BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Pro Pickleballer Ryan Fu is giving back to the community one paddle at a time, helping members of the Bakersfield Racquet Club to sharpen their skills in the sport. His goal is to help members fall in love with the sport with hopes to motivate others to go pro.
Ryan Fu is a former #1 tennis player in New England and fell in love with pickleball after training with one of his friends. He tells me he wants to bring that same excitement to the community of Bakersfield in hope other members will join the movement.
Ryan Fu Professional Pickleballer said "We're going to be doing 8 hrs of 3 and pro sessions. Where I will take multiple groups throughout the day and train with them side by side. I'll come in and show them techniques while they get a chance to play for a hour."
Community members tell me they are excited for this, because not many pro athletes come by to train others in the sport they both love.
Norman Velguth Pickleballer and Referee for the sport said "He is fabulous in the fact that he is willing to take the time to do this. A lot of people just play, play and play. But if you don't take time to drill then you aren't going to get better. Not only will he teach you drills but hell give you drills to do when he is gone. Teaching us the right shots and moves to make us better."
Ryan tells me majority of coaches don't get hands on when training so he plans to guide members step by step on how they can become a better player.
"If we are drilling, I can look at your technique but I can't tell what you are doing in games unless I'm in the game with them. When we are working together I'll stop members and tell them "Hey, you should've hit this ball here." I feel like that is more useful a lot of times cause then they know in that situation they need to do this." said Fu
Norman is an avid pickleballer and says it's as easy as getting out there and picking up a paddle. He tells me even though the clinics are full, community members should still come out to the BRC and give it a try.
"With pickleball I've learned its great exercise and great fellowship that's the other thing. What I learned is the pickleball community are just fun to be with!" said Velguth
The clinic is already filled, but Ryan says he is more than happy to allow residents who are interested to watch and learn.
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