Cook Children’s Sports Medicine Physician Heals Young Athletes Through Pickleball Medicine Program

Last spring, Nicole Pitts, D.O., sports medicine physician at Cook Children’s Pediatric Specialties Prosper, traded her stethoscope for a pickleball paddle and adventured off to the Cayman Islands. There she competed in a professional pickleball tournament alongside the sport’s top-ranked women. Pitts earned a bronze medal in singles and a silver in women's doubles.

As she’ll admit, pickleball has developed into big part of her life, becoming most of what she spends her time doing outside of medicine. After playing professional tennis for most of her life, Pitts picked up pickleball when one of her best friends started playing it professionally. She decided to try it one day, and while she struggled at first, she slowly started to love the sport. She found that it gave her a chance to be social and athletic at the same time. Soon, it became her favorite activity.

Pickleball is a great sport for people of all ages. There are many mental health benefits as it gives players an outlet and a fun form of physical activity. This sport also has a very social element to it, even Pitts shares she has made new friends through playing pickleball on various teams.

“I’m committed to helping young athletes have well-balanced, healthy and active lifestyles, but I’m also extremely passionate about helping young athletes prevent injuries and recover from them,” explains Pitts. “Having been a professional athlete myself and still playing in professional pickleball tournaments currently, I understand how difficult and frustrating injuries can be” she continues. "I want to be a mentor for them by supporting my patients through injury recovery and getting them back to playing the sport they love.”

That passion and commitment is why Pitts created the Pickleball Medicine program, the first pediatric program of its kind in the state. Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, easy to learn, fast-paced, fun and social. Since it’s a new sport for some young athletes, Pitts wants to introduce players to pickleball while providing them with the knowledge of playing safely. She understands the mental and physical benefits of the sport and the importance of protecting young players’ bodies. She believes pickleball is following the same path as tennis, where it will become more competitive and lead to more injuries among young players trying a new sport. This program combines her background in medicine and pickleball, drawing on her expertise both inside and outside the clinic.

If you are interested in playing pickleball or possibly wanting to try it out, Dr. Pitts has some advice for young athletes:

• Wear the appropriate attire, such as court shoes. The correct footwear will help prevent ankle injuries
• Warm up and stretch before!
• Understand the basics
• Don’t be afraid, just try it! There are so many levels to it
• Have fun!