Mr. Paul Fisko and Blake Mahoney ’25 proposed on Aug. 21, that the Pickleball Club would build new courts that would reignite the club, and help solve the problems they faced last year like members leaving because of the lack of playing areas.
Mahoney and Fisko have remodeled the entire club to help with the inconsistencies the club faced last year. This year the club has focused on the lack of space to play. Fisko explained the issue, that the basketball courts are not lined and that the tiles near Harper Hall are uneven and unsafe to play on.
Now the club is in the works of proposals for creating new courts. The courts will be open to Brophy students during physical education classes and during community periods. Mr. Fisko said that the hope of the club is to have tournaments and even open these courts to the nearby retirement homes.
The Pickleball Club announced on Sept. 7 that they would be hosting the first Pickleball meet at the Xavier tennis courts, yet this is not a permanent solution. The Xavier courts are lined for both tennis and Pickleball but the Xavier physical education class needs the courts next semester which will push the club into playing in unfair or unsafe conditions again.
“Nothing is solid yet, but our idea was if we were to build a [Pickleball] court, it would sort of be in the corner of the grass area of the BSC,” Mahoney said. “But we can expect to be entering the courts on Highland Ave. Which aims to not disrupt Xavier classes with our conflict of having a community period. We are discussing the possibility of the courts and looking at the cost,” said Mahoney.
The costs are still being calculated and can range from $20,000 to $50,000 per court. Fisko said that the quota deadline for installing these courts will be due Oct. 1 with construction following that month if accepted by the Brophy administration.
That money will be distributed through either the athletic department at Brophy or the extracurricular department at Brophy, but Fisko said that if they get funding from the athletic department they have a possibility of making Pickleball a team. He wants the club to form into an AIA sector and be able to have tournaments with other schools.
The building of the new courts is expected to not disrupt any school activities that use that grass field like lacrosse or interfere in Xavier’s academics or athletics.
