By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

She wants to spread a popular sport to the younger generation.

LaGrange’s Aimee Hare has been playing pickleball for years, and it’s a sport she enjoys tremendously.

Hare is looking to teach pickleball to young people in the area, in the elementary-school and middle-school age group, and she’s hopeful of beginning a league.

For the moment, Hare and some other instructors will teach the sport from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays at the Mike Daniel Recreation Center.

The classes will be taught on the indoor hockey rink in the recreation center.

An introductory class was held on Saturday afternoon, with a handful of girls and girls getting a taste of what the sport is all about.

“If we can build the Saturday class, then we can expand,” Hare said.

Pickleball is similar to tennis, but there are some marked differences.

A pickleball court is much smaller, the net is lower, and the ball is similar to a Wiffle Ball. Also, the players use what Hare describes as a “racket that looks like an over-grown ping-pong paddle.”

It’s a sport that doesn’t require much running and is easy to learn, and Hare said anyone can pick it up in short time.

“They start, and they’re like, I don’t know if I can do this,” Hare said. “And then they hit it, and they realize I can.”

Hare, who doesn’t have a background playing sports, plays pickleball often and it has become an activity for her whole family.

“I like zero sports, until I started this, and I’m in love with it,” she said. “You don’t have to be that athletic to do it.”

Hare added that “it has a reputation as a sport for seniors, but it’s growing all over. It’s so good for every age.”

OF NOTE: For more information on the pickleball classes, email Aimee Hare at aimee@theharehome.com. The classes will be from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays at Mike Daniel Recreation Center. Rackets will be provided, so players just need to show up.