Military Tries Their Hand at Pickleball, Warrior Games May Add to Lineup

Our veterans have accomplished some amazing things, and now they're adding pickleball to their lists!

We got word that Steve and Ramona Boone, Great Plains Region Directors of the USAPA, directed the first Warrior Games pickleball demo on June 3 and 4 this year.

The Department of Defense Warrior Games is a multi-sport competition whose participants are entirely made up of active-duty members and veterans who have sustained injuries or illness during their service. They were organized in 2010 as 'a way to enhance the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, ill and injured service members and expose them to adaptive sports.'

Thanks to Steve and Ramona, pickleball is now being considered as an addition to the sports currently represented at the Warrior Games. For now, a variety of veterans from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Special Ops Command have had their first taste of the game, and many will be taking it back to their homes in the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia.

The pair shares:

'Most of them had never played before, although a few had heard of pickleball. But they learned fast and had a ton of fun. Of course, having the Denver Bronco cheerleaders and mascot come out and play didn't hurt!'

Each Warrior was given a paddle and ball (packaged in a PickleballCentral bag) and taken on the court with a team of instructors. Everyone had a great time and many said they would give it another go later on.

This demo marks the initial step toward sharing pickleball with even more veterans in the future, and hopefully we'll be seeing it represented in the Warrior Games soon!