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 saw at the Health and Wellness Day was just people from all over the district connecting with one another. We had, you know, our custodial staff, we had substitute teachers, we had full-time teachers, we had people from the district, we had vice principals. We had just, everyone was there connecting and no one knew each other, so everyone's, you know, kind of on equal playing field, and you just gotta get out there and play. And it's a great way to just to connect with people. And so that was one of the coolest things I saw, just people making connections through something that they genuinely love to do, which was get some exercise and play pickleball.
Anthony Godfrey:
I know it may be surprising, but I haven't been involved in a lot of sports over the years. And pickleball, it's remarkable how quickly you can have fun with it even if you're not a particularly skilled athlete. Speaking to the connection part of it, my son and I were down in St. George, we’re playing, and another couple of players came up to us and said “Hey, do you guys want to play against us?” and suddenly this competitive fire built within me even though I don't have these pickleball skills to back it up. It was really fun to play with them and it was memorable. So, I'm really excited that we've had that opportunity within Jordan District because of the activities you've put together for employees to connect with each other. So, you had about 60 or 70 people come to the health and wellness activity. We were fully booked for the day.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, we were fully booked. We actually went for almost 10 hours straight, playing drop-in, and that was just, anyone could come and play. And then we also had two tournaments, a beginner tournament and an advanced tournament, and those were full. And then we created a league after that 'cause the feedback was so great. We had too many people actually to be able to fit everyone in. So then we created a league and we had people come out to that every other Wednesday, twice a month and the response has been tremendous. And I think you can really see that people just genuinely love being outside. They love getting some extra exercise.
We know that our educators, if we can be happy, if we can be healthy mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, that we're gonna be better teachers in classroom. And so that's I think that's just one of the side effects that we don't always get to see but we know it exists. We know that happier teachers, healthier teachers make for higher success and learning in our classrooms. So it's just it's a benefit to everyone when we do things like pickleball, not just pickleball, but pickleball has to be one of the best for sure.
Anthony Godfrey:
You get outside there's a little bit of a sense of competition. You connect with other people and I think you get a sense of efficacy like hey, I can learn something I didn't know how to do before. Because it takes a long time to master it but it doesn't take very long to be able to just dive in and have some fun with it.
Andrew Lovell:
For sure. That is one of the reasons, I think, why pickleball is exploding so much. Because the playing field is really level. You have male, female, it doesn't matter the age. You know, I always tell people if you haven't lost to someone who's over 60 years old or if you haven't lost to a 13-year old it's because you haven't played enough. Because there are just so many good people. And you don't have to be- unlike tennis where you really need, you need a flexible, a younger body to be honest, to be able to run those sprints and be able to compete at the highest level, in pickleball you don't. Even at the pro level you'll see people - you'll see older gentlemen, older women, who are competing at the highest levels. And you also see on the opposite end. You see kids who are as young as 13 playing at the pro level.
So it just it's a sport that everyone can do and it's really easy to learn. If you want to be more advanced there's a few techniques you got to pick up, but really anyone like you and your son, you go out there and play. And you can be just as good after a few times of practice so it's awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
A very successful Health and Wellness Day. Lots of participation in pickleball so much so that you started the league. Now I understand we're starting that back up this fall as well.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so one thing that we want everyone to look forward to is on Wellness Day we plan on having another set of tournaments and drop in. But then we for sure plan on having another league coming up either in the fall or spring. We haven't fully decided on the dates and well it's gonna work for everyone but that's something we want to continue and we will strive to do.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's difficult to really feel that connection sometimes when we're such a large district and this is a great way for us to try to accomplish that.
Andrew Lovell:
That's right, yeah it can be really difficult and it's like I mentioned earlier. It was really cool to see people from our district offices playing. Their doubles partner is the head custodian from another school and that's just something, you know, an opportunity that you just wouldn't see maybe anywhere else and pickleball really facilitates that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well count on me for some of those league nights because I know you're gonna get me prepped so I can really show my stuff out there on the court.
Andrew Lovell:
And we can do that. You know, I think for anyone getting the sport there's just a few simple things that we can all work on, including myself, and it's just practice and repeat of a few simple skills and then you can pretty much get to that level. So I hope this can get you the invite to the cool kids party with your wife.
Anthony Godfrey:
I really want to be at the cool kids table, but it's gonna take your help Andrew. Let's get out on the court and let's see what we can we can do.
Stay with us. When we come back.
Andrew Lovell:
And that was a perfect return.
Anthony Godfrey:
Listen as we serve up some fun on a local pickleball court.
Break:
Hello, I'm Tracy Miller, President of the Jordan School District Board of Education. There are seven members on the Board of Education, one in each voting district. We are committed to listening and serving our constituents as we work together to provide the best possible learning environment for the students we serve. As members of the Jordan Board of Education, we believe it is our duty and responsibility to: increase student achievement; provide parents with the choices they deserve and desire; recognize and reward quality in educators; empower school leaders through policy governance and professional development; and communicate with the public, legislators, business leaders, cities, and parents. We invite you to get to know the Board member who represents you in your voting district and to please join us at our monthly board meeting held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Or listen from the comfort of your home, on our live stream. For more information and to find your Board member, visit jordandistrict.org. With parent and community input and support, we will continue our work to give students every opportunity to succeed in Jordan District schools and beyond. Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're out here on the court now and I'll just tell you up front I'm left-handed. I assume that's a tremendous advantage.
Andrew Lovell:
You know it actually really is. Playing left-handed I think throws off the majority of players because we're just so not used to it.
Anthony Godfrey:
So I'm starting ahead of the game right now.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah. This is gonna be an easy win for you probably.
Anthony Godfrey:
Perfect. So let's start off with some basic skills?
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so I'd say the most basic when teaching new people how to play, I just start with the three most basic things which is the first three shots. So the very first shot that we're looking at in a game is your serve. At the beginning you just want to get your serve in. That's the main goal, but as you become more intermediate and advanced you're looking to get your serve deep to the baseline. So that's the back line. The reason behind that is you want to push your opponent back. You're always trying to prevent your opponent from getting to the kitchen line or the no volley zone area.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that is right up by the front by the net.
Andrew Lovell:
That's correct. So you always are wanting to push people away from that. So you want your serve to be deep to the baseline. And again, if you even want to add a little more to that, if you're playing singles it can change a little bit. I like to serve to people's offhand. So if my opponent's right handed, I like to serve their left hand. Another strategy is to serve right between the two, if you're playing doubles, to create a little bit of confusion. But the number one thing is on that serve, you want to have a good deep return.
The second skill and shot to work on is the return. So you serve it to them and they're returning it back. And that return, you also want to do kind of the same thing. You want it to be a deep return, preferably to their off hand or to the middle. And that's again, to keep the other team back and to prevent them from getting to the no volley zone.
And then the third shot is probably the most important. So this is the key. If there was one thing you're gonna go out in there and do besides, you know, dink the ball around, the number one skill that you probably wanna work on as a beginner or someone who's new to the sport is that third shot. There's different strategies and different theories on what to do, but a safe strategy is called the third shot drop. The third shot drop is essentially, when someone's returning it to you, you want to use light hands and drop the ball right into the kitchen. And what this allows you to do is it allows you to run up while that ball is softly and gently falling into that kitchen and allows you to jump up to that kitchen line or no volley zone line. And it allows you and your partner to get settled up at the front. And that shot is extremely important and it's also something that really does take time. That's something that tennis players aren't used to. A lot of tennis players who come to the sport, they really want to slam the ball a lot and that can be an effective strategy, but in pickleball, you really want to work on that third shot drop.
Anthony Godfrey:
The third shot drop. So now the rules about the kitchen are that you can't hit from the kitchen unless it has bounced in the kitchen, is that right?
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, yeah, essentially you cannot hit the ball out of the air while standing in the kitchen. So you could stand in the kitchen all day and you could just stand there, however, you're not allowed to hit the ball. So the general rule is you stand back at that no-volley zone line, that line that's close to the net, and you wait for the ball to come at you and then you decide what you're going to do. If the ball falls in the kitchen, then you can step into the kitchen and hit it, but if it's coming in the air, you need to be behind that line.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, let's see a serve. Now you serve it right out of your hand and you just hit it out of your hand. Can you bounce it? Is it legal to bounce it?
Andrew Lovell:
It is legal to bounce it, so you can bounce it. Most people don't. Most people are hitting it right out of their hand and you kind of have to come through from a downward to upwards motion.
Anthony Godfrey:
You can't hit down on it. You can't do an overhand serve.
Andrew Lovell:
Exactly. So as opposed to tennis you can't do an overhand serve. It's an underhand serve.
Anthony Godfrey:
Alright let's see an underhand serve that takes them far back. Okay. That sound is satisfying, isn't it?
Andrew Lovell:
It's kind of like a baseball in a ballpark. It has the same feeling.
Anthony Godfrey:
So how would you describe it? This is kind of like wiffle ball and ping pong and tennis all combined.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a that's a great description. It's ping pong, it's badminton, it's tennis all combined.
Anthony Godfrey:
Are you putting some spin on as you hit these? Or are you just making sure that you get the placement where it needs to be?
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so a little bit of both. There's a little bit of topspin coming on there right now. Some people will... they've actually made some serves illegal. So there's not too much… There's not too much you can do. Some people used to put a lot of a lot of different types of spin on it but for the most part there's just a little bit of topspin. Anthony Godfrey:
What's the illegal about some of the serves?
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so about a year ago the governing body of pickleball decided to kind of outlaw some of the ways that you could serve. One of those ways was you would take the ball - so if I'm right-handed I have my paddle in my right hand and I have the ball in my left hand and instead of just releasing the ball and hitting the ball over the net they would release the ball, but spin it with their left hand and so when the ball is coming off the paddle it had an additional spin to it. I can't do it. I never was able to do that.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you can't spin it out of your hand and then spin it.
Andrew Lovell:
That's correct it you couldn't spin it like that.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. I'm gonna go over and try to return some of these serves. Now you told me that the trick is to try to return deep to keep you back. So I'm gonna try that. Now remember, people listening to the podcast can't hear whether I hit it great or not so it's up to you right how you choose to describe it. Okay here I go, I’m going to the other side.
Andrew Lovell:
I'm gonna serve straight to Dr. Godfrey's - he's a left-hand player actually, so I'm actually gonna go to his right hand here and see what he does.
And that was a perfect return! I wish the people actually could see this because that was that was amazing. He's already learned, he's already mastered it. His wife needs to invite him to the next party. Here we go.
We'll do another one and this time I'm going to serve it to his left hand. So this is the hand that he would prefer to hit it with. And again, perfect. He served it deep and it was right to the center. In doubles that would have been an ideal return right there.
Anthony Godfrey:
So is there spin on this again? Are you trying to spin in a particular way?
Andrew Lovell:
I'm just trying to give it over.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, right in the corner. That would have been a tough one to return for anybody. Okay.
Andrew Lovell:
Pickleball was, I think invented somewhere, I think 1965 out in Seattle. So it's been around for a long time, but it really got popular during COVID. And I think we're somewhere around 35 million players right now in the US.
Anthony Godfrey:
The people who invested in it in 1965 are finally saying, my ship's come in. Now Andrew, you're new to Jordan School District. Tell us about your career to this point and what brought you here.
Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so I was teaching prior to this in a neighboring school district down south. I taught for seven, eight years in elementary school. And I just had the opportunity to come up here, Jordan School District, after graduating from BYU. And the opportunity was there, took it, and it's been the best decision that I ever have made, hands down. And that is not just because you're here, I'm on this podcast, but literally, it's been life-changing. I’ve met amazing people and done amazing things already.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we are thrilled to have you here and I can't thank you enough for choosing Jordan and for helping us out today.
Andrew Lovell:
Absolutely, anytime.
(gentle music)
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.
(upbeat music)