BOCA RATON, FL — The courts are new, and so is the sport for most of the kids on them.
Boca West Country Club and the Boca West Children's Foundation spent this week teaching pickleball to 60 local children from the Fuller Center, running a free camp at the club's Boca Raton campus from Monday, July 13 through Friday, July 17. The daily sessions ran from 10 a.m. to noon at Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive.
For many of the campers, it was a summer activity they would not otherwise have had. According to the information provided by the organizers, the week paired the children with volunteer coaches and club members who walked them through the fundamentals of one of the country's fastest-growing sports.
The camp was held at Boca West's new $20 million racquets facility, which includes a new pickleball center with 12 covered courts.
Beyond the drills, organizers built the week around more than the game itself. The children worked on teamwork, sportsmanship, confidence and healthy habits, according to the organizers, with games, prizes, a talent show, medals and recognition for every participant folded into the schedule.
Each camper also went home with gear. According to the organizers, every child received sneakers, athletic socks, a camp T-shirt, hat, backpack and water bottle, along with lunch each day.
The Fuller Center, based in Palm Beach County, serves local children and families. The camp is one of the projects tied to the Boca West Children's Foundation, which the country club's volunteers launched in 2010 to give back to children in the county. According to the foundation, it has granted more than $21 million since it started.
Boca West Country Club is a private, resident-only community set across 1,400 acres in Boca Raton. Its recent expansion added the racquets facility used for the camp, along with a 96,000-square-foot aquatics center and a renovated sports center, according to the club.
The camp wraps today, Friday, July 17. Organizers did not indicate whether the program will return next summer.
Boca Post covers West Boca with independent reporting on local government, public safety, development, and the issues shaping neighborhoods west of the city.
