Henrico official sounds alarm on teen fights, alcohol and drug use at Pouncey Tract pickleball courts

Pickleball courts littered with beer cans, trash scattered across benches, broken latches on fences that cause the gates to no longer close properly – this is what pickleball players at Pouncey Tract Park see every morning, according to one Henrico resident.

“This has been happening since the new courts originally opened, and it’s gotten worse over time,” the person wrote in an email to the Citizen. “We find trash on the benches and courts every morning when we go to play. The parking lot is often littered with beer and soda cans.”

Three Chopt District supervisor Misty Roundtree said she has heard similar complaints from other parkgoers and has been made aware of more dangerous behavior by Henrico Police. Most of the problematic behavior has occurred involving “large groups of teens” that frequent the courts at night, she said.

“We are talking about behavior as relatively small as littering going up to leaving beer cans and drug paraphernalia, darting out into the street, and as serious as assaultive behavior involving large groups of juveniles,” Roundtree said in a June 10 video posted to social media. “This is only getting worse as school is out and as the weather is increasing.”

Most drug paraphernalia have been related to marijuana, Roundtree said, and pictures she has seen have not shown any syringes or evidence of harder drugs. Camera footage from the courts has also shown fights and assaults involving large groups of young people.

Police are reviewing footage to try to identify individuals, Roundtree said, and will likely file charges if footage shows individuals committing assaults or other crimes. 

In the meantime, parkgoers should expect more frequent police patrols in the area, particularly on weekends. County officials are also considering shutting down the park or turning off the court lights at earlier hours and possibly implementing age restrictions, although Roundtree said she wants to avoid impacting other parkgoers and pickleball players who obey park rules.

Since the expanded outdoor pickleball courts opened in 2024, Pouncey Tract has been a very popular destination for pickleball players and residents, with parkgoers flocking to the area “as soon as the sun comes up until well into the nighttime hours,” said Roundtree.

The park is officially open daily from dawn until dusk, but the court lights stay on until around midnight because unlike other Henrico parks, Pouncey Tract is not directly adjacent to residences. The park sits just north of Short Pump Middle School and south of the Richmond Strikers Field, with the pickleball courts accessible from Pouncey Tract Road.

Short Pump residents vocalized similar concerns back in March when a social media-organized “teen takeover” of Short Pump Town Center, involving large groups of middle- and high-schoolers, led to the mall being shut down early.

Both incidents have prompted a “larger conversation” on the need for more age-appropriate activities and positive behavior reinforcements for youth “across all areas of the country and all backgrounds,” said Roundtree. That could mean a new standalone youth recreation center, she said, or other solutions proposed by the community.

“I think most of you probably are not aware of the scope of the problem, so I did want to be candid and transparent about that,” she said. “So that we can have conversations in our homes with our young people and ideally handle it before it gets to the level of police or governmental authorities getting involved.”

Roundtree also encouraged parents to talk to their children and ask them about their whereabouts and what is going on among their peer circles.

“If you’ve got a kid who likes to go to the pickleball court, and even if you know that they’re genuinely there to play pickleball, have this conversation with them,” she said. “Because, again, I've seen the photos and the videos, not everybody that is out there is there to do that.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.