Progress through pickleball
New UND Connect project directed by UND faculty, Inclusive Moves, invites students of all abilities to play pickleball
Editor’s note: In the UND LEADS Strategic Plan, the Service core value calls on the University to “provide curricular and co-curricular opportunities for UND students to give back and serve their communities.” This story reports on a project that encourages UND students and faculty alike to do just that: give back and serve their communities.
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Outside the gym at Lake Agassiz Elementary on a summer afternoon, the sound is unmistakable: squeaking sneakers, paddles popping plastic balls and the laughter of children at play.
Despite school being out, Inclusive Moves, an eight-week summer camp hosted by the College of Education & Human Development, is bringing energy back to the gym. Created for children of all abilities, with a focus on those with disabilities, the camp helps kids build movement skills, confidence and friendships through physical play, using pickleball as its primary focus.
Launched last year as a two-day pilot, the camp has expanded into a full-season, twice-weekly program rooted in accessibility and inclusion. Now three weeks in, the energy in the gym reflects a new opportunity for children of all abilities.
A sport for everyone
“After our pilot program last year, a lot of families wanted to continue their kids in the program,” said assistant professor of Education, Health & Behavior Studies, Harry Liu. “There aren’t many camps for children with disabilities in Grand Forks. There are some, but they might not be accessible to children with disabilities or might only be open to kids from that population.”
To ensure the program would serve all campers well, the Inclusive Moves team, including Liu, Jessica Zorn of the Physical Therapy program and professor of Education, Health & Behavior Studies Tanis Walch, consulted with colleagues in Kinesiology and Public Health Education.
“We were thinking, OK, let’s try to create an inclusive program everyone can be involved in, whether they have a disability or not,” Liu said.
For many kids, inclusion means feeling safe, especially around new adults. “Some children with disabilities may have trouble learning from a coach they don’t know, but if they have a sibling or friend who’s familiar to them and can play with them, we start to see much better results.”
So why pickleball?
In addition to being the fastest-growing sport in the country, it’s accessible, low-impact and rich in transferable skills such as hand-eye coordination and footwork.
“We considered a lot of options like badminton and tennis. I used to play a lot of badminton, but it’s not very popular here, and tennis is pretty heavy,” Liu said. “Pickleball lands somewhere in the middle, and it includes a lot of the fundamental locomotor movements to help with motor development. It takes some work, but it’s not as difficult to get into.”
“Pickleball was designed to be an accessible sport; it’s made so that all kids can play it,” Zorn added. “A lot of it is the way that rules are designed. You try to keep the ball low, the ball is very soft, and the paddle is very light, so it makes it a lot easier to grip and hold.”
Zorn has personal experience with finding activities for children with disabilities, and she believes that pickleball is one of the best options for them.
“Even wheelchair users are able to play pickleball,” she said. “The fact that the court is much smaller and there’s less traveling to reach the ball makes it accessible for kids of all abilities.”
Learning through locomotion
One of the camp’s coaches, petroleum engineering Ph.D. student Houdaifa Khalifa — who also helped with the UND Connect line dancing project Dance Like No One’s Watching — said that his past as an athlete drew him to help with the camp.
“I’m a boxer. I love sport. I’m an athletic person, so teaching these kids is something I really love and enjoy doing,” he said. “I’m learning a lot.”
Each camper has different needs and learning styles, Khalifa noted, and this has contributed just as much to his growth as it has to the children’s.
“I’m learning how to best help the kids. Each kid has their own special way of learning, and learning how to be patient and always keep a smile and teach them how to play while letting them have fun has been really rewarding.”
Each session begins with drills to develop agility, object control and coordination. “We did the agility, where it included running, jumping. It’s like skipping and shuffling and galloping,” Khalifa said. “And then we did shooting, so it included basketball, tennis balls into small baskets. That helps them learn about control and coordination.”
This was intentional, as it helped campers develop necessary skills for daily life.
“We want to include incorporating as many fundamental locomotor movements as possible,” said Liu. “Populations for disabilities sometimes have a significant motor development delay. Getting them out there and running through these exercises can help them learn about their bodies while they’re having fun.”
Pickleball is introduced gradually, with kids rotating through balloon-based warmups before trying full paddle drills. “We also did, like, kind of a pickleball, but with balloons,” Khalifa said. “So that’s like a nice, light warmup. And then we went to the pickleball with actual balls that are more hard.”
“It’s getting more fun, and the kids have been really receptive as time goes on,” Khalifa added. “Each session feels like it’s been better than the last one.”
And, despite the excellent teaching of Khalifa and his fellow student coaches, sometimes there’s no replacing a good old friend.
“If we have a couple of campers who are friends or siblings, we try to pair them up,” said Zorn. “We’ve found that when children with disabilities get assistance from their sibling or from their friends they are familiar with, rather than just the coaches, it provides a better experience for those kids.”
One camper’s growth stands out.
“When he first tried the paddles, he would throw it down every time,” Zorn recalled. “And today, he held the paddle, and he volleyed with his coach for the first time. His mother trusted us and believed like this is a safe place. When we announced that our program was ready, she signed him up immediately. It’s just been so amazing to see the progress he’s making.”
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‘A big win’
Inclusive Moves was made possible with support from the North Dakota State Council on Developmental Disabilities and Grand Forks Community Foundation, which provided initial grant funding. Grand Forks Public Schools also partnered with the program by offering temporary gym space during UND facility renovations. Funding was also received from the North Dakota Association for the Disabled’s Gibbens Memorial Grant, a College of Education and Human Development Mini Grant and UND CONNECT. The sponsors have been very supportive, said Liu and Zorn.
“I think the most striking statement from them is we’re in the same boat. We need to help each other and support these kids. I think we’re all just happy to provide a space for these kids to grow and have fun,” Liu said.
With the camp transitioning into its permanent home in UND’s Education Northwest Building, the organizers already are looking ahead. Space and staffing will be key to keeping the camp sustainable, but the mission remains unchanged.
“Summer can be a difficult time for parents and, with limited options for children with disabilities, it’s especially hard,” Liu said. “We feel like this has been a big win for everybody.”
And judging by the laughter echoing off the gym walls, it’s clear they’re on to something.
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