Cochrane Pickleball Club

Having learned from the success of last year’s first ever ‘Hotshots’ Youth Camp, the Cochrane Pickleball Club’s goal was to offer local juniors a similar and rewarding summer experience in 2026. After a ‘Try It’ Night in early June, which introduced 24 kids to pickleball, the CPC began steadfastly promoting the summer mini-camp experience: two hours one day a week, over the course of a month.

Overall, our ‘campers’ received eight hours of pickleball instruction, activities, games, and game play, led by volunteer coaches, a new BlackKnight Fuel paddle, Stiletto protective glasses, and a Club cap. Our registration fee for CPC members was the same as last year’s Hotshots program, which we felt was very affordable for families. Non-Club members paid a little more, but got a family discount for two registrations. Enrolment for July was 7 boys, all aged 10 to 15 years. August saw numbers hit 20 (our capacity), aged 8 to 15, a mix of boys and girls. The total was a 33% increase over last summer’s program. Our weekly lesson plans built on the previous week’s skills, and interspersed fun pickleball games and activities in between skill building and practice over the course of each week’s two hour session.
The last day of each month’s session ended in a tournament scenario where the juniors could put their skills to the test against friendly competition across the net. The last day of the August session saw two mini-tournaments taking place with the older age groups and younger age groups involved in 6 game round robin formats. Some amazing pickleball skills were displayed and great fun was had by all.

From all accounts: the juniors, parents, grandparents, other Club members, and our own Youth Team coaches, the sessions were a great success! We look forward to more growth next year, as already we’ve heard that some kids will be coming back for a ‘repeat’ engagement. We thank all our CPC Youth Team volunteer coaches for their dedication of time, expertise, and patience over the summer months. Without their commitment to growing the game in our Club, and passing on their own love of the game, this program could not have happened.