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Harlingen are coached on how to play pickleball at RGV Pickle Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Travis M. Whitehead | Valley Morning Star)
HARLINGEN — The kids dashed about the courts with their laughter and the thump-thump-thump of the yellow balls bouncing.
The kids were playing pickleball Thursday at RGV Pickle, and they enjoyed this sport with great spontaneity and the joy of the freedom of their movement.
The event was part of the Harlingen school district’s ACE Summer Camp, and schools from across the district this week have sent kids for a morning of pickleball. Thursday the courts were filled with kids from Long Elementary, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts and Sciences, and Coakley Middle School.
“It’s very fun because you can play with your friends,” said Jude Ruiz, 10, a fourth grader at Long Elementary.
“This is my first time playing,” he said.
This was, indeed, the first time many of them have played this sport.
“The students have had the chance to come here and learn how to play pickleball,” said Danyella Rodriguez, ACE coordinator.
“It’s for the kids to play something they haven’t experienced before,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know about pickleball.”
That’s a fitting statement, as the sport which combines tennis, ping pong, and badminton, was only created in the 1960s.
These days, however, it seems to be catching on.
“This is one of my first times playing it,” said Catalina Saldana, 14, who just finished her time at Coakley Middle School and will attend the Cano Freshman Academy this fall.
“It’s very enjoyable and you get physical activity,” she said.
Even the coaches were having fun.
“The kids are having fun, I am having fun as well,” said Carlos Gamez, who has been coaching the kids.
“They are learning the basics of pickleball, learning how to hold the paddle, how to do the strokes,” he said.
The post Harlingen students enjoy summer fun playing pickleball appeared first on MyRGV.com.
Continue reading...
HARLINGEN — The kids dashed about the courts with their laughter and the thump-thump-thump of the yellow balls bouncing.
The kids were playing pickleball Thursday at RGV Pickle, and they enjoyed this sport with great spontaneity and the joy of the freedom of their movement.
The event was part of the Harlingen school district’s ACE Summer Camp, and schools from across the district this week have sent kids for a morning of pickleball. Thursday the courts were filled with kids from Long Elementary, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts and Sciences, and Coakley Middle School.
“It’s very fun because you can play with your friends,” said Jude Ruiz, 10, a fourth grader at Long Elementary.
“This is my first time playing,” he said.
This was, indeed, the first time many of them have played this sport.
“The students have had the chance to come here and learn how to play pickleball,” said Danyella Rodriguez, ACE coordinator.
“It’s for the kids to play something they haven’t experienced before,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know about pickleball.”
That’s a fitting statement, as the sport which combines tennis, ping pong, and badminton, was only created in the 1960s.
These days, however, it seems to be catching on.
“This is one of my first times playing it,” said Catalina Saldana, 14, who just finished her time at Coakley Middle School and will attend the Cano Freshman Academy this fall.
“It’s very enjoyable and you get physical activity,” she said.
Even the coaches were having fun.
“The kids are having fun, I am having fun as well,” said Carlos Gamez, who has been coaching the kids.
“They are learning the basics of pickleball, learning how to hold the paddle, how to do the strokes,” he said.
The post Harlingen students enjoy summer fun playing pickleball appeared first on MyRGV.com.
Continue reading...
