Racquet Sports

Working with community partners we look to establish opportunities for youth to learn about all types of racquet sports - tennis, pickleball, badminton, etc. Spacial concerns and the lack of usable tennis courts often leads to pickleball programs due to the ability to play on multiple surfaces. In the future, we hope to partner with like-minded organizations to identify an existing tennis court that can be refurbished for community use!

Students in Upland and Eddystone had an opportunity to play pickleball during our multi-sport camps in July. Based on positive feedback, all after-school sites in Chester, Upland and Eddystone will receive access to racquet sports during the 2025-2026 academic year.

In Spring 2023, Youth Development United expanded its sports offerings, hosting its first Pickleball Party.

Chester mom Snownia commented, “We are grateful for all of these opportunities because we always have fun and you introduce our kids to different activities that they would not have been able to do.”

“Exercise is the single most powerful tool you have to optimize your brain function. Racket sports are especially great because they simultaneously tax the cardiovascular system and the brain. The combination of challenging the brain and body has a greater positive impact than aerobic exercise alone,” according to John Ratey, MD, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an internationally recognized expert in neuropsychiatry.

We are currently looking for pickleball and youth tennis racquet donations - if interested in learning more, please contact info@youthdevunited.org