This winter, 16 seniors are participating in a new sport at Woodberry: pickleball. 

“Our main goal is to foster a love for the game of pickleball and to teach beginners better strategies,” said head coach Drew Collier, who launched the new afternoon activity. “It is also to help the better players improve their skills. I hope that the players attain a newfound passion that lasts the rest of their lives. The main idea is to eventually get other Prep League schools to establish teams so that there would be a real sense of competition. Also, eventually establishing official pickleball courts would help the program out tremendously.”

“Pickleball gives boys an opportunity to get some exercise doing something they enjoy,” said Matt Blundin, Woodberry’s athletic director. “Every year, we evaluate our programs. I send surveys out to students and glean ideas from them. I also get a chance to talk to students in person about their interests. In this case, there was a great deal of momentum for pickleball. So I asked the boys to have a sponsor in mind that might be able to lead the group. Mr. Collier volunteered. So, this is not a team but rather a club. We probably would not reach team status until we had actual opponents to play from other schools. I imagine that pickleball will remain a club in the near future playing other clubs in the area.”

“I have really enjoyed it,” said Tommy McMillan ’25. “It has been really fun to work with Mr Collier. Being in a competitive sport with all seniors is definitely something that is valuable to me. I hope to get some outside matches, hopefully play against another school. Being able to get out to Culpeper for some games would be nice, too. But mostly being able to get closer with guys that I have not been able to spend time with means a lot.”

>> Reporting by Bobby Hunter ’25