05/14/2026
Napoleon High School Students Challenge Senior Citizens to 2nd Annual Pickleball Tournament
NAPOLEON, Ohio — It started with a therapy dog and a casual conversation. Now it's a tournament.
Napoleon High School counselor Heidi Mekus said the idea for the pickleball tournament between Napoleon High School students and the Henry County Senior Center grew out of her regular visits to the senior center with the school's therapy dog.
"I would always happen to be there when they were having their pickleball during the day," Mekus said. "So I just randomly talked about it with one of the senior citizens and we decided, hey, let's give it a go. Let's team up with the high school. See if we could have a little tournament and get people excited about pickleball."
Thursday marked the 2nd Annual Pickleball Tournament, with 16 Napoleon High School students — split into eight teams — facing off against 16 players from the Henry County Senior Center.
Last year's tournament was held outdoors at the senior center on a hot day. This year, Mekus brought the event inside to Napoleon High School — and expanded it.
"We invited our elementary over. So they're coming in and out all morning. We got junior high kids coming in, high school classes," she said. "We just thought the environment here would be a little bit more conducive to weather."
Napoleon junior Matt Deblin said he walked in confident — and walked out humbled.
"I thought we were going to be doing a lot better, but we lost our first game 11 to 3," Deblin said. "They were a lot better than what I expected."
The junior said the seniors' competitive edge caught him off guard.
"They're real competitive. I didn't think they'd be this competitive, but man, you mess up, they'll let you know about it," he said.
For Napoleon residents Linda and Jim Maxcy, who have been playing pickleball for six years, the day was about more than competition.
"We just play at the senior center," Linda Maxcy said. "So it's nice to get with the younger kids, so they can learn the game — 'cause we love it. It's an exciting game."
And she had high praise for the students on the court.
"The kids are doing really good," she said.
Court monitor Tony Thompson agreed the energy on both sides was electric — but said experience was making a difference.
"The young edge has so much enthusiasm and so much physical agility that it's great," Thompson said. "But it looks like the older group is kind of schooling them."
Thompson said the senior players had a clear game plan.
"They're more strategic, so they will go to the weakness," he said.
For Thompson, the day carried a deeper meaning as well.
"Knowing that you used to play in the day and then watching everybody progress up through the years, especially the young kids — it's great to see them out here," he said.
