SPORTS WRAP
Pickle may have been the name of the dog of those who invented one of the fastest growing sports in the country and Owatonna. But you don’t want to get pickled (shutout) while playing pickleball.
“It’s very simple. It’s almost like ping pong and tennis, mixed,” said Fred Ferraro of the Owatonna Pickleball Association.
President Pam Broin says people are falling in love with it.
“They could play up to five times a week. I know sometimes myself, I’ll sometimes play twice a day,” she told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show. “It’s a lot of socialization.”
The sport arrived in Owatonna in 2006.
The association has almost 200 members, but you don’t need to be one to play on courts at Morehouse, Lincoln, or Manthey Parks. Indoor courts include West Hills and Christian Family Church. Players of different levels may mix as they stack paddles on the bleachers to wait their turn for a court.
Brandon Mackie of Pickleheads, a national group that provides tools to local associations, says it’s one of the largest participation sports in the country. It’s grown from a sport that was dominated by seniors originally, and “now the 18-34 segment is actually the largest group of pickleball players and the fastest growing segment.”
He says the pandemic was a catalyst. “Pickleball provided young people in particular an interesting opportunity to socialize responsibly outdoors.”
Ferraro says it’s addictive: “From young to old and it doesn’t matter who old you are.”
The association hosted a tournament where partners had to be 25 years different in age and include a player in their early teens.
“I’ll come down here on an afternoon and you can see teenage kids. We’ve had a few of them that have played in our association,” said Broin, even as some elementary-age kids were playing with their family behind us.
She said they’ve hosted various business groups and schools to introduce them to the fun.
Defending champs
Owatonna Crush softball looks to defend a national championship this summer. After winning a title in 16U last year, they’re aiming for the U18 honor this time.
Pitcher Josie Flom from Kenyon grew up as a coach’s kid. She feels right at home while joining her Owatonna teammates: “It’s super easy because all the girls are so nice and they’re just cool people.”
She told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show, “I just like to mix up my pitches and, as my dad would say, throw a lot of changeups.”
Her catcher Taya Selbrade said, “She listens to my pitches. She doesn’t shake me off. And I think she is very cool and collected when a mistake happens. She obviously gets frustrated, but she shakes it off really quickly and I’m really proud of her for that.”
Flom appreciates her battery mate. “I like when she catches all my crazy pitches and she always just has a smile on her face and that’s really helpful.”
Competitive, elite team
Coach Abby Olson said, “All but two are returners. So, we pulled in two of some of our varsity members that are in the 17s and 18s range who used to play for the Mankato Peppers. We brought them back and we’re carrying over from a very successful season last summer, bumping up from 16s to 18s.”
Huskies’ coach Jeremy Moran says summer ball is different as some metro teams pull together top players from a number of schools, while Owatonna primarily is made up of Huskies.
“It’s really impressive how they competed last year and looking forward to see how they compete again this year with the same group,” he said.
Coming off a successful Owatonna High School season (15-7), Selbrade is looking forward to greatness next spring.
“Honestly, I feel like this season we created such a great bond, and it helped us carry through the season and I feel like it’s what brought us so close and helped us win some of those close games,” she said.
The Huskies graduated just two off their roster. OHS went 2-2 in sections.
“What was really fun about those games was that they were so close, and I feel like we fought so hard in playoffs. We wanted to get that spot and we totally could have,” Selbrade said.
Flom said her high school team Kenyon-Wanamingo had one of their deepest playoff runs in a decade (9-11 overall, 2-2 in sections).
Owatonna Live play-by-play
Thursday, June 29
Owatonna Legion baseball vs Farmington, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 30
VFW baseball vs Mayo, 5:30 p.m.
