T. Falls student wants sport court upgraded

How do students at Thompson Falls high school spend their lunch time? Some may leave and go to the store, others may go home, but what about those who can’t leave? Those who can’t leave spend their lunch time either playing basketball in the gym when it's open, socializing with peers, or even spending their lunch time outside on the basketball/pickleball courts.

There are basketball/pickleball courts right next to the high school parking lot, behind the city pool. Lunch for high schoolers is important for socialization, and in class, they don’t do much socializing, due to learning and working on assignments. These basketball courts are an important place for the students to socialize, interact, and connect, so they decide to spend their time playing basketball or watching others play. If you’ve been out on those courts, you may come to know that there are a bunch of big cracks, and holes on the courts; it's a little hard to play any kind of game on them and it's dangerous. Not only do high school students use them, but so do the school’s fitness classes.

One of the students who uses them regularly, Ellyonna Vild, chose to do something about it. In Thompson Falls it's hard to find anything to do as a small community. Vild decided to direct her passion into a petition, to see how many others felt similar, and you can bet there were many others who felt the same: almost one hundred students signed the petition back in September. Vild also came up with the conclusion that “Post-COVID, teens are struggling to connect outside of social media.” This could in fact seem true, as teachers are asking their students to keep their phones in their lockers and/out of the classroom, as it becomes a distraction. Vild finds this important to her because she finds it as an outlet for teens who are struggling. When you do physical activity there is a natural drug release in your brain called “dopamine” often referred to as the “happy hormone” because it makes you happy.

Vild’s end goal is “to turn this deserted sports complex into a place for teens to hang out, de-stress, connect, exercise, and co-exist with the older members playing pickleball.” Mayor Mark Sheets told Vild at a city council meeting earlier this year that the pickleball court is on city property, while the rest of the sport court area is on school property. He noted that the city would be willing to work on a plan and could look at helping with funding. Superintendent Bud Scully said he supports the project and noted that there are several groups searching for grants to complete it.