BYRON CENTER, Mich. — A growing youth movement is changing how young players in West Michigan experience the sport of pickleball.
The Michigan Youth Pickleball Association, founded by Daniel McConnon along with Scott McAllister, is giving kids a structured path to competitive play through a number of teams scattered around the state.
McConnon is also the founder and CEO of All In Pickleball, which has locations in Byron Center and Cedar Springs.
"We just love the game so much and help it growing, whether it's here with us or just in general," McConnon said.
McConnon said the sport has grown to the point where it is reaching high school and college levels, and he wanted to help young players navigate that path.
"We wanted to make an imprint where we could help them evaluate how they get better and see if pickleball is something they want to do at a higher level or just something they can do for life," McConnon said.
The program launched in January, and McConnon said the progress has been clear.
"Seeing their excitement to learn something new, to get better at it, and they have gotten so much better since we started this program in January. So it's pretty exciting," McConnon said.
Teams review film and practice three days a week, with seven competition events each season.
For 11-year-old Jonah VanDyke, the association has meant more than just improving his game.
"I've made a lot of friends that I would have never met," VanDyke said.
Benjamin Harrison, a freshman from Middleville, said the welcoming culture of pickleball drew him in early.
"Everyone's just super, super nice and if you go to a random pickleball spot, they'll be like, yeah, hop in. Everyone's super welcoming, and they'll teach you the sport," Harrison said.
Now a member of the Lake Michigan Rapid Fire, Harrison has bigger goals.
"I hope it creates a way for me to get to pro pickleball. I hope that I can take this training and just run with it," Harrison said.
His mother, Sonja Harrison, said having qualified coaches in place made the drive from Middleville worth it.
"It's another thing to have coaches in place that can guide you and help you not develop bad habits and just give you the opportunity to grow as a player. That's — that's amazing. That's what he wanted, and now we have it, so we're just excited," Sonja Harrison said.
The association is a nonprofit and accepts youth ages 8 to 18, organized in two-year age brackets. Their first season ran through April but there are upcoming opportunities.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
