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“If you aren’t first, you’re last.” “Second place is the first loser.” You’ve heard these quotes before. For most sports, the final number on the scoreboard is what matters, and maxims like these have been instilled in athletes since, presumably, the beginning of sports.

This ethos, however, is not the case with 91����’s newest afternoon offering; for the 17 members of the school’s new Pickleball team, winning is not the main driver. That’s not to say the team isn’t competitive—but it’s not the only objective.

“We’re trying to teach them, in terms of a life sport, when you show up to a random pickleball court, you don’t know who you’re going to be paired with,” said coach Derek Cunha, who runs the program alongside first-year science teacher Adam Sussbauer. “You have to adjust your level to who you’re playing with [and] keep it fun. You have to be social to play.”

Sussbauer added that even though the kids on the team are competitive, “they’re all having fun at the same time.” He said that holds true “even when one group is crushing the other. It’s always in good fun. We never leave thinking ‘Oh that didn’t feel good.’”

This balance has become part of the tight bond the new team has developed in just a few short weeks. It’s forged in Coach Cunha’s own experiences with the sport, which he’s been playing for years with son, Gus, a 91���� seventh grader.

In recent years, 91���� has begun expanding its athletic offerings, which now include pickleball as well as climbing and hiking, intramural skiing, yoga, and winter running, activities which all allow for physical exertion while focusing less on the scoreboard and more on team building and camaraderie.

91����’s squad runs 90-minute practices at The Picklr, a state-of-the-art facility in Westfield. On the eight courts, the team can hone specific skills early in the week, and then focus more on tournament play on Thursdays and Fridays.

With this weekly schedule, Sussbauer said the team members can maintain “a balance of making it a fun thing but also scratching that competitive itch.”

Kat Martini, a senior on the squad, enjoys the low-stakes but high-energy activity. She enjoys, she said, “the freedom in choosing what to do (for example, drills or free play), and being able to work on improving without stress.”

Cunha said that there can be a steep learning curve with pickleball, but “once you get it you can get really good quickly.”

That’s already happening, he and Sussbauer noted. Students who came into the season as novices—like Sussbauer himself, who had never played, but bought a racket the day before this interview—are enjoying the challenge and getting better, while athletes from other racket sports are learning transferable skills. In addition, the program is breaking down preconceived notions of what a “serious” sport is.

“There’s this misconception that it’s this kind of joke of an afternoon program, that there’s an unseriousness to it,” Cunha said. “But in reality, the kids who are out there are working hard every day.”

He added, “They’re having fun every day, and when you have fun while you work, you get better, but there’s no pressure with it.”

Martini agrees; she’s said the specifics techniques and skills of the surprised her, and “made me respect the sport more.”

Kat’s twin sister, Sarah, is also part of the pickleball program. Sarah had never played a racket sport prior to this season, and admits she joined just to be with her sister and fellow teammate and friend Bella Marinello. Now that she’s part of the program, however, Sarah is taken by the sport.

“It’s super accessible, and playing with friends is so much fun,” Sarah said. “I absolutely see myself playing in the future.”