31 student-athletes have been practicing their pickleball skills as well as learning Chinese culture in preparation for a three-city trip to China next month.
From April 9-21, the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) athletes will go to Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing, in that order. They will have a friendly competition in each city.
“The purpose of this trip is not just representing MCPS, the state of Maryland — representing our country,” MCPS Systemwide Athletics Director Dr. Jeffrey Sullivan said at Dill Dinkers in Rockville. “And building that friendship beyond borders through sport.”
“I can’t wait to experience the friendship matches we play with Chinese students,” Maddox Cherry, sophomore at Clarksburg High School. “We’re supposed to be playing with a Chinese student against another delegate of ours, so should be fun.”
“We found out today that we’re playing with them, rather than against them, so I think that’s going to be a super fun experience to build friendships,” Haley Corkery, sophomore at Sherwood High School.
“We’re there to compete and to have an American and a Chinese student playing doubles together — just that alone, being able to bring our students together to learn a game and to participate in a game together,” Sullivan said. He said, “It really speaks to the power of athletics and what athletics can do globally in terms of bringing people together.”
For the last few weeks, students have been working on pickleball skills at Dill Dinkers, and are learning Chinese culture and language, “so that we are informed travelers and that we are truly embracing Chinese culture,” Sullivan said.
MCPS is said to be the first school district in the U.S. to offer pickleball as a varsity sport.
The 31 students come from almost a dozen different high schools and include students from the Student-Athlete Leadership Council, students in MCPS-TV, varsity pickleball players, students from Chinese immersion program, and other student athletes across MCPS Athletics.
The trip will be funded by The Ministry of Education of China and the China Education Association for International Exchange who provided the opportunity.
MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor said the trip represents “a once in a lifetime opportunity for cultural exchange.”
“This is not just about pickleball, this is about building bridges — building bridges among young people, building bridges among communities, and building bridges among cultures,” said School Board President Julie Yang.
MCPS athletes preparing to go to China next month for pickleball trip @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/tyJJNR3RwN
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) March 24, 2025
