A recreation court in a Pennsylvania town will not be converted into a pickleball court after a plea from two 11-year-old girls and the community supporting them.
Natalie Van Druff and Lilly Walter became best friends playing dek hockey together where they live in Gilbertsville. Dek hockey, a variation of hockey played in sneakers on a flat, dry surface, is typically played in an outdoor rink. They’ve been teammates for two years and regularly play at the New Hanover Community Park hockey dek, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
A recreation court in a Pennsylvania town will not be converted into a pickleball court after a plea from two 11-year-old girls and the community supporting them.
Natalie Van Druff and Lilly Walter became best friends playing dek hockey together where they live in Gilbertsville. Dek hockey, a variation of hockey played in sneakers on a flat, dry surface, is typically played in an outdoor rink. They’ve been teammates for two years and regularly play at the New Hanover Community Park hockey dek, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
In October, Kate Van Druff, inspired by her daughter’s love of the sport, came up with the idea of starting a pickup dek hockey group for mothers and kids at the New Hanover Community Park. Noticing that the dek had only one net, Van Druff got in contact with the township to offer a second net as a donation. That's when she found out the town was planning to turn the rink into pickleball courts.
Coincidentally, the first pickup game Van Druff’s group scheduled turned out to be on the same day that the township was set to meet on the pickleball issue. After the game, Natalie Van Druff and Lilly Walter, along with other players and parents, headed to the meeting in their hockey gear to speak to the recreation committee.
"I was really happy that so many people cared as much as we did about the rink," Natalie said, as reported by the Inquirer.
Natalie and Lilly's advocacy, along with a petition collected more than 900 signatures, convinced the committee to keep the dek and scrap the pickleball plan for New Hanover Community Park. The community is still able to access pickleball courts nearby at Boyertown Community Park, where there are three courts.
The girls were happy that they were able to preserve a place to play and pass on a sport that they love.
“This dek can be here for many generations, for kids that want to learn how to play hockey, that have it near them,” Lilly Walter said, the Inquirer reported. “And they can learn how to play, making friends, learn how to win and lose. This dek can be around for 50 years if people keep taking good care of it.”
Natalie and Lilly are now working with the town leaders to orchestrate some repairs for the dek, including possible resurfacing, outward-swinging hockey doors and a scoreboard.
The girls will next present their ideas and requests to the board of supervisors at a meeting set for March, the Inquirer reported. In the meantime, they’re on the hunt for sponsors for the rink.
