Our partner club
Brick House Pickleball
Lake Forest
A weekly wheelchair pickleball night where our very own Pete Petersen coaches.
See the partnership
Wheelchair pickleball
Chicago Pickleball: Wheelie Big Dills
A crew of wheelchair pickleball players growing the sport across the Chicago area. We’re proud to fund and support them through the Hustle & Heart Fund.
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6
medals at Monster Smash
Two golds, two silvers and two bronzes in the wheelchair division, October 2026.
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2
US Open medals
Brian won silver and bronze at the US Open in Naples.
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1st
wheelchair division on the APP Tour
Juan asked the APP Vlasic Classic for one, and five full teams played it.
Meet the crew
10 to 15 athletes a night. One crew.
Chicago Pickleball: Wheelie Big Dills plays at Open Court clubs in Des Plaines, Lake Forest and Mount Prospect, and competes at tournaments from Highland Park to Cincinnati. Here are a few of the athletes we’re proud to support.
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Ambassador
Juan
Our first ambassador. Singles gold at Monster Smash. He asked the APP Tour for its first wheelchair division, and got it.
Read Juan’s story -
Brian
US Open silver and bronze. Six medals in all, two of them gold. “The chair didn’t fix me. It gave me options I didn’t have before.”
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Bob
Doubles gold at Monster Smash, with Kenneth Holman.
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Robby
Three straight US Opens, plus singles bronze and doubles silver at Monster Smash.
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Ken
Doubles silver at Monster Smash, with Robby.
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Amanda
Doubles bronze at Monster Smash, with Kasey Stelter.
On courtBrick House, Lake Forest 
On the roadThe Pickle Lodge, Cincinnati Monster SmashCincinnati, October 2026
And that’s not everyone: more of the crew, on court and at tournaments. See the road
What we’re building
More than one trip.
The US Open is one stop. The bigger goal is an ecosystem for the adaptive sports community to play pickleball in the Chicago area, built with clubs, organizations and coaches.
Trying it is one thing. Playing every week, training every month and competing is another. In a wheelchair, every step costs more, starting with the chair: a sport chair runs $4,000 to $6,000, and insurance doesn’t cover it. Here are the real numbers for each level, and what keeps it going.
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01
Play anytime
$15a night, per athlete
Open play and drop-ins at clubs across the area, with no membership and nothing to lock in. At our partner club, we cover the drop-in, so every athlete plays free. $225 covers up to 15 for a night.
Kept going by night sponsors, host clubs and volunteers
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02
Train to compete
$129a month, per athlete
Memberships for athletes who train regularly so they can travel to tournaments. One session a week isn’t enough: Juan trains 16 hours a week. A membership is $129 a month for unlimited sessions.
Kept going by membership sponsors
Sponsor an athlete -
03
Compete
$1,000a tournament trip, per athlete
A season on the road to the US Open, then the Chicago Classic once it has a date. A tournament trip runs about $1,000 an athlete for entry fees, travel and an accessible room. The US Open, the road’s last stop, has cost about $3,500.
Kept going by tournament sponsors, entry fees and donors to the fund
See the road
It takes skill and a little luck to get to the US Open. It shouldn’t take money.
The US Open picks players by lottery. If an athlete’s name comes up, money shouldn’t be the reason they stay home. We want the best of the best in Naples.
Open Court clubs
Places to play, built together.
Through ambassadors like Juan Ortiz, we help clubs, organizations and coaches build and manage adaptive sports programs, so the adaptive sports community has places to play across the area. Some sessions have a sport chair to try or a coach on hand, and some are just open play. We grow each one little by little. It’s the Open Court Model at work.
Court time we fund
ACE Pickleball Club
Des Plaines
A reserved court, open play beside it and club members to mix in with. Adapt To Life covers court fees, so it’s free for every athlete.
See the partnershipOur partner club
The Picklr
Mount Prospect
Open play with the crew, alongside the club’s own players.
See the partnershipWhat’s next
Your club next
Across the Chicago area
Clubs, YMCAs, schools and coaches: we’ll help you build and manage an adaptive program of your own.
Start a conversationWhat we bring to a club, organization or coach
- FundingCourt time and memberships. Equipment, one athlete at a time.
- Coaching know-howClinics, and coaches who have built adaptive programs before.
- Players and volunteersThe crew we support, and volunteers on court.
- ContentVideo and athlete spotlights that help a program grow.
- A place in the directoryA listing on Adaptive Sports Near Me, so athletes can find the program.
Your program. Our support.
Volunteers make it work, from coaches like Pete to members of our partner clubs. Coming up: Try Adaptive Night at ACE, where club members play from sport chairs alongside the crew.
Across the region
We also support adaptive programs across the region: coaching that helped the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association (WASA) start pickleball, and work with the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association (LWSRA) on clinics in the south suburbs. And we partner with Chicago Adaptive Sports, a Chicagoland nonprofit where our first ambassador, Juan Ortiz, serves on the board. Those relationships keep growing.
“The real goal is building it for everyone else too.” Juan Ortiz
Raising nowChicago Pickleball: Wheelie Big Dills
Every week on court. A season on the road.
What it takes to build the best wheelchair pickleball in the Chicago area, maybe the country.
$50,000our goal for the year ahead
Every week$27,180 a year
A year of court time for 10 to 15 athletes a night, plus memberships for 10.
The Road to the US Open$21,000
A season of tournament travel for the crew, through the 2027 US Open. See the road
Four nights on court every month for one athlete.
Tax-deductibleSecure checkout by Givebutter
One goal
Help us fund it.
New gifts go to the Hustle & Heart Fund for the Wheelie Big Dills, in this order:
- Every week$27,180 a year: court time for the crew, plus memberships so ten athletes can train all year.
- The Road to the US Open$21,000 for the season: about 21 tournament trips, ending at the US Open in spring 2027. See the road
- The Chicago Classic NextOur aim: free entry, rides and hotels for athletes. Gifts past the road go toward it. See the goal
Equipment sits outside the goal. A sport chair runs $4,000 to $6,000, and insurance doesn’t cover it; when an athlete needs one, we raise for that athlete.
Sponsor
- Nights, athlete memberships and travel on the road, for businesses that want to be part of it.
Build a program
- Clubs, YMCAs, schools and coaches: we’ll help you build an adaptive program with the Open Court Model.
Build it with us
Put your name on the court.
Sponsors, partners and donors make every level possible. Tell us what matters to you, and we’ll shape it together.
Looking for a place to play? Find adaptive programs near you on Adaptive Sports Near Me.