Kenai parks staff help a middle school teacher start pickleball

City of Kenai parks staff went to Kenai Middle School on Thursday afternoon to help the school start pickleball in physical education class.

The visit followed conversations with Principal Vaughn Dosko, Kenai Parks & Recreation Director Tyler Best told the Kenai Parks and Recreation Commission. The school's physical education teacher "really wants to start teaching pickleball to the students there," Best said. "They've ordered their nets, they have paddles, they have one court taped inside." Dosko invited the city to help. Best did not say whether staff will go back.

The city already offers pickleball elsewhere in Kenai, including three indoor courts at the Kenai Recreation Center and two free outdoor courts at Kenai Municipal Park. Consultant Chris Myrtle told a Kenai City Council work session in May that community surveys statewide keep flagging the same gap. The capital plan the commission reviewed the same night pencils in a $700,000 outdoor racket sport court for fiscal 2030.