- The Kitchen Newsletter
- Posts
- High school pickleball booming in this state
High school pickleball booming in this state
PPA Tour stop outside LA delivered plenty of star power
A few months ago we told you about how colleges across the country were making pickleball a big part of the on-campus experience, and also detailed the world of competitive collegiate pickleball.
But it’s not just colleges that are getting in on the action. In Utah, high school clubs are now training and competing against each other during a dedicated season, culminating in year-end team and individual championships.
Utah — one of the original pickleball hotspots in the U.S. — currently has more than 30 high school pickleball clubs, which is more than any other state. More on the high school pickleball boom below.
Also in this issue:
The stars shined at the PPA Tour Orange County Cup 🤩
How did Ben & Anna Leigh win this point? 🤯
The best pickleball shoes on the market, ranked đź‘ź
Lea Jansen & Jason Aspes on the future of pickleball 🎧
The biggest trade yet in MLP 🔄
Let’s cook. 🧑‍🍳
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
What’s it take to win a point these days?
In the screengrab above, Hayden Patriquin and Anna Bright are clearly in control of a point against Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters.
But when you’re playing the two best players in the world, it’s not easy to finish a point. Johns and Waters somehow scramble their way out of a jam, work their way back up to the kitchen line and ultimately gain the upper hand.
They win the point (and the match), and all Patriquin can do is look to the heavens.
PICKLEBALLERS PODCAST
Lea Jansen & Jason Aspes on the future of pickleball
In case you missed last week’s episode of PICKLEBALLERS, the crew was joined by pro player Lea Jansen and Jason Aspes, President of the United Pickleball Association and co-founder of The Kitchen.
They discuss Jansen’s career achievements, life as a top player living with diabetes and what it’s like for Aspes as he and others at UPA build rules to protect the future of pro pickleball.
FEATURED STORY
High school pickleball booming in Utah
The creation of the Utah High School Pickleball Association (UHSPA) less than a year ago has resulted in school clubs that train and compete against each other during a dedicated season, culminating in year-end team and individual championships.
The UHSPA was founded by pro coach and former pro player Jason Peery, who said he started the organization with the goal of promoting the sport in local high schools.
“Our goal is that with the UHSPA framework in place, school teams will have a legitimate place in high school sports, and that pickleball will become a sanctioned sport in Utah,” Peery said in a Pickleball.com article.
Utah currently has more than 30 high school pickleball clubs, which is more than any other state, according to DUPR. More than 20 of those schools participated in UHSPA’s inaugural season, which included six weeks of meets, team championships and individual championships for gender doubles, mixed doubles and singles. More than 300 students from beginning to advanced levels competed this season, with schools traveling up to 3 hours to participate.
PICKLEBALL TRIPS
Explore the world through pickleball
Pickleball Trips is a boutique travel company born out of our family’s love of exploring the world as well as our passion for the game of pickleball. We offer small and personal group settings (with a maximum of 16 guests), authentic cultural experiences with local players, and a customer experience like no other.
We believe that the beauty of pickleball is in the connections made with others, so we curate every trip with enough attention and detail to allow our customers to feel free to connect with their guides, fellow travelers, and the local community without worrying about a thing. Join us in our mission to connect the world through this beautiful game — follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
THE PROS
3 big takeaways from PPA Tour Orange County Cup
The PPA Tour Orange County Cup wrapped up Sunday from San Clemente, California, with multiple matchups between the top teams in the pro game right now.
Four divisions featured Championship Sunday matches between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. You can find all of the results here, but let’s talk about our biggest takeaways from the week:
1. There's a new top dog in men's singles: Hunter Johnson — His win Sunday over Federico Staksrud tied Johnson at No. 1 with Staksrud in the season-long points standings, each with 6,800. Staksrud still has a healthy lead in the 12-month rolling points standings, which is what is used to determine seedings, but many of his wins from last year will start to fall off as we get into the second half of 2025, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Johnson takes over as the No. 1 seed in the coming months.
2. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters set a mark that will likely never be broken — Their win over the Johnson siblings was the 50th title as a team for Johns and Waters. That’s a mark that might never be broken, as there aren't even any other active teams with more than 5 -- Johns and Simone Jardim are second on the list with 12 titles together, while Catherine Parenteau and Riley Newman have 5 titles together.
3. Johns and Gabe Tardio solidify position at the top in men's doubles — Men's doubles has had a lot of parity this season, with three active teams having won at least one gold medal in 2025: Andrei Daescu/Christian Alshon (x3), Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio (x3) and Johnson/Klinger (x1). Even though Johns/Tardio and Daescu/Alshon are tied at the top with three golds each this season, it's becoming clear that Johns/Tardio are the team to beat going forward.
Do you think Hunter Johnson is the best men's singles player right now? |
TRENDING
The Texas Ranchers and Carolina Hogs made arguably the biggest Major League Pickleball trade of the season Tuesday morning:
🔄 Texas acquires Kaitlyn Christian and cash
🔄 Carolina acquires Etta Tuionetoa
The move is a big indicator that the Hogs still think they have a route to earning a playoff spot. It's the second time in two weeks they've made a big roster shakeup, after they waived Collin Johns and picked up Martin Emmrich last week.
The Hogs are currently 2-12 and tied for last place in the league in both total points (7) and points per match (0.50), so it will take a strong second half of the season for them to get into playoff contention.
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
Ranking the best shoes designed specifically for pickleball
A lot of companies have started making pickleball shoes in recent years, which is no surprise given the sport's incredible growth.
But there are some red flags that consumers need to look out for before pulling the trigger on a new pair of "pickleball shoes." In many cases, bigger brands have simply repurposed tennis shoes or general athletic shoes and slapped a pickleball label on them. That’s not what we’re looking for as players.
If you want shoes that are designed specifically for the unique movements of pickleball and demand high level performance from your kicks, you can find our list of the best pickleball shoes here.
OUR TOP PICK: The DAPS Desi low pickleball shoe. These shoes were released to the public this spring, and already several pro players have switched to them. The DAPS out-perform the big brands in several key metrics, according to an independent shoe lab that compared the DAPS to several other shoes in the pickleball space. The results of their testing favored the DAPS in several areas:
đź’¨ Faster starts
🛑 Quicker stops
🔋 Better energy return
You can find our in-depth review of the DAPS here.
QUICK HITS
What did you think of this week's newsletter? |