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An Assistant Principal and His Passion for Pickleball
Description
During the school day he is determined to provide students with the best educational experience possible at Monte Vista Elementary School. But when the final bell rings, Assistant Principal Andrew Lovell trades the classroom for a pickleball court.
On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Mr. Lovell is sharing his love and passion for the game of pickleball with colleagues. They are colleagues of all ages and abilities who suddenly can’t get enough of what has become one of the most popular, fastest growing sports in the nation right now.
Audio Transcription
[Music]Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. During the school day, he is determined to provide students with the best educational experience possible at Monte Vista Elementary School. But when the final bell rings, Assistant Principal Andrew Lovell trades the classroom for a pickleball court.
On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Mr. Lovell is sharing his love and passion for the game of pickleball with colleagues. They are colleagues of all ages and abilities who suddenly can't get enough of what has become one of the most popular, fastest-growing sports in the nation right now.
We're with Andrew Lovell, the assistant principal at Monte Vista Elementary School today. Andrew, thanks for taking some time this afternoon.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Anthony Godfrey:
So the pickleball robot is shooting balls at us now. And now do you use this to kind of hone your skills on certain shots?
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.
Andrew Lovell:
For sure. Yeah, it's a great way to practice, especially if you don't have anyone to play with. You know, I think nothing beats playing with a friend or people just at a pickup game, but this is a great way to work on this very specific skill and to drill it 100 plus times in a row.
Anthony Godfrey:
We are here at Pickleball Courts in South Jordan City and a little known fact is that if you come in 100° weather in the middle of the day, you get every court to yourself. People claim Pickleball Courts are full, but they're not full if you come at one.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, that's true, yeah. Typically, in the evening you can go to a place that has 20 courts and they'll be booked, yeah, middle of the day, 100°, it's a great time to come out and play.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if you could take the heat, come into the kitchen, so to speak. Now, Andrew, we were going to talk a little bit about pickleball in Jordan School District and how it's been part of our health and wellness to start off with. I'd like to learn a little bit more about your connection to pickleball. Tell us about your pickleball past and how you're connected to the sport currently.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so like a lot of people, I think, in Utah and around the nation, pickleball really picked up during COVID for whatever reason, I picked it up and I just got addicted right away. So I've been playing for about two and a half years and I do tournaments, I play with friends in the Jordan School District, I've helped with Wellness Day and created some leagues. And so it's been a really awesome opportunity to connect with other people. It's a great way to get exercise. It's a great way to stay in shape and also just keep mentally sharp, emotionally and socially healthy as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us why you think Pickleball is such a great health and wellness sort of activity. Because on our Health and Wellness Day, which we've now done for multiple years, we had a lot of employees come out for that and it was a really good chance for them to connect with each other. And I think that's a big part of it.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, one of the coolest things that I sa