The Birth of Pickleball

Man playing pickleball
Photo by Joan Azeka on Unsplash

Greg Salsbury is an accomplished educational administrator who has served as president of Western Colorado University for the past five years. When he isn’t busy attending to his professional responsibilities at Western Colorado University, Greg Salsbury enjoys playing pickleball.

The origins of pickleball date back to a single unassuming weekend afternoon on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in the summer of 1965. Washington State congressman Joel Pritchard and successful businessman Bill Bell had just returned from a round of golf to find both their families bored and looking for something to do.

Although an old badminton court graced the Pritchard family property, neither Mr. Pritchard nor Mr. Bell could locate proper badminton equipment. They could, however, find a set of table tennis paddles and a plastic wiffle ball.

As the families began to play with this equipment, they began to formulate the basic regulations and strategies of pickle ball play. By the next weekend, Mr. Pritchard and Mr. Bell had introduced the game to another father in the neighborhood, Barney Mcallum, and the three men began to formulate the fundamental rules of the new sport.

Mr. Pritchard’s wife Joan dubbed the sport “pickleball" because its blend of disparate existing sports reminded her of a pickle boat. A term that applies to the last boat to finish a race, the pickle boat is often comprised of leftover oarsmen from other boats.

Three Benefits of Attending a Small University

University student throwing their hats in the air
Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

Since 2014, Greg Salsbury has served as the president of Western Colorado University, a public, 4-year college located in rural Gunnison. While enrollments have increased significantly during Greg Salsbury’s tenure, Western Colorado University is still classified as a small university. 

Defined as institutions with fewer than 5,000 students, small universities can offer a fantastic college experience for the right student. Some of the biggest perks of attending a small school include:

Smaller classes: While many institutions offer smaller class sizes, small schools almost never offer the massive lecture-style courses that are commonplace at larger universities. Students who need more individualized attention and less competition often benefit from a lower professor-to-student ratio. 

Specialized majors: Many small schools gain reputations by featuring niche majors. For example, WCU is one of only 10 universities in the nation offering undergraduate degrees in petroleum geology. Likewise, many small institutions allow students to develop their own majors or take on diverse courses through an interdisciplinary program.

Stronger connections: In larger institutions, students may rarely come into contact with their professors, deans, and other higher-ranking school leaders. In smaller schools, these administrators are much more accessible, and can serve as valued mentors and references after graduation.