Veteran pro Allyce Jones is actively involved with the Junior PPA.

Between teaching clinics, coaching kids, and being a mom herself to burgeoning pickleball players, she understands just how unique the sport is at the junior level.

“What I love about the juniors compared to the 4.5 or 5.0 players is that the juniors are dinking and spinning the ball like pros. I hope to see the winning juniors play with the pros because that’s who they’ll be playing against as their future opponents. Sometimes at the 5.0 level, you’re playing against people who lean on certain skills, like they’re hitting bangers all the time and not learning how to dink. That’s not the case at the pro level,” explained Jones. “That’s why I love the Junior PPA, because it’s such a high level and their levels continue to advance their play and advance the game of pickleball in general.”

Pros often praise the imagination and ingenuity junior athletes exhibit in their play.

Youngsters often showcase shots that professionals simply haven’t seen before. 

“Creativity is the biggest part in a kid's game,” said Jones. “When I watch my kids play, I’ll see my daughter create a shot and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘I didn’t teach you that.’ For example, I’ll see her do a heavy, out-of-the-air jumping roll, go through the kitchen, and just totally go wide and it’s a clean window.”  

“Since the kids are younger, their brains are still developing, so they’re creating instead of just watching and mimicking. Yes, they’re watching their favorite pros, but they’re creating as well. And that is really exciting,” she added.  

One of Jones’ students is Elsie Hendershot, who’s quickly establishing herself on the Junior PPA at only 12 years old.

“She’s a lefty, so that’s what’s different about her game,” noted Jones. “But she’s a gamer, she wants to win and she creates as well. She has long limbs and she’s still growing, so I’m excited to see her growth.”

Hendershot will actually be playing in the qualifiers at the Black Desert Resort Red Rock Open with Jones watching from the stands.

Jones has seen countless juniors competing on the court, so she can quickly idenitfy the qualities that separate a certain player from the rest of the pack potential-wise.

“One of the biggest things we saw with Anna Leigh when she came into the game was her two-handed backhand, and she kept developing that. Now, kids are coming in learning a twoey because they’re watching the pros already play like that. Instead of playing catch-up like we all did with Anna Leigh, they’re coming into the game with that skill. And they’re continuing to create new shots on top of that,” she explained. “They do a lot of speed ups and heavy dinks, but the two-handed backhand is the most impressive thing I’m seeing with the juniors. There’s no doubt about it that the Junior PPA players continue to develop the game.”

And with pros like Jones investing their time and knowledge on behalf of the kids, we’re going to see more incredible growth in the future.

It’s going to be fun.

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To register your child for the next Junior PPA tournament, click here.