playing at a semi-professional level at the time. We would go to nearby soccer fields with his little brother and lay out simple cone patterns. We would practice taking the ball through these patterns and run around attacking and defending against each other, though I always lost because he was so much better. As for what has been the most meaningful, I think seeing others enjoy what I love so much has been the best part of it all. The smile on their faces reminded me of what enjoying my own childhood was really like. As a middle schooler, being coached by someone getting out of high school was life-changing, and it inspired me to mentor the even smaller children, similar to what Ava’s organization does to connect generations.

   Wharton Global Youth: Thanks a lot Brandon, our community will continue rooting for you and who knows, maybe one day you’ll coach us as well.

   Me: Of course! Thank you as well for this opportunity. While I haven’t been able to make nearly as big an impact as Ava Weissman, my hope is to someday scratch the surface of what she has accomplished, such as hosting my own tournaments, connecting my community, mentor a larger group of those around me, and finally, inviting tons of joy.

   Cue audience applause. I walk off stage.

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4. Although I do lack experience in business and starting large projects, one thing that I could say is that this is not an easy thing to do. A project I started some time ago was coaching others in the sport I was interested in. Initiating the project involved multiple emails back and forth and days of consideration, so much that it now makes me wonder how Pickleball 4 a Purpose had grown into such a global project. I have to admit, her skills in entrepreneurship and business are remarkable.

   To talk a little about my project, it had its rough times, and was hard to sustain, especially due to the lack of interest in the sport in our town. Eventually, it ended without much activity, which I found unfortunate. I wished to spread the enjoyment the sport can provide, and further allow it to be better recognised by all. Ava mentioned how connections are the most important, but now looking back, I felt I didn’t make as many connections as required. However, since the sport was not beginner-friendly, I had second doubts to whether if I should convince my peers to join me. Nevertheless, I look up to her skills in bringing people together for a shared goal, and thank her for teaching me lessons and creating goals I can aspire to.

   When I heard Ava wasn’t a skilled pickleball player, I realised skill doesn’t create the passion; passion creates the skill. Here, her passion, combined with her relationships and memories with her grandmother, had driven her. Ava didn’t need skill in pickleball to begin her business; she needed passion, which she had to an extent where she could start businesses. She was willing to give up her time to allow others to enjoy pickleball. Her interest and skill in the sport would undoubtedly have increased after initiating this nonprofit.

   One thing I find I could have done was to expand nationally, even across countries, like how Ava had done. Not only that, her skills in intertwining loneliness and intergenerational concerns was memorable. She had tackled two similar but so different issues that coexist in our world, and created a solution that successfully eliminates them. Personally, I’m not someone who has the guts to start something big, which is why I admire Ava’s work on bringing countries, generations, and societies together.

   Her project has taught me valuable lessons on business that I believe can assist me with my future pursuits. I look forward to this nonprofit growing in the future, and also am curious to see how it will flourish as it is passed down to younger leaders.

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5. What struck me most in thinking about this piece is how it reframes “innovation” as something that doesn’t always need to be technological or profit-driven– it can be deeply human, rooted in care and connection. Ava Weissman’s Pickleball 4 a Purpose shows that a few paddles, a court, and a willingness to listen can transform social isolation into genuine community. My own volunteering experiences with older adults in hospitals and care homes have reinforced this idea. When I sit at a piano and play for residents, or simply share conversation, it’s not a “service” in the transactional sense. It’s an exchange that builds a kind of community fabric you can’t quantify, yet its impact is immediate and sustaining.

   I’m also reminded of a small but powerful initiative in my area– a nonprofit that creates and sends cards to the elderly. At first glance, it might seem like a quaint, small-scale gesture, but the more I’ve seen of this work, the more I realize it’s tapping into an undervalued form of social infrastructure: consistent, personal recognition. For many recipients, it’s not just about the card, but about being remembered in a world that can often make older people feel invisible.

   One analytical lens worth applying here is Robert Putnam’s idea of social capital. In his work, he distinguishes between “bonding” capital (strong ties within close communities) and “bridging” capital (connections across different groups). My hospital and care home visits feel like an act of bridging– bringing together younger volunteers and older residents who might otherwise have no contact. What’s interesting is how often such interactions ripple outward. Staff start conversations, families hear about the music, residents request songs from one another’s youth, and suddenly the activity becomes a shared cultural touchstone.

   The article’s emphasis on mobilizing community resources aligns with what I’ve observed: small, grassroots efforts can reconfigure social environments if they’re consistent and adaptive. A card-writing initiative may not sound “innovative” compared to a tech startup, but its long-term payoff in combating loneliness and fostering belonging can be immense. And unlike large-scale programs, these initiatives can adjust quickly to local needs: changing the format of engagement, tailoring messages, or even connecting recipients with new opportunities.

   Where I think the conversation could deepen is in exploring how to scale without losing intimacy. As volunteers, we often face the question: if a project grows, will it dilute the authenticity that made it work in the first place? If Pickleball 4 a Purpose expands, will it retain that warmth of a game played between neighbors, with time for lingering chats after the last serve? Would mass-produced cards still carry the same emotional weight as a hand-painted one from a local volunteer? The question for all of us doing this work is: How do you keep the “human” in human connection when systems grow?

   This is why I see value in hybrid models, pairing the reach of organized networks with the adaptability of local, volunteer-driven energy. Imagine a platform that coordinates hundreds of small piano performances or card deliveries, but still allows each to be shaped by the volunteers’ personality, the local culture, and the recipient’s own history. It’s about replicating the principle: sustained, intentional gestures that make people feel seen.

   For me, this ties back to the idea that innovation in community spaces often happens at the micro-level. A single rally on a pickleball court or a single song at a piano might not change the world, but they can change the emotional climate of a room – and over time, those changes add up. If we start valuing those “small-scale” transformations alongside conventional measures of impact, perhaps we’ll see more support for initiatives that work in this quiet, persistent way.

   What I’m left wondering, and what I’d love to discuss, is how we can better recognize and resource these acts of “slow innovation” so they’re not just the work of passionate volunteers, but a sustained part of how communities function.

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6. When i read about Ava’s pickleball 4 a Purpose, I immediately thought about the times I’ve connected with people far outside my own age group. Last year, I volunteered at a local library program where highs school students taught seniors basic computer skills. At first, it felt like we came from completely different worlds, but at the send, we were sharing stories, laughing, and looking forward to seeing each other every week. That experience taught me what Ava has built into her nonprofit: the power of intergenerational relationships to brighten lives and bridge loneliness.

   What i find most inspiring is how Ava uses connections as her main business strategy, from networking at Model UN conferences to creating a playbook so others can start chapters worldwide. It’s a reminder that in business, relationships can be the strongest currency, opening doors that skills alone cannot.

   Her perseverance despite being a young nonprofit founder shows that age isn’t a barrier when you have a clear mission and the courage to ask for support. Ava’s story motivates me to think about how i can turn my own ideas into platforms for connection, whether through sports, community projects, or even small-scale initiatives that bring people together. She’s proof that fun and purpose can go hand in hand and that real success is measured in the bonds we build.

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7. “You are such a grandma!”

   That’s what my friend said when she learned about my love for crochet. While my hobby is dismissed as an “old lady activity,” it became my unexpected path to building community and addressing real problems.

   Crochet found me during the isolating time of COVID. A quick surf on YouTube opened me up to tutorials for small projects and became my newfound joy during both an epidemic of loneliness and disease. In those quiet moments with a hook and yarn, I felt calm. Now in high school with a constant cycle of piles of work and so much anxiety, crochet is still my place of refuge in moments when I want to give up or just sit down and cry.

   After watching friends break down over grades and stress, crying from being overwhelmed, I realized we all needed an outlet. The individual struggle I’d solved for myself was actually a community-wide problem that needed a solution.
   Right before finals, I organized mini crochet workshops at my school that became not only a place to learn a new skill, but a place where we could vent about our struggles. One stressed friend told me her head went completely clear when she started crocheting. Seeing everyone sitting with colorful yarn balls and metal hooks learning together made me realize I’d stumbled onto something powerful.

   In many ways, business means forming these supportive communities, teaching skills that empower people, and addressing real problems we face, like struggles with mental health. Like Ava’s work with pickleball, I learned that activities dismissed as “for older people” can actually bridge generations and solve modern problems. Both crochet and pickleball challenge assumptions about who belongs in certain spaces while creating accessible ways for people to connect.

   I’m already talking with my local library about expanding these workshops throughout our town. In our fast-paced, overwhelming world, maybe we need more “grandma activities” that teach us to slow down and connect, one stitch at a time.

   From your resident grandma,
   Sarah

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8. In only a year, Ava Weissman turned an idea into a business combating loneliness across the globe. There’s something to be said about that. Both from reading the other comments and from my own experiences, I’ve learned that scaling a nonprofit is no easy task. Ava’s message was powerful: connections, not credentials, will take you where you want to go.

   For my story, I’d like to shift the spotlight to a friend. I met him at Wharton’s Essentials of Finance, and he impressed me within minutes. Even though he’s younger than me, he runs a nonprofit similar to Ava’s, also determined to combat senior loneliness. Based in Canada, his nonprofit fights both senior loneliness and food insecurity through fun, green gardening activities.

   I learned a lot from him. Seeing my roommate stay up late organizing events or interviewing candidates made me think: he works so hard but even he (self-admittedly) has had trouble scaling. I never knew why, but now I’m starting to figure it out: connections. He worked night and day on this nonprofit, but hasn’t had quite the results that Ava has achieved. He’s one of the hardest workers I know, but he still has a staff of one (although the impact he has made with a tiny team is remarkable!). By collaborating with local businesses, joining nonprofit networks, and engaging volunteers through schools and community centers, he could expand his reach not because he worked harder, but because more people joined the mission alongside him.

   Comparing him to Ava made me realize that passion and persistence—while essential—aren’t enough. Nonprofits grow when their networks grow. Ava built bridges across continents; my friend cultivated local roots. Both are valuable. I have no doubt that his gardens—both figurative and literal—will continue to flourish. However, the two stories are a reminder that goals cannot be reached alone, no matter how hard you work. Whether I’m building my own nonprofit or helping a friend scale theirs, I now know that the soil we plant in matters as much as the seeds themselves.

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9. I will never forget the day I coded the first feature of my app: the room was dark, my laptop’s whir muted by earbuds tuned to lecture podcasts. And then, I experienced something that I had not expected—a feeling not just of technical satisfaction, but of the excitement of community. That same feeling returned the moment I read “Move Over Golf, Relationships Are Thriving on the Pickleball Court.”

   It’s fascinating how a sport celebrated for its leisurely pace becomes a forum for networking and collaboration. For me, innovation has always meant most when shared. In designing my app, I’ve engaged with suggestions from teammates, users around me, and mentors—transforming code lines into conversation. Likewise, my 1M1B initiative showed me that meaningful solutions arise not out of solo brainstorming, but from empathetic conversations with the communities that I aim to help.

   In my data science projects, I’ve treated datasets like a crowd responding at a rally—patterns whispering stories, waiting to be understood. These stories, when woven into tools and applications, carry far more weight than code ever could alone. The article reminds me that relationships are the platform on which impactful innovation stands.

   Pickleball can be a metaphor—I don’t need a paddle to build relationships. What I need are spaces, virtual or otherwise, where ideas ricochet back and forth, where technology meets trust. And I’m building that space, one project, one connection, one story at a time.

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10. This reminds me of when I was introduced to pickleball. Back then, I was still a freshman, slowly adjusting to high school life. Pickleball to me back then was similar to what fire was to the few who first discovered it; what started out as a challenging endeavor filled with courtside sprinting, tripping, and a lot of balls over fences ended with a bruised and battered freshman that had a newfound fascination with a seemingly strange new sport. After my kerfuffle with pickleball discovery, I started joining doubles games in my spare time, just to explore what the sport was really about. At first, I just wanted to get better (or, if not that, at least stop tripping over myself). I didn’t expect much beyond that.
    At my local court, most of the people I met were older than me; the folks I met had stooped postures that spoke of years of hard work. At first, I wasn’t sure how I would fit in, they spoke of topics, such as old athletes, musicians, and other pop culture references that simply went over my head. But once the game started, that didn’t matter. We played, we talked, and age didn’t seem important. Between my clumsy serves and their skillful saves, they not only taught me how to play effectively, but started to tell stories about themselves. I realized I was hearing things I could never get from a class or online search; I was being fed experience.
    Over the next few weeks, I began to show up at the court every weekend. I would serve, they’d coach me on my form or lecture me about me breaking pickleball regulations, and we’d speak about random topics in life. Some spoke of fishing spots near the mountains and good places for brunch on the Upper West Side, while others reminisced about their high school or college years; how their careers once started out, what they wished they’d done before starting their first jobs, what working years in the corporate world felt like, and even reminiscing about their office mishaps over the years.
    Listening to Ava’s story brought all this back. It reminded me that pickleball isn’t just an activity, it’s an equalizer; it provides an opportunity for folks to connect, to meet without prejudice. It doesn’t care about your age, your title, or what you’ve been through. It only matters that you show up, play, and have fun.
    For me, it started with a PE class and a few bruises. But, the conversations, friendships, connections to a group I never thought I’d be able to speak so casually to, made all the work worth it. But over time, I realized I was building the same kind of connections Ava talked about; ones that matter in both business and life. On the court, I’ve met people from all over: students, entrepreneurs, even executives who’ve shared career advice and tips in the corporate world. These conversations don’t just provide advice, they’re relationship capital. While my schedule slowly began to fill up, and I’m unable to play as often as I used to, these connections still stick with me to this day; it’s just like Ava said, they’re the doorway to success, and is what ultimately makes me run back to the court. Who knows, perhaps next time I’ll even be able to score a job offer or two!

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11. In the world of picket-fenced, white New York suburbs, sports are not just games. They are a culture. Teams became friend groups, parents became carpools, and practices turned into sleepovers. But how would I know? As the only Muslim girl on my club soccer team, I rarely saw myself reflected in those spaces. I remember the one other Muslim boy in town who played soccer — everyone knew him, and for a long time he felt like proof that maybe I could belong, too. But I wasn’t on his team, we never spoke, and the invitations never came. For me, sports became less a gateway to community and more a quiet, constant reminder of distance.
    That’s why Ava Weissman’s story of Pickleball 4 a Purpose resonated so deeply. Her nonprofit isn’t really about pickleball. It’s about building bridges — between young and old, between strangers who arrive as individuals and leave as teammates, between people who might otherwise share nothing more than a nod in passing.
    Her work also made me think about loneliness. Ava spoke about seniors who sit in their rooms, isolated, until a student walks in and reminds them of their worth. My own loneliness was quieter. Not the loneliness of being alone, but the ache of being surrounded by people who never quite saw me. Maybe that ache is why I admire her tournaments so much: because they soothe both kinds of loneliness, transforming silence into laughter and strangers into friends.
    The lesson I take from Ava is that true entrepreneurship begins with empathy. It is not only about innovation or strategy, but about recognizing a pain point in society and daring to design something that heals it. She used pickleball to fight disconnection. I hope someday I can build something that does the same — maybe not with paddles or tournaments (not with my hand-eye coordination, at least), but with a vision for kids like me, kids growing up on the margins of their communities, and adults who silently bear the same burden.

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12. As a badminton player, I find Ava’s experiences to be similar to mine. Growing up in China, I realized the importance of badminton within Chinese culture. I would sit on a bench watching my grandmother play, and although she was getting old, the idea of the sport transcended age. However, when I moved to the United States, the culture was different. Suddenly, badminton didn’t have the same charm and accessibility as it had in China. Things weren’t much better when my grandmother was diagnosed with leukemia. Soon, the idea of badminton became an afterthought; I focused on my studies and on integrating into a new country.

    As I entered high school, I realized the universal nature of sports: I was an outcast in terms of badminton, I was young and I wasn’t too good with the racket, however, playing badminton was a way to interact with a myriad of unique people. Slowly, through casual chats during rallies, I could figure out someone’s personality. I started to see badminton as a means to have fun, but also communicate with others. This idea continued to grow when I volunteered to assist elders with technology. After I had helped an old man, I asked him about badminton, because I saw that he had saved some of the same places I go to play badminton. He told me about the recreation center, and I instantly had an idea.

    Soon enough, I visited to see the badminton culture that had been built within the walls of the recreation center. I was stunned. Everything had order to it, the elderly were understanding of others’ limitations, and everyone seemed to be having fun. All this got me thinking about creating my own program to bridge the culture of my youth to that of my present. I’ve founded a program this summer, where I teach players of any age and different cultures how to play badminton. Although I might not be the best at it, I am very passionate about it, similar to Diana.

    Currently, I’m doing the teaching for free, but it has taught me many important things regarding business: working with other coaches has made me realize the importance of connections and the whole idea of a program, and the necessity of working as a team with people capable of translating, teaching concepts, and setting equipment up for the players. It always brings a smile to my face whenever we see people of different cultures coming to the program to play a sport that unites us despite our differences.

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13. When I read Ava Weissman’s story of turning pickleball into a platform for purpose, I thought of the courts where I’ve built my own business mindset: not through pickleball, but tennis. As captain of my varsity team, I’ve learned that organizing mini-tournaments, recording sessions as well as organizing ex-captain reunions, pitching sponsors for better uniforms, gear, equipment, funding, and even cold-emailing local clubs isn’t so different from nonprofit fundraising. It’s entrepreneurship with a racket in hand. Ever since Maryland’s Urbana High School tennis courts got renovated after over 20 years, I’ve been even more inspired to push for necessities that the varsity team needs: uniforms that cover each and every member of the team, distinctly representing a state-winning spirit.

    Just like Ava, I have witnessed the ability of sports to create interpersonal relationships. I helped organize and engaged in philanthropic tennis tournaments whose purpose was to raise money for Alzheimer’s research, as well as mentoring new players, and thus I realized that social capital is as important as financial capital. This belief carried over to my work with APAC (Asian Pacific American Club) and the Origami Club, in which I jointly organized fund-raising activities with local bubble tea stores (Kokee Tea) and arranged cultural displays & demonstrations within library settings, showing that economic activity thrives when it is placed within a community context. Through APAC, I celebrate my Asian heritage by organizing New Year cultural demonstrations and fostering unity across the Asian diaspora.

    If Pickleball 4 a Purpose adopted an inter-club mentorship system that matches senior high school captains with junior players to support skills development and fundraising programs, it could replicate the Urbana model that creates accountability, leadership, and scalability, while balancing promptitude with efficacy.

    To me, the real rally isn’t on the court. It’s learning that sport, culture, and business strategy are all different serves of the same game: building networks that last beyond the match.

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14. Ava’s story is one that’s extremely exciting to hear, especially as a fellow teenager eager to form connections between others to drive a positive result! One thing that really stood out from this conversation was Ava’s discussion of how hard it was starting out. When I was first letting people know about the app I had created, AllergyAssist (on the app store!), it was hard to get people to really take it seriously. I had to first reach out to family members, and the initial word started to spread from there. However, it still was not the reach that I had hoped for.

    I thought I’d made a tool that so many people with food allergies could benefit from: a recipe generator, anxiety chatbot, brand and restaurant ratings, and more! But why weren’t people flocking to use it? I then discovered the large food allergy community on Instagram. I started interacting with people there from all over the world (especially the UK)! I learned about niche issues in the food allergy community and made sure that my app represented those problems in the best way.

    I was able to use the feedback gained from the community to improve the various features that I had initially thought were “perfect”. This opened my eyes to so many new perspectives and ideas that I probably never would have experienced had I not branched out. To this day, I think that the Instagram community is one of the most helpful, kind, and supportive places in the food allergy community and I am so glad to be a part of it!

    Now, I’ll do my own set of food allergy themed rapid fires!

    Q: What’s your favorite food allergy perk?

    A: Sometimes, waiters at restaurants would make a special “themed” dish for me if they knew about my allergies!

    Q: How do you handle potlucks?

    A: Not gonna lie, it’s usually a lot of “this looks great!” for a bit and then once whoever cooked it reassures me, I’m good to go!

    Q: Do you always travel with food on you?

    A: Haha! I definitely do keep allergy friendly snacks with me at all times – never know when they’ll come in handy!

    Thanks again Ava for introducing your initiative and I’m excited to see it develop!

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15. As much as I am starstruck and deeply inspired by Ava’s work, the standoff between tennis and pickleball cannot be disputed and has only one correct answer.

    As an avid tennis player, I do believe tennis is a much better, more fun sport compared to pickleball, in every way. For those unfamiliar with this debate, like the article mentioned, pickleball combines elements of several paddle-and-net sports with strict boundaries. It is played on a hard court with lines marking out-of-bounds areas and a net dividing two opposing sides. Tennis is set up in a similar manner. In fact, both share the same overall concept of scoring points to win. The difference, however, is that tennis uses its unique “15–30–40” point system, while pickleball uses a simpler scoring format, which makes it feel closer to games like ping pong or badminton.

    The main reason that pickleball is sometimes criticized by tennis players is because they use the same courts. Some do not regard it as equally challenging due to the smaller playing area and the lighter paddle, which gives the ball less speed and bounce. Another factor could be the dislike of sharing designated playing space. It is similar to how baseball players might feel if people played kickball in their field. While the games share similar structures, pickleball formally competes for the same space rather than casually borrowing it. This connects to the nickname “old man tennis,” the belief that because of its slower nature at recreational levels, it’s not a real sport and only takes up tennis courts. Many believe that since it’s not considered a valid sport, it’s wasting space, when in reality, it only takes up less space because of how it’s designed compared to tennis. By the end of her talk, I found myself like a net stretched between two sides, not taking sides but appreciating the value of both sports.

    However, once I got to know her organization and its goals, I had a deeper appreciation and admiration for this sport that I had previously dismissed. I am also on a non-profit team called Generational Union that essentially has the same goals as her 501(c)(3) and approaches the problem in a separate, more direct way. We started it last year with the goal of calling up countless nursing homes in the hopes of bringing volunteers to interact with the elderly through the medium of collaborative games and events. So far, it has been a struggle, with many homes not wanting to listen or not even letting us pitch our ideas, thinking that it was a spam or scam caller. With this personal experience of mine, I felt admiration for Ava and her persistence to continue past this shared barrier. Her passion drove her to transform an idea into reality. I think this way of thinking and approaching problems was what really helped bring her ideas to life. She conveyed her vision in a way that earned people’s trust.

    The fact that she isn’t necessarily excellent in pickleball but still decided to pursue her idea proves that you don’t need to be perfect at everything connected to your goals. You just have to lunge for the stars. Both her passion and her fantastic business skills were able to help her turn her ideas into a reality with meaningful results. Her talk gave me reassurance that even though my non-profit hasn’t achieved tangible results yet, that doesn’t mean it won’t. It’s simply part of the process, just like the rally after the serve.

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