Sheridan County YMCA clinic draws 20 players for beginner-to-intermediate pickleball instruction

There were approximately 20 students in the first hour and a half of a four-hour pickleball clinic at the Sheridan County YMCA Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, Sheridan Media reported, as players worked through fundamentals on the YMCA gym courts. The clinic ran four hours and drew a mix of beginner and intermediate players for drills and court-positioning exercises.

Sam Giese of the Bighorn Mountain pickleball club was the lead instructor for the Feb. 26 clinic, with Tom Harper and Scott Weischedel listed as additional instructors, Sheridan Media reported. The Bighorn Mountain Pickleball Club posted in the clinic’s online comment thread at 10:25 pm on Feb. 26, 2026, "We hope everyone learned something and had a good time!"

Sheridan Media described the clinic curriculum as focused on fundamentals for beginner and intermediate players, with drills and court positioning forming the core of the session. U. S. Navy veteran Bruce Shell, who served during the Vietnam War era and was in Desert Storm, attended and advised peers on pacing themselves, saying, "There is going to be ones you can’t get. It’s OK, it is just a game."

The Feb. 26 clinic builds on visible growth in local programming documented in March 2025. The Sheridan Press ran a gallery and feature that included photos from a Beginners and Intermediate pickleball game at the Sheridan County YMCA on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, naming players Trish Coffeen, Sheilah Blomquist, Ron Rainbow and Lisa Anderson in photo captions. One Sheridan Press caption noted serving technique options, writing, "Players can serve a variety of ways including hitting the ball without bouncing first, using either forehand or backhand."

Private indoor options have expanded alongside YMCA offerings. Zero-Zero-Two Pickleball, a separate indoor facility owned and operated by Mike Wicht, has two courts available for booking with a cost per hour or a membership fee, the Sheridan Press reported in its March 7, 2025 piece about local growth. Wicht said he opened the facility after talking with fellow Sheridan pickleball players and joked about his early losses on court: "I ended up getting it handed to me — getting my butt kicked by a bunch of older ladies."

The Sheridan County YMCA lists pickleball under its Adult Sports programming and maintains regular hours at 417 North Jefferson St., Sheridan, WY 82801; the YMCA main phone is 307-674-7488 and the contact email is contact@sheridanymca.org. Sheridan Media’s attendance figure covers the clinic’s first 1.5 hours; organizers have not published a final total for the full four-hour session. Together, the Feb. 26 clinic, continuing YMCA play and Zero-Zero-Two’s two courts reflect expanded on-court options for Sheridan players as local instruction and facilities grow.