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Aaron Trost, the president of Pickleball Planter, is on a mission to teach pickleball across the world, with his latest stop being Ukraine. He believes the popular paddle sport can bring joy and community to people in difficult situations.
"Where I'm trying to go are places where pickleball is not as developed, and maybe I can help more organizations kind of build up the sport, so more people have the opportunity to play it," Trost said.
While Overland Park was once called "the most pickleball obsessed city," the sport is virtually unknown in many parts of Ukraine. That's precisely why Trost wants to introduce it there.
Trost has already taught the game in 10 countries and just arrived in Ukraine for a return trip. This time, he's bringing adaptive gear and tips on how to play the game inclusively.
"I saw a lot of positive physical and mental health benefits from pickleball… And I realized that I was not the Mahomes of pickleball, and so I needed to find something in pickleball to give me more purpose than just playing for fun," Trost said.
The timing of his visit comes during a particularly tense period in the region.
"Most counties right now this week are under bombing alerts," Trost said. "I can't imagine being in that situation, but I want to do my best to try to give a wonderful sport an opportunity with people that might get a lot of joy and fun, and maybe it takes their mind off something horrible that happened to them.”
Trost will be in Ukraine for the rest of the month. He chose pickleball because it's easy to learn, affordable, and incredibly social – qualities that make it accessible to a lot of people.
After Ukraine, Trost plans to continue his mission wherever he sees a need.
"My goal is to continue growing the sport, and even if it's something small, even if my entire trip only one person really is, like, I want to make pickleball my next thing. I view it as being worth it," Trost said.
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