FGCU’s Pickleball Club has grown into one of the most popular clubs the campus has to offer. Over the last two years, the club has worked on increasing its membership and started competing at the collegiate level.
Tyler Calka, president of the pickleball club, has seen it grow from just a few members to the 150 members it has today. This has only encouraged the club to branch out and test its skills at a pickleball tournament in Daytona last December.
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“Our best DII men’s doubles team (Everett Hill and Grant Twible) placed tenth out of 19 players, and our second best team (Tyler Walker and Grant Tillet) placed 16th in the same category and pool,” Calka said.
The club is still growing, and the members are proud of their improvements and the bonding the participants had along the way. However, they are determined to increase their rankings.
“We would like to add more travel players and get some DI competitors to check out the club,” Calka said.
Grant Twible placed sixth out of 22 men. Everett Hill and Tyler Walker placed eighth and ninth. These pool placements decided the bracket placings. In men’s singles, Grant Twible and Everett Hill got third and fourth for bracket placings.
Eric Gunns, vice president of the pickleball club, has played an essential role in the team’s growth and is excited about what the future holds for the club.
“Some of my favorite memories within the club have been just enjoying the time that I’ve spent playing pickleball with my friends,” Gunns said. “We usually have a very consistent crowd, even if it’s not a very large crowd, but the time I get to play pickleball is very fun and rewarding.”
Although the club has just begun, it is in it for the long haul and plans to raise funds in the future.
“The fundraising funds may be used to buy higher quality paddles or more pickleballs, or perhaps in the future, at some point, even purchase a new net to replace one of our older ones,” Gunns said.
Gunns encourages newcomers to try the sport and is grateful for his experience in the club. Although the sport can be intimidating for many, Gunns and the club members want to bring a sense of community.
“It feels good seeing yourself improve and your friends improve along with you,” Gunns said. “It’s something that I hope to continue to encourage with the players that join the pickleball club.”
The club meets on Fridays and Sundays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Recreation and Wellness Center. The club provides pickleball paddles and balls.
“We’ve had a lot of people show up to our practices with an interest in playing with us,” Gunns said. “So we hope to continue to bring about interest with people that want to play the sport.”
For information on how to join the club, you can sign up through their Eagle link, https://getinvolved.fgcu.edu/event/9727370 , or check out their Instagram, fgcu_pickleball.
