Contrary to popular belief, most Pickleball players don’t represent an older age demographic. In fact, people ages 25-34 have the highest participation rate, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals.

While most college students are between the ages of 18 and 22, University of North Florida  Pickleball Club president Myles Call still believes the school has a culture for the up-and-coming sport.

“I feel like pickleball is definitely something that could bring the school together a little bit more because it’s such a social sport,” Call said. “When you first start playing, no matter where you are, everybody’s very welcoming.”

Off the top of his head, Call nearly knew the average age of a pickleball player, guessing 30. According to the study, the average age is 34.8, a three-year decrease compared to the previous report. 

Outside the club, Call coaches pickleball, saying that his clients are split between children and adults. 

“It’s definitely becoming a lot younger,” Call said.

How the Club Functions

When he first joined as a freshman back in 2023, Call said the club was becoming more competitive, focusing more on exclusivity and less on being social. As the club progressed, however, Call said it became more social and welcoming. 

Founded in 2022, the UNF Pickleball team currently has 21 members. Over the next three years, the club was divided into two, creating a competitive team. Separate from the team, there is a club where many of the players who tried out but couldn’t make the competitive team reside. 

Overall, Call said the club has a well-balanced mix of competitive and leisure opportunities. Instead of requiring club dues, Call said the club hosts numerous tournaments with entry fees to fund competitive tournaments.

For example, in collaboration with alpha Kappa Delta Phi, a UNF sorority, the club is hosting a tournament on November 11th. The tournament’s entry fee is $10, which will be used to fund future competitions. 

Five days later, the competitive team will participate in a 36-team Jacksonville tournament. Divided into two groups, the club meets on Mondays for open play and the team practices on Fridays. 

Although the competitive team has already been chosen, students can still join the club. All they need to do is show up to one of the practices or join the club’s GroupMe. Even if someone didn’t make the team, Call said there are still opportunities to practice with them.

“We still like to invite people to come out to competitive [practices] if they are doing well or performing better,” Call said. 

Introductions to Pickleball 

Four years ago, Call started playing pickleball, gaining interest after practicing with his dad. At the time, Call was a soccer player, having just moved from California. 

“I took it pretty seriously for a little while,” Call said.

After coming to UNF and seeing there was a pickleball team, Call joined, motivating the club to be more competitive. During his first year with the club, Call was the team manager. In 2024, Call became vice president of the club. Now, entering his third year, he is the team president. 

Another member of the club, Israel Garcia, began playing pickleball a few months ago. A table tennis player, Garcia started pickleball because there weren’t many options for competitive ping pong. 

“I just figured that I try pickleball out, since it’s pretty similar,” Garcia said. “It’s still a racket sport. So I try it out and then it seemed to transfer fairly well.”

Generally, Garcia finds table tennis more competitive, but because pickleball has more participants, it’s more enjoyable for him. 

Club Goals and Future

Since 2023, UNF has been adding numerous ways to play pickleball on campus, whether it be lines on a tennis court or standalone surfaces. Despite having a couple of top 16 finishes, Call wants to see his team win a national title. 

“We came pretty close,” Call said, referring to the team’s three appearances in the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating national tournament.

For club goals, Call would like to see most of the school try out pickleball. 

“I feel like it’s a sport that most everybody can find a lot of fun in,” Call said. “Just growing the sport, getting people out here, and just having fun.”

The next opportunity for new members to join UNF Pickleball is on Monday, when the club holds its weekly open play at the UNF courts by the tennis complex.

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