August 28, 2025 • 19 mins
In this episode of Inside Recreation, guest host Monika Hammer speaks with MCPS students Trinh Au, Ryan Corkery and Safae Elalami about their adventure to China earlier this year for MCPS' Pickleball Diplomacy initiative, as well as Recreation Supervisor Mark Comer on pickleball classes and leagues with Montgomery County Recreation.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Monika (00:04):
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Inside
Recreation.
I'm your guest host, monicaHammer, and today we're going to
be talking about the fastestgrowing sport in the US
pickleball.
I'm joined by some wonderfulguests today, some MCPS
graduates who have a reallyexciting trip that they're going
to be talking to us about.
I'm going to let you guysintroduce yourselves and tell us
a little bit about yourbackground and why you're here
talking to us about.
(00:24):
I'm going to let you guysintroduce yourselves and tell us
a little bit about yourbackground and why you're here
talking to us today.
We'll start with you, Trinh.
Trinh (00:28):
Hi, I'm Trinh.
I'm from Clarksburg, maryland.
I graduated recently thisspring at Clarksburg and I
started playing pickleballaround two years ago, starting
with just friends and family.
It was like a trend at the timeY'all just want to play sports
together and have fun together,and seriously I mean.
(00:50):
It slowly got more competitive.
We played more and more andthen slowly I joined the
pickleball team last fall andthen it led to the opportunity
for me to go to China and playwith friends I didn't know
before and this amazingexperience we had in China.
Monika (00:55):
That's so cool, and one of those people I'm sure you met
was Ryan.
Ryan, tell us a little bit.
My name is.
Ryan (00:59):
Ryan Corkery.
I just graduated from SherwoodHigh School.
I'm from Derwood, maryland.
I started playing pickleball afew summers ago.
I was on vacation, like Trih.
At first it was friendly withfriends, but I'm very
competitive, so it quicklyturned into how good could I get
at pickleball in this week?
I got good at pickleball in theweek, or I tried my best to,
(01:22):
and after that week it just keptgoing back.
I had to play pickleball.
I tried my best to, and afterthat week it was just kept going
back.
I had to play pickleball.
I had to get better, and notonly was it something that I
could see myself improving in,it was so fun.
I play lacrosse, I playedfootball, but nothing you
couldn't see.
You could directly see the workI was putting in to, how I
played and that was really likeencouraging for me while playing
pickleball.
But yeah, like Trinh said, wewent to China Most crazy
(01:47):
life-changing experience of mylife, met so many cool people,
had so many cool experiences.
And yeah, thank you pickleball.
Monika (01:54):
Awesome, and Safae, introduce yourself for us please
.
Safae (01:56):
Hi, my name is Safae Alami.
I just graduated from Kennedy.
I grew up in Rockville, movedaround a bit and I actually did
not know what pickleball was upuntil like maybe like a few
months before the trip.
And we had a lot of trainingsessions before the trip to get
to like familiarize ourselveswith pickleball and like how to
(02:17):
play and the rules and like allof that, and so throughout those
lessons we had at Dill Dinkers.
That's how I got into the sportand it was really easy to pick
up and, like Trent and Ryan, I'mreally competitive.
So I started playing outsidethe training sessions and we
still play together time andtime after the trip.
I really love the sport.
(02:38):
I definitely see myself playingit in college, like maybe on a
club team or something like that.
Monika (02:44):
Yeah, awesome, thank you all.
And we also have with us todayMark Comer, who's a recreation
supervisor on our countywideprograms team overseeing sports.
We're going to talk to Mark alittle bit later, after we
connect with you guys, a littlebit more about your trip.
So, china, as studentambassadors playing pickleball,
jump right in.
Tell me a little bit about howthat experience was this past
(03:04):
spring.
Trinh (03:05):
It was honestly so surreal because we were able to
connect with other students inChina.
They also, surprisingly, havenever played pickleball before.
They've only started playingonce they found out that we're
going to meet them in China andlots of them have a strong
background in tennis, whichdefinitely helped them a lot as
they're joining throughpickleball, because it's so
similar and the sportsdefinitely correlate a little
(03:26):
bit with like different, likestrokes, like forehand and
backhand and just on a smallersense, like a smaller little
court, which was really cool.
So in China we were able toplay with them.
So each student that went toChina, we all paired up with one
Chinese student varying fromlike ages, from middle school to
high school, and we playedthree times in the three
different cities Shanghai,shenzhen and Beijing and we
(03:49):
played with them a friendlymatch, three matches, and we
just hung out with them thewhole day, for the whole city
day, and it was really fun to beable to meet with them, connect
with them on a further level,farther than Pickleball, more
than just playing and then notseeing them again.
We were able to hang out withthem.
We went shopping with them oneday.
Ryan (04:06):
It was really, really fun, awesome ryan, tell me a little
bit about how your journey wasyeah, I mean it was so
interesting because me, Trinhand safae, we all went on the
same trip but we each had ourown unique experiences and our
own unique like takeaways fromthe trip.
For me it was, of course,there's pickle, there's
pickleball.
I love pickleball, but thepickleball helped us build these
(04:30):
lasting friendships that westill.
We still talk to the Chinesekids today on various social
medias.
But, um yeah, terry, ourproduction manager for the
documentary, he had all of ussay one word that describes the
trip, and my word was friendship, and I think that just
reiterates the fact thatpickleball, while a sport, while
competitive, it's great forsocial environments.
I didn't know them before.
We played pickleball togetherand now we're sitting here
(04:52):
together.
We play pickleball a few times,not a few times a week, maybe a
few times a month.
But, yeah, it's just amazing.
The China trip it.
It gave us these like once in alifetime experiences, but it
also gave us lasting impressionsof each other and the sport of
pickleball.
Monika (05:10):
Yeah, definitely a great way to connect with each other,
make new friends, meet newpeople.
You mentioned the documentary.
This great documentary wasproduced highlighting the trip
that you all went on To see allthe different elements and to
see right, not just connectionwith pickleball.
You know all the differentrecreation activities that you
were able to enjoy andparticipate and learn about,
(05:33):
anything from dance to martialarts.
I saw some of that karate demo.
Trinh (05:36):
I saw your little shout out in the documentary Ryan.
Monika (05:39):
Proficient now.
Yeah, so Safae, tell me alittle bit about what it was
like to learn about some ofthose other types of program
sports activities.
Safae (05:50):
Yeah, of course, think that, um, they talked a lot
about us actually playingpickleball and connecting with
the students, but while in chinawe had, like there was a lot of
cultural exchange and a lot of,like new information and
knowledge that we gained fromthe trip, not just like long
lasting connections.
We went to, uh, various museumsthat talked about the history.
We went to a ping pong museumand how it merged in China and
just it also mentionedpickleball and it was really
cool because we saw, um, itmentioned the U?
(06:13):
S and like kind of how the U Shad a had a role in the sport
developing in China and just howthose connections have grown
over the years.
And we've done a lot of things.
We did a lot of things in chinathat just was more academic and
use this.
You know, we used more ourbrains.
Um, we this.
One day we went to a highschool and it was like a
(06:35):
boarding school and so it wasreally really huge and we had
this um, it was like anenvironmental how do you?
How would you say?
Trinh (06:42):
it was climate change?
Safae (06:43):
yeah, it was like a climate change like kind of like
seminar, and it was a groupdiscussion, like we got split
into groups and we talked aboutlike we used like our knowledge
from school taking, like APenvironmental science or IB
environmental science, and wejust used what we knew from
America and we brought it incollaboration with the Chinese
kids and we, you know, came upwith a lot of different climate
change solutions.
(07:04):
And it was really cool becauseit was like we weren't just
there to, you know, like messaround or, you know, just have
fun.
We also tried to come up withthings that could actually
better our future and you know,they place a lot of emphasis on
like youth.
We went to China to playpickleball and we were the main
focus and I think they weredoing that to uplift us and kind
(07:27):
of like create a really strongfoundation for us to be the
voices of tomorrow.
And we went to other museums aswell, a lot of like AI museums
and like new technology.
China's really advanced.
So it was really cool to see.
So I think it was reallyinteresting.
Not only that we got to betterour skills playing pickleball
(07:49):
and socialize, but we also gotto learn a lot of new things.
Monika (07:52):
That's so cool and I know our friends over in the
Montgomery County GovernmentDepartment of Environmental
Protection sure would love tohear all about your climate
change solutions and initiatives.
It's a big, important initiativefor the county, absolutely.
One of the reasons we wanted tobring you all to chat today is
because of this.
You know, multiculturalexchange and showing that
(08:13):
recreation is really foreverybody, for all ages, for
every single member of thefamily, all cultures and
abilities.
That's our mission here at thedepartment.
I want to bring in Mark to talka little bit to us today about
the different types of offeringswe have here at Montgomery
County Recreation when it comesto sports and specifically,
(08:33):
pickleball offerings for thosewho are interested in getting
started.
Mark (08:37):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thanks, monica.
So I'll start like them.
I'm a Blake graduate in MCPSand unfortunately we didn't have
pickleball when we were growingup.
So we know pickleball isextremely popular, especially
with our seniors, and our seniorprograms around the county are
offering a lot of pickleballoptions.
Our rec centers are offeringopen gym pickleball for some of
(08:58):
our seniors and some of ouradults.
But us in countywide we don'tlike being left out, so we
figured we'd jump on as well.
And with pickleball it's huge.
Right, it's the fastest growingsport.
It's not just seniors, it's notjust young adults, it's kids as
well high school age younger.
It's the fastest growing sport.
It's easy to get involved, it'saccessible for everybody, it's
(09:19):
a low cost to start withpickleball, so it's really
something that anyone can play.
So for us we have pickleballactivities for children as young
as three years old throughcountywide programs.
So it's something that werecognize that the sooner you
get started, just like any sport, the quicker they'll grow that
love for, and a lot of timesparents like to pass on their
(09:40):
passions to their kids.
So getting kids involved at ayoung age is extremely important
to us, and then we jump intosome of our leagues and our
clinics where we're offeringthose for beginner level, for
intermediate level, for advancedlevel.
We're really trying to open itup for anyone, whether they're
brand new to pickleball orthey've been playing a little
bit or they consider themselvesan expert.
(10:01):
Montgomery County Recreationhas an opportunity for them.
So our ladder leagues are greatso you can really see yourself
and compare yourself to some ofthe other people in the county
who are also competing inpickleball.
And then our clinics,regardless of your skill level,
help you develop so that you canget into those social settings
and maybe you're a little bitbetter and now you're showing
off a new skill or a trick thatlast time you played with your
(10:24):
buddies you didn't have.
So for us really being able tooffer that is huge and we think
that it really reaches everyonein the county.
We also offer therapeuticrecreation pickleball.
So we really are trying to getinto every demographic in the
county, regardless of your age,your skill level, your ability.
And that's what us atCountywide really taking that
next step to expand beyond thatstigma of pickleballs, for for
(10:48):
old people Right.
It's not for old people, it'sfor everybody.
And Montgomery CountyRecreation following the lead of
MCPS, of course, you knowjumping in and really going full
scale with pickleball, seeingthat this is, this, is here to
stay.
It's not just a flash in thepan sport, and we like to think
that we have an offering foreveryone.
Monika (11:08):
Yeah, and you know, our wonderful graduates here told us
about how easy it was for youto pick it up.
Mark, tell us a little bitabout what you might say to
somebody who feels nervous toget involved or nervous to learn
about playing pickleball.
Mark (11:23):
Absolutely so.
Nerves are normal when it comesto any sport.
But the main thing is, like Itouched on earlier, it's
extremely easy to get started.
You really don't have to besuper skilled.
Right, you talk aboutbasketball.
You don't have to be tall likeyou need to be in basketball, or
big like you're in football, orsuper fast to run track and
field.
None of that stuff.
It doesn't matter what you looklike, your size, your shape,
(11:46):
your experiences prior togetting involved in pickleball.
You can play, you can learnright, no-transcript tennis, but
you like playing racket sports.
Pickleball is the option for you.
Right Again, being able tocompete in something where
everyone's starting at the samelevel.
This isn't something that'sbeen around really at this scale
(12:08):
for decades and decades anddecades, where you know you hear
all those stories aboutprofessional athletes.
Oh, I was one year old and mydad put a X Y Z in my hand and
now I'm this.
That's not pickleball yet.
So it really does allow anyoneat any level to get involved.
And then the cost again, it'snot super expensive.
A lot of our programs throughMontgomery County Recreation, we
(12:31):
provide most of the equipmentso you can get started and not
need to do anything.
Otherwise, you're really justlooking for the paddle and then
you can jump into an outdoorcourt, an indoor court, through
our rec centers or facilitiesaround the county.
It's really something thatanybody can get involved with
and you don't need to have thatexperience right.
You can jump in, learn it onthe fly.
(12:52):
You could watch a couple ofvideos before you come, so you
have a base knowledge.
Either way, you'll be welcome.
The pickleball community isgreat.
It's not one of those supercompetitive exclusive
communities, and these three areshowing that everyone welcomes
everybody regardless of theirbackground, and it's really an
incredible thing.
Monika (13:11):
Thank you, Mark, for sharing all that really helpful
information for our listeners,and if you're interested in
learning more about recreationprograms, including pickleball,
you can always visit our website, mocoreccom for more
information, including findingthe schedule at our recreation
centers for Drop and Pickleball,if you want to stop by and play
and check it out.
I want to revisit thedocumentary a little bit.
Right, it was really cool towatch it back and see your
(13:34):
experience experience.
Tell me a little bit about howit feels having been a part of
the documentary and getting togo to the special premiere for
it and having that you know tocapture the memory for a
lifetime.
Safae, you want to tell me alittle bit about what makes you
feel.
Safae (13:48):
I think that on our own, we did a lot of documentation.
I'm sure we have our infamousgroup chat being chilling.
That, you know, captured somany memories and so many laughs
, but a lot of people, what youguys obviously didn't see was
the other side of cameras andwhat we saw.
And so everywhere we went inChina, we had, like, this
massive camera crew following usaround.
It was crazy.
(14:08):
We felt like, um, celebritiesand obviously like Americans in
China, like they're not like you.
You don't always see Americansin China, so a lot of people
would come up to us uh, ask forpictures, um, especially in,
like, large city centers, and itwas.
It was really a crazyexperience.
I don't think I've ever, youknow, been surrounded by that
many cameramen before, but Ithink it was a really cool
(14:31):
experience.
I'm glad that you know, if wedidn't catch something, there
was a team that was, you know,catching us in some crazy
moments and I'm really gratefulfor everyone that helped out on
the production, so awesome.
Monika (14:45):
Ryan or Twin, do you have anything to add?
Ryan (14:46):
yeah, um, safae covered a lot of it, but, um, it was just
so cool to see we had I mean,like she said, we had cameras
around us at all times.
I think at the end there was afolder over 10,000 photos of us
over the course of the trip.
But, um, of course, thosephotos are nice, but we also
took our own photos.
Shout out my spam, pop the cork.
(15:06):
I think I posted like 200 photoson there of just random moments
, but it's nice to see that.
Um, also the documentary andpictures that we took.
We captured every little momentand so when you go back and I
think about China, I'm like, ohyeah, you know, we went to
Shanghai, we saw the beautifulskyline.
And I look back and it's Santi,one of the kids we went with on
(15:28):
the bus sleeping.
It's just fun little memorieslike that.
And I think that's what makes itso memorable for us.
Like, of course we went toChina, but the small moments
really made the trip for us.
And of course we went to China,but the small moments really
made the trip for us.
And the documentary thedocumentary was amazing.
Shout out Terry.
Terry McClung.
He did an amazing job.
I love the way that it's set upto, where he covered every part
(15:50):
of our day and he also showedthe impact that we had on the
students and that the studentshad on us.
It wasn't, of course, it wascentered around pickleball, but
it was centered around therelationships we were building.
Monika (16:04):
Awesome.
Thank you, and if you want tocheck out that documentary, it's
available online on the MCPSYouTube page.
I encourage watching it.
It was really fun to see all ofthe different things that you
got to experience.
Now you've graduated from theMCPS high schools, you were all
in and you're off to your nextbig adventure.
Do you think Pickleball isgoing to stick with you?
(16:24):
I'd love to hear a little bitmore about that.
Trinh (16:27):
So I'm attending the University of Connecticut next
fall oh, this fall actually.
I'm so excited they have a verybig Pickleball club, which I
was so surprised by.
I recently just came back fromorientation and they opened us
to the different clubs theyoffered and one that really
stood out to me was thePickleball Club and surprisingly
, it's a huge club that theyhave.
They have tournaments arounddifferent states, like they have
(16:49):
tournaments in the summer inVirginia and Maryland, up back
in Connecticut, pennsylvania,and I love how, like, there's so
many students engaged andinvolved in this club and
there's, surprisingly, already150 members, wow, yeah.
So I'm very excited for thatand play, to play pickleball
again with new people and a newenvironment and people I'm gonna
be spending my time with up fora very long time.
Monika (17:11):
Yeah, what a great way to make new friends and connect
with different people fromdifferent parts of the country.
What about you, ryan?
Ryan (17:16):
Um, unfortunately for Trinh, umd also has a pickleball
club.
You will be seeing UMD beatingUConn a few times.
But yeah, it's definitely apart of my future.
I'm definitely excited to playMe and Safae before the show.
We're talking about how we'regoing to play during our school
years because luckily, we'reboth staying at home, but it's
(17:38):
just, yeah, just reinstatingthat lasting pickleballness.
Monika (17:42):
I love that lasting pickleballness Catchphrase
coined here.
Safae (17:48):
I'm going to be attending American university in the fall
and so I'm currently unaware ifthey do have a pickleball club
or not.
We haven't had orientation yet,but I'm really interested in
finding out and I definitelythink that pickleball is
something I want to pursue,maybe even something like a club
I start.
If we don't have one, I'd bereally interesting in getting
that started, becauseunfortunately, pickleball isn't
(18:09):
offered as a collegiate sportyet.
However, I do hope in thecoming years that that is
something that's implementedlike countrywide.
I think that would be amazingto see like D1, d2, d3
pickleball.
But yeah, for now I'm not sure,but it will definitely stick
with me.
Monika (18:23):
Awesome, you took it right out of my mouth, right?
If they don't have it, start iton your own.
Keep it going.
Come back and play with yourfriends and fellow trip mates
when you're back in the area.
Wonderful, thank you, wonderful.
Thank you.
And thank you all for beingwith us today and chatting with
us here on Inside Recreation,telling us all about the great
and awesome once-in-a-lifetimeexperience that you had with
(18:44):
MCPS, and again to Mark fortelling us a little bit about
you know our recreationofferings so that folks who are
interested in it, after hearingyou all chat about your
experience with Pickleball, canjoin with us here at Montgomery
County Recreation.
Thanks for tuning in to InsideRecreation.
We'll be back to chat with youagain next month.
Announcer (19:05):
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Montgomery, your source for newsand information from the
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Connect with us via cable,facebook, instagram or YouTube
by searching for County CableMoCo.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Inside
Recreation.
I'm your guest host, monicaHammer, and today we're going to
be talking about the fastestgrowing sport in the US
pickleball.
I'm joined by some wonderfulguests today, some MCPS
graduates who have a reallyexciting trip that they're going
to be talking to us about.
I'm going to let you guysintroduce yourselves and tell us
a little bit about yourbackground and why you're here
talking to us about.
(00:24):
I'm going to let you guysintroduce yourselves and tell us
a little bit about yourbackground and why you're here
talking to us today.
We'll start with you, Trinh.
Trinh (00:28):
Hi, I'm Trinh.
I'm from Clarksburg, maryland.
I graduated recently thisspring at Clarksburg and I
started playing pickleballaround two years ago, starting
with just friends and family.
It was like a trend at the timeY'all just want to play sports
together and have fun together,and seriously I mean.
(00:50):
It slowly got more competitive.
We played more and more andthen slowly I joined the
pickleball team last fall andthen it led to the opportunity
for me to go to China and playwith friends I didn't know
before and this amazingexperience we had in China.
Monika (00:55):
That's so cool, and one of those people I'm sure you met
was Ryan.
Ryan, tell us a little bit.
My name is.
Ryan (00:59):
Ryan Corkery.
I just graduated from SherwoodHigh School.
I'm from Derwood, maryland.
I started playing pickleball afew summers ago.
I was on vacation, like Trih.
At first it was friendly withfriends, but I'm very
competitive, so it quicklyturned into how good could I get
at pickleball in this week?
I got good at pickleball in theweek, or I tried my best to,
(01:22):
and after that week it just keptgoing back.
I had to play pickleball.
I tried my best to, and afterthat week it was just kept going
back.
I had to play pickleball.
I had to get better, and notonly was it something that I
could see myself improving in,it was so fun.
I play lacrosse, I playedfootball, but nothing you
couldn't see.
You could directly see the workI was putting in to, how I
played and that was really likeencouraging for me while playing
pickleball.
But yeah, like Trinh said, wewent to China Most crazy
(01:47):
life-changing experience of mylife, met so many cool people,
had so many cool experiences.
And yeah, thank you pickleball.
Monika (01:54):
Awesome, and Safae, introduce yourself for us please
.
Safae (01:56):
Hi, my name is Safae Alami.
I just graduated from Kennedy.
I grew up in Rockville, movedaround a bit and I actually did
not know what pickleball was upuntil like maybe like a few
months before the trip.
And we had a lot of trainingsessions before the trip to get
to like familiarize ourselveswith pickleball and like how to
(02:17):
play and the rules and like allof that, and so throughout those
lessons we had at Dill Dinkers.
That's how I got into the sportand it was really easy to pick
up and, like Trent and Ryan, I'mreally competitive.
So I started playing outsidethe training sessions and we
still play together time andtime after the trip.
I really love the sport.
(02:38):
I definitely see myself playingit in college, like maybe on a
club team or something like that.
Monika (02:44):
Yeah, awesome, thank you all.
And we also have with us todayMark Comer, who's a recreation
supervisor on our countywideprograms team overseeing sports.
We're going to talk to Mark alittle bit later, after we
connect with you guys, a littlebit more about your trip.
So, china, as studentambassadors playing pickleball,
jump right in.
Tell me a little bit about howthat experience was this past
(03:04):
spring.
Trinh (03:05):
It was honestly so surreal because we were able to
connect with other students inChina.
They also, surprisingly, havenever played pickleball before.
They've only started playingonce they found out that we're
going to meet them in China andlots of them have a strong
background in tennis, whichdefinitely helped them a lot as
they're joining throughpickleball, because it's so
similar and the sportsdefinitely correlate a little
(03:26):
bit with like different, likestrokes, like forehand and
backhand and just on a smallersense, like a smaller little
court, which was really cool.
So in China we were able toplay with them.
So each student that went toChina, we all paired up with one
Chinese student varying fromlike ages, from middle school to
high school, and we playedthree times in the three
different cities Shanghai,shenzhen and Beijing and we
(03:49):
played with them a friendlymatch, three matches, and we
just hung out with them thewhole day, for the whole city
day, and it was really fun to beable to meet with them, connect
with them on a further level,farther than Pickleball, more
than just playing and then notseeing them again.
We were able to hang out withthem.
We went shopping with them oneday.
Ryan (04:06):
It was really, really fun, awesome ryan, tell me a little
bit about how your journey wasyeah, I mean it was so
interesting because me, Trinhand safae, we all went on the
same trip but we each had ourown unique experiences and our
own unique like takeaways fromthe trip.
For me it was, of course,there's pickle, there's
pickleball.
I love pickleball, but thepickleball helped us build these
(04:30):
lasting friendships that westill.
We still talk to the Chinesekids today on various social
medias.
But, um yeah, terry, ourproduction manager for the
documentary, he had all of ussay one word that describes the
trip, and my word was friendship, and I think that just
reiterates the fact thatpickleball, while a sport, while
competitive, it's great forsocial environments.
I didn't know them before.
We played pickleball togetherand now we're sitting here
(04:52):
together.
We play pickleball a few times,not a few times a week, maybe a
few times a month.
But, yeah, it's just amazing.
The China trip it.
It gave us these like once in alifetime experiences, but it
also gave us lasting impressionsof each other and the sport of
pickleball.
Monika (05:10):
Yeah, definitely a great way to connect with each other,
make new friends, meet newpeople.
You mentioned the documentary.
This great documentary wasproduced highlighting the trip
that you all went on To see allthe different elements and to
see right, not just connectionwith pickleball.
You know all the differentrecreation activities that you
were able to enjoy andparticipate and learn about,
(05:33):
anything from dance to martialarts.
I saw some of that karate demo.
Trinh (05:36):
I saw your little shout out in the documentary Ryan.
Monika (05:39):
Proficient now.
Yeah, so Safae, tell me alittle bit about what it was
like to learn about some ofthose other types of program
sports activities.
Safae (05:50):
Yeah, of course, think that, um, they talked a lot
about us actually playingpickleball and connecting with
the students, but while in chinawe had, like there was a lot of
cultural exchange and a lot of,like new information and
knowledge that we gained fromthe trip, not just like long
lasting connections.
We went to, uh, various museumsthat talked about the history.
We went to a ping pong museumand how it merged in China and
just it also mentionedpickleball and it was really
cool because we saw, um, itmentioned the U?
(06:13):
S and like kind of how the U Shad a had a role in the sport
developing in China and just howthose connections have grown
over the years.
And we've done a lot of things.
We did a lot of things in chinathat just was more academic and
use this.
You know, we used more ourbrains.
Um, we this.
One day we went to a highschool and it was like a
(06:35):
boarding school and so it wasreally really huge and we had
this um, it was like anenvironmental how do you?
How would you say?
Trinh (06:42):
it was climate change?
Safae (06:43):
yeah, it was like a climate change like kind of like
seminar, and it was a groupdiscussion, like we got split
into groups and we talked aboutlike we used like our knowledge
from school taking, like APenvironmental science or IB
environmental science, and wejust used what we knew from
America and we brought it incollaboration with the Chinese
kids and we, you know, came upwith a lot of different climate
change solutions.
(07:04):
And it was really cool becauseit was like we weren't just
there to, you know, like messaround or, you know, just have
fun.
We also tried to come up withthings that could actually
better our future and you know,they place a lot of emphasis on
like youth.
We went to China to playpickleball and we were the main
focus and I think they weredoing that to uplift us and kind
(07:27):
of like create a really strongfoundation for us to be the
voices of tomorrow.
And we went to other museums aswell, a lot of like AI museums
and like new technology.
China's really advanced.
So it was really cool to see.
So I think it was reallyinteresting.
Not only that we got to betterour skills playing pickleball
(07:49):
and socialize, but we also gotto learn a lot of new things.
Monika (07:52):
That's so cool and I know our friends over in the
Montgomery County GovernmentDepartment of Environmental
Protection sure would love tohear all about your climate
change solutions and initiatives.
It's a big, important initiativefor the county, absolutely.
One of the reasons we wanted tobring you all to chat today is
because of this.
You know, multiculturalexchange and showing that
(08:13):
recreation is really foreverybody, for all ages, for
every single member of thefamily, all cultures and
abilities.
That's our mission here at thedepartment.
I want to bring in Mark to talka little bit to us today about
the different types of offeringswe have here at Montgomery
County Recreation when it comesto sports and specifically,
(08:33):
pickleball offerings for thosewho are interested in getting
started.
Mark (08:37):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thanks, monica.
So I'll start like them.
I'm a Blake graduate in MCPSand unfortunately we didn't have
pickleball when we were growingup.
So we know pickleball isextremely popular, especially
with our seniors, and our seniorprograms around the county are
offering a lot of pickleballoptions.
Our rec centers are offeringopen gym pickleball for some of
(08:58):
our seniors and some of ouradults.
But us in countywide we don'tlike being left out, so we
figured we'd jump on as well.
And with pickleball it's huge.
Right, it's the fastest growingsport.
It's not just seniors, it's notjust young adults, it's kids as
well high school age younger.
It's the fastest growing sport.
It's easy to get involved, it'saccessible for everybody, it's
(09:19):
a low cost to start withpickleball, so it's really
something that anyone can play.
So for us we have pickleballactivities for children as young
as three years old throughcountywide programs.
So it's something that werecognize that the sooner you
get started, just like any sport, the quicker they'll grow that
love for, and a lot of timesparents like to pass on their
(09:40):
passions to their kids.
So getting kids involved at ayoung age is extremely important
to us, and then we jump intosome of our leagues and our
clinics where we're offeringthose for beginner level, for
intermediate level, for advancedlevel.
We're really trying to open itup for anyone, whether they're
brand new to pickleball orthey've been playing a little
bit or they consider themselvesan expert.
(10:01):
Montgomery County Recreationhas an opportunity for them.
So our ladder leagues are greatso you can really see yourself
and compare yourself to some ofthe other people in the county
who are also competing inpickleball.
And then our clinics,regardless of your skill level,
help you develop so that you canget into those social settings
and maybe you're a little bitbetter and now you're showing
off a new skill or a trick thatlast time you played with your
(10:24):
buddies you didn't have.
So for us really being able tooffer that is huge and we think
that it really reaches everyonein the county.
We also offer therapeuticrecreation pickleball.
So we really are trying to getinto every demographic in the
county, regardless of your age,your skill level, your ability.
And that's what us atCountywide really taking that
next step to expand beyond thatstigma of pickleballs, for for
(10:48):
old people Right.
It's not for old people, it'sfor everybody.
And Montgomery CountyRecreation following the lead of
MCPS, of course, you knowjumping in and really going full
scale with pickleball, seeingthat this is, this, is here to
stay.
It's not just a flash in thepan sport, and we like to think
that we have an offering foreveryone.
Monika (11:08):
Yeah, and you know, our wonderful graduates here told us
about how easy it was for youto pick it up.
Mark, tell us a little bitabout what you might say to
somebody who feels nervous toget involved or nervous to learn
about playing pickleball.
Mark (11:23):
Absolutely so.
Nerves are normal when it comesto any sport.
But the main thing is, like Itouched on earlier, it's
extremely easy to get started.
You really don't have to besuper skilled.
Right, you talk aboutbasketball.
You don't have to be tall likeyou need to be in basketball, or
big like you're in football, orsuper fast to run track and
field.
None of that stuff.
It doesn't matter what you looklike, your size, your shape,
(11:46):
your experiences prior togetting involved in pickleball.
You can play, you can learnright, no-transcript tennis, but
you like playing racket sports.
Pickleball is the option for you.
Right Again, being able tocompete in something where
everyone's starting at the samelevel.
This isn't something that'sbeen around really at this scale
(12:08):
for decades and decades anddecades, where you know you hear
all those stories aboutprofessional athletes.
Oh, I was one year old and mydad put a X Y Z in my hand and
now I'm this.
That's not pickleball yet.
So it really does allow anyoneat any level to get involved.
And then the cost again, it'snot super expensive.
A lot of our programs throughMontgomery County Recreation, we
(12:31):
provide most of the equipmentso you can get started and not
need to do anything.
Otherwise, you're really justlooking for the paddle and then
you can jump into an outdoorcourt, an indoor court, through
our rec centers or facilitiesaround the county.
It's really something thatanybody can get involved with
and you don't need to have thatexperience right.
You can jump in, learn it onthe fly.
(12:52):
You could watch a couple ofvideos before you come, so you
have a base knowledge.
Either way, you'll be welcome.
The pickleball community isgreat.
It's not one of those supercompetitive exclusive
communities, and these three areshowing that everyone welcomes
everybody regardless of theirbackground, and it's really an
incredible thing.
Monika (13:11):
Thank you, Mark, for sharing all that really helpful
information for our listeners,and if you're interested in
learning more about recreationprograms, including pickleball,
you can always visit our website, mocoreccom for more
information, including findingthe schedule at our recreation
centers for Drop and Pickleball,if you want to stop by and play
and check it out.
I want to revisit thedocumentary a little bit.
Right, it was really cool towatch it back and see your
(13:34):
experience experience.
Tell me a little bit about howit feels having been a part of
the documentary and getting togo to the special premiere for
it and having that you know tocapture the memory for a
lifetime.
Safae, you want to tell me alittle bit about what makes you
feel.
Safae (13:48):
I think that on our own, we did a lot of documentation.
I'm sure we have our infamousgroup chat being chilling.
That, you know, captured somany memories and so many laughs
, but a lot of people, what youguys obviously didn't see was
the other side of cameras andwhat we saw.
And so everywhere we went inChina, we had, like, this
massive camera crew following usaround.
It was crazy.
(14:08):
We felt like, um, celebritiesand obviously like Americans in
China, like they're not like you.
You don't always see Americansin China, so a lot of people
would come up to us uh, ask forpictures, um, especially in,
like, large city centers, and itwas.
It was really a crazyexperience.
I don't think I've ever, youknow, been surrounded by that
many cameramen before, but Ithink it was a really cool
(14:31):
experience.
I'm glad that you know, if wedidn't catch something, there
was a team that was, you know,catching us in some crazy
moments and I'm really gratefulfor everyone that helped out on
the production, so awesome.
Monika (14:45):
Ryan or Twin, do you have anything to add?
Ryan (14:46):
yeah, um, safae covered a lot of it, but, um, it was just
so cool to see we had I mean,like she said, we had cameras
around us at all times.
I think at the end there was afolder over 10,000 photos of us
over the course of the trip.
But, um, of course, thosephotos are nice, but we also
took our own photos.
Shout out my spam, pop the cork.
(15:06):
I think I posted like 200 photoson there of just random moments
, but it's nice to see that.
Um, also the documentary andpictures that we took.
We captured every little momentand so when you go back and I
think about China, I'm like, ohyeah, you know, we went to
Shanghai, we saw the beautifulskyline.
And I look back and it's Santi,one of the kids we went with on
(15:28):
the bus sleeping.
It's just fun little memorieslike that.
And I think that's what makes itso memorable for us.
Like, of course we went toChina, but the small moments
really made the trip for us.
And of course we went to China,but the small moments really
made the trip for us.
And the documentary thedocumentary was amazing.
Shout out Terry.
Terry McClung.
He did an amazing job.
I love the way that it's set upto, where he covered every part
(15:50):
of our day and he also showedthe impact that we had on the
students and that the studentshad on us.
It wasn't, of course, it wascentered around pickleball, but
it was centered around therelationships we were building.
Monika (16:04):
Awesome.
Thank you, and if you want tocheck out that documentary, it's
available online on the MCPSYouTube page.
I encourage watching it.
It was really fun to see all ofthe different things that you
got to experience.
Now you've graduated from theMCPS high schools, you were all
in and you're off to your nextbig adventure.
Do you think Pickleball isgoing to stick with you?
(16:24):
I'd love to hear a little bitmore about that.
Trinh (16:27):
So I'm attending the University of Connecticut next
fall oh, this fall actually.
I'm so excited they have a verybig Pickleball club, which I
was so surprised by.
I recently just came back fromorientation and they opened us
to the different clubs theyoffered and one that really
stood out to me was thePickleball Club and surprisingly
, it's a huge club that theyhave.
They have tournaments arounddifferent states, like they have
(16:49):
tournaments in the summer inVirginia and Maryland, up back
in Connecticut, pennsylvania,and I love how, like, there's so
many students engaged andinvolved in this club and
there's, surprisingly, already150 members, wow, yeah.
So I'm very excited for thatand play, to play pickleball
again with new people and a newenvironment and people I'm gonna
be spending my time with up fora very long time.
Monika (17:11):
Yeah, what a great way to make new friends and connect
with different people fromdifferent parts of the country.
What about you, ryan?
Ryan (17:16):
Um, unfortunately for Trinh, umd also has a pickleball
club.
You will be seeing UMD beatingUConn a few times.
But yeah, it's definitely apart of my future.
I'm definitely excited to playMe and Safae before the show.
We're talking about how we'regoing to play during our school
years because luckily, we'reboth staying at home, but it's
(17:38):
just, yeah, just reinstatingthat lasting pickleballness.
Monika (17:42):
I love that lasting pickleballness Catchphrase
coined here.
Safae (17:48):
I'm going to be attending American university in the fall
and so I'm currently unaware ifthey do have a pickleball club
or not.
We haven't had orientation yet,but I'm really interested in
finding out and I definitelythink that pickleball is
something I want to pursue,maybe even something like a club
I start.
If we don't have one, I'd bereally interesting in getting
that started, becauseunfortunately, pickleball isn't
(18:09):
offered as a collegiate sportyet.
However, I do hope in thecoming years that that is
something that's implementedlike countrywide.
I think that would be amazingto see like D1, d2, d3
pickleball.
But yeah, for now I'm not sure,but it will definitely stick
with me.
Monika (18:23):
Awesome, you took it right out of my mouth, right?
If they don't have it, start iton your own.
Keep it going.
Come back and play with yourfriends and fellow trip mates
when you're back in the area.
Wonderful, thank you, wonderful.
Thank you.
And thank you all for beingwith us today and chatting with
us here on Inside Recreation,telling us all about the great
and awesome once-in-a-lifetimeexperience that you had with
(18:44):
MCPS, and again to Mark fortelling us a little bit about
you know our recreationofferings so that folks who are
interested in it, after hearingyou all chat about your
experience with Pickleball, canjoin with us here at Montgomery
County Recreation.
Thanks for tuning in to InsideRecreation.
We'll be back to chat with youagain next month.
Announcer (19:05):
This podcast is brought to you by County Cable
Montgomery, your source for newsand information from the
Montgomery County Government.
Connect with us via cable,facebook, instagram or YouTube
by searching for County CableMoCo.
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