Cynthia Schwartz The American Athletic Union (AAU) recently sponsored a pickleball tournament, AAU Pickleball All Ages and Skills plus The Road to The AAU Junior Olympic Games. Held in Wickenburg, the tournament offered events for ages seven to 99. This non-sanctioned tournament attracted players from PebbleCreek. It included matches in skill/age and also senior categories.…
Cynthia Schwartz The PebbleCreek Pickleball Club (PCPB) hosted the first December Classic Pickleball Tournament. Wade Johnson, tournament director, commented, “The event was a huge success. There were 140 two-person teams competing in women’s, men’s, and mixed doubles matches. The competition for gold, silver, and bronze medals was organized by skill levels represented by color-coded divisions.…
Cynthia Schwartz Nancy Popenhagen is the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club (PCPB) Player/Volunteer of the month. She is the chairperson of the PCPB Court Allocation Committee (CAC), organizes skills and drills and is a coach for the novice, 2.0, and 2.5 classes. When asked why she volunteers, Nancy said, “I like giving back. People continue to help…
Cynthia Schwartz On Dec. 4, the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club hosted the annual Toys for Goodyear Kids (TGK) event. This event supports the city of Goodyear’s holiday season program that provides gifts for families in need. Judy Parker, the club’s officer-at-large, organized TGK with the help of Carla Woodward and Shirley Seymour. Judy commented, “It is…
Cynthia Schwartz Mark Clark was a traveling Air Force brat living in Oklahoma, Germany, California, and Japan. Growing up, Mark’s passion was sports, and he dreamed of flying fighter jets. He earned a B.A. degree in Physical Education from Florida State University, enlisted in the Air Force, and went on to do what he really…
Cynthia Schwartz PebbleCreek Pickleball Club players are back on the tournament circuit. In October, 451 players participated in the Arizona Open at the Mesa Tennis Center in Gene Autry Park. This event was a Pro-Am tournament, drawing some of the top professional players in the sport and amateur players from Alaska to Florida. Thirteen members…
Cynthia Schwartz Tony Wells is the PebbleCreek Pickleball (PCPB) volunteer of the month. Tony grew up in Prince Edward Island, in the Maritimes region of eastern Canada. He graduated with degrees in psychology and english from the University of Calgary, located in the western Canadian province of Alberta. While attending college, Tony played on the…
Cynthia Schwartz Starting in mid-October and running until April, more than a hundred men participate in the PebbleCreek Pickleball Men’s Ladder. Ladder is an event intended to provide competitive matches between players of similar abilities. Once a week, players in groups of four play a match of three games to 15 points. In the three…
Cynthia Schwartz For more than a decade, the City of Goodyear has conducted a special holiday season program that provides gifts for families in need. “Extraordinary life-changing events affect many people in our community. We want to help them provide joy to their children during the holiday season,” said Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi, who…
Cynthia Schwartz In November, four members of the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club traveled to Tucson to compete in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Tournament at Kino Sports Complex. Events in the tournament included matches in Skill/Age and Senior categories. Collectively, Marty Aalto, Gary Mattevi, Mike Schwartz, and Cynthia Schwartz won eight medals in four categories. Mike…