PICKLEBALL

June 2022

We’ve all heard about it by now. If you haven’t, you may still be wondering what those loud thwacks are as you’ve walked by the park; you’ve witnessed people on the tennis courts hitting wiffle balls with paddles. It’s a new sport called pickleball, and here at Universal we’ve quickly fallen in love with it.

Through our partnership with the NJ Sharing Network, we connected with a woman named Michele Dabal from the Hoop Heaven sports facility in Whippany, NJ. Michele encouraged Lauren Dick, our Community Enrichment Coordinator, to bring some clients to try pickleball for it’s exercise and therapy value. There were no ambiguities about the verdict – after the first outing, pickleball became an instant hit with the therapists, staff and clients.

Pickleball is a unique activity that encompasses everything we are looking for in effective therapy: it is extremely fun and engaging, it’s accessible to clients of varying abilities, and it can target a wide range of therapy goals. The UI team immediately scheduled a permanent monthly pickleball outing but there were still many clients who couldn’t make it to Hoop Heaven to try pickleball for themselves. So, we decided to bring the pickleball to them. On June 26th, Michele came to the UI Rehab Day Program with her pickleball gear to give the clients a chance to play a round or two on their home court. The therapists and clients spent a beautiful day outside in the courtyard feeling like athletes and fueling their competitive spirits – all while working on targeted therapy goals.

So far, our OT, PT and Cog departments have all been able to design and execute therapy sessions through our pickleball event and outings. During the summer months, weather permitting, all pickleball outings at Hoop Heaven will take place outside. We want to send a huge thank you to Michele for bringing the excitement of pickleball to our UI Rehab world. If you’d like to learn more about Michele and her pickleball academy, please visit www.mdpickleball.net. See you on the courts!

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