As a central hub for all things pickleball in the Fort Collins, Colorado area, the Fort Collins Pickleball Club (FOCOPB) hopes to provide opportunities for connections among women in the pickleball community through their women’s clinics. Several years ago, Jess Kornick, a board member and the women’s clinic instructor, and the team at FOCOPB decided to act upon the expressed desires from women in their club who wanted to “learn, grow, and connect with other women who play pickleball,” says Kornick. This led to what has become regular women’s clinics held by the club with the specific intent to create meaningful connections among women in the community while developing their skills and enjoying pickleball.
One of Kornick’s favorite things about being able to offer the women’s clinics is the “opportunity to learn in an all women’s setting [which] can feel really supportive.” She often hears from women at the club that playing in a women-only environment can feel less intimidating and more comfortable than trying to learn new techniques and skills in a mixed group setting. Providing a women’s clinic is a great way for a club to lower the barrier of entry to the sport and invite more people into the sport as it continues to grow and attract more and more women.
Kornick herself is a beneficiary of the wonderful pickleball community in the Fort Collins area and has appreciated the friendships she has cultivated with other women through pickleball. She started running the clinics for women because she “wanted to be able to give some of that back to other women entering the sport.” In particular, a women’s clinic can be significantly more inviting to women just starting their pickleball journey than a typical mixed setting clinic. By offering a clinic in which potential participants can be assured of a women-only setting, they can often be more willing to sign up and follow through with the intention.
The women’s clinic at FOCOPB is intended for players around the 3.5 level. They have found this is a sweet spot for development because they can “skip covering the basic skills and dive a little deeper into strategy.” As the women’s clinic program matures, there is always potential to expand into multiple clinics for different levels of players, allowing for even more pointed instruction and growth. So far, FOCOPB has held two women’s clinics and plans to host 1-2 each summer in the future. Due to their popularity, the women’s clinics fill up in about 15 minutes once registration has begun. Each session is limited to approximately 16 participants to allow for intentional teaching time while giving the participants an opportunity to meet and connect with many women in the pickleball community. Kornick has found it beneficial to have an additional instructor with her during the clinics to “give everyone personalized feedback.”
While it may seem obvious, Kornick strongly believes it is crucial to have a female instructor for the women’s clinic, especially from the point of view of a participant arriving at a clinic and likely having the expectation that all present, participants and instructors alike, will be women. When looking for an instructor for a women’s clinic, Kornick acknowledges that while “competence and knowledge in the game is definitely important… also bringing warmth, kindness, and humility goes a long way” to hosting a successful women’s clinic. These qualities can be a game changer in whether or not participants feel comfortable to make mistakes and learn in this environment.
At the beginning of a women’s clinic at FOCOPB, participants and instructors form a circle, introduce themselves, and each share their unique reason for participating in the clinic. This is a great way to jumpstart the community-building aspect of the clinic, remove potential walls among participants, and provide opportunity for participants to identify commonalities among the group. Kornick loves “hearing people’s ‘why’…and making sure that they feel seen and heard” even before a ball is served. Further, she is able to “incorporate certain practices or drills into the clinic” based on their motivation for participating.
The goal of the women’s clinics is to allow women to walk away with more confidence than when they started the clinic. Also, Kornick hopes to address a common issue among female pickleball players which is how to “defend that hard and fast shot that comes flying in.” Through various drills and walkthroughs, she works to teach women to return a shot like this that is often one of the most intimidating for women. Finally, she hopes women can come away with a greater vision on the court and their passion for the sport renewed.
