Pickleball Club awards two scholarships

Two recent high school graduates from Canyon Lake received scholarships from the Canyon Lake Pickleball Club. Jake Hosking and Sam Bock were each awarded checks for $300 by Club Treasurer Kimberly Keigwin and Club Secretary Steve Libring.

“We have such talented teens in our community and these two really stood out,” Kimberly said. “On behalf of the Canyon Lake Pickleball Club we would like to congratulate the two 2021 scholarship recipients and may God bless them in their future endeavors.”

The club received applications for scholarships over the last five weeks and selected two students as recipients for the school year ending in 2021, Steve said.

“The response from students is always incredible,” Steve said. “Selecting those most worthy is always a tough decision.”

As part of the scholarship application process, the students were asked to explain in a one-page summary, “How have you given back to the community in the last few years?”

Jake Hosking

Jake, who is headed to USC and will be studying computer science, has been involved in the community for many years. Along the way, he was in the Boy Scouts for 12 years and his service included being instrumental in helping church requests for the elderly, participating in clean up days in Canyon Lake, helping with service projects, conducting public classes, participating in food drives, etc.

Jake was also responsible for installing a new flagpole at Canyon Lake’s Happy Camp Campground. In 2018, the Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce recognized him as the Canyon Lake Youth of the Year. Jake also was a Lt. Jr. Grade Communications Officer and Platoon Commander for three years at his high school’s NJROTC Battalion. He was instrumental in propelling his unit to an award-winning status with the U.S. Navy as a Distinguished Unit.

Sam Bock

Sam, the second scholarship recipient, is going to further his studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. During the past few years in Canyon Lake, he was a member of the Family Matters Group, Newbies, and Yacht Club. Throughout his years in Canyon Lake, Sam volunteered time at community events loading up, setting up and running booths, and the clean up/tear down afterwards.

He helped put care packages together for soldiers at Operation Care Package and also personally donated supplies. In his spare time, he offers Canyon Lake citizens tech support in troubleshooting tech issues, such as helping them navigate their computers, fixing their WiFi, etc.

Sam is also currently working with the city to create the Canyon Lake Youth Leaders, a teen-led city-run group built upon a body of teen leaders with multiple committees to help serve citizens of all ages.

“Our goal will be to unite teenagers together,” Sam said. “We want to promote young role models for teenagers to create events and give back to our city.”

The Pickleball Club is open to anyone who lives in Canyon Lake and currently has 250 club members. The club offers free lessons and puts on many events throughout the year.

“If you’re interested in learning more about pickleball, how to play, or info on our club, please don’t hesitate to contact me at steve.libring@gmail.com,” Steve said.