Picklebilly Podcast: Recent Episodes
Picklebilly Jan
This podcast explores every aspect of pickleball from the perspective of top players, coaches, and other members of our community. Listen to learn, to be entertained, and to discuss all things pickleball!
In Today's Picklebilly Presents, we'll connect with Christine Barksdale, a successful senior pickleball pro, and a person who has run national championships and who's helping get Head Pickleball some much deserved recognition. Today we'll be talking all things pickleball.
Background: Christine Barksdale is a decorated pickleball athlete. She was a tennis player through her youth and was a competitive 4.5-5.0 tennis player and a USTA National Champion in 2010. After finding pickleball, she has had a lot of success on and off the court. Along with all of her medals on court, she also was USAPA’s Director of Competition and Athlete services and is currently HEAD’s National Promotions Manager for Pickleball. Christine was also an announcer during the Margaritaville USA Pickleball Nationals that was co-hosted with Murphy and Luke Jensen and was the on court announcer during the pickleball exhibition with Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi.
Mo Nard is half of the popular pickleball teaching duo known as Positive Dinking. Today we'll talk pickleball strategy and training tips, about how pickleball revived Mo's athleticism, about her contributions to the podcast "I Used to Be Somebody" and more about the pickleball scene in northern California.
Background:
Mo is a 4.0 rated player, but often competes at the 4.5 level. Mo got into racquet sports early, playing tennis at age four and coming from a large tennis-playing family in Modesto California. At 14, she switched to racquetball and wound up winning two national titles in Women’s 19 and under doubles in 1982 and 1983. Mo joined the US Air Force in 1985 and suffered a life-changing back injury in 1986. She was also diagnosed with hip dysplasia in her late 30’s and was walking with a cane. She had multiple surgeries to break apart and reconstruct her pelvis in order to partially correct her hips that don’t fit right. In 2017, she found pickleball.
Pickleball has resurrected Mo as an athlete. She picked it up easily and has been working to master it ever since. She is sponsored by Head Penn Pickleball, just as she was in racquetball back in the early 1980’s. She is the Regional Marketing Coordinator for Head Penn Pickleball, covering Northern California.
Meet Wicket. Wicket is an adorable bear who has amazing adventures and meets the most interesting people. Wicket is the brainchild of Vincent Soo. Join us today as we hear all of the places Wicket has been and see the famous folks who have posed with Wicket. As Vincent is an avid pickleball player, Wicket is now on the pickleball scene as well.
More about Vincent Soo:
" I have thousands of photos of Wicket from all over the globe.
Wicket's latest adventures are where Wicket flew in the Atlanta airshow in an F-16 Fighting Falcon and then one week later he did two flyovers at the Indianapolis 500! Once was at end of National Anthem and the second pass was to honor our fallen soldiers for Memorial Day.
• Muhammad Ali
• Gordie Howe
• Mitt Romney
• James Earl Jones
• Willie Nelson
• Larry The Cable Guy
• Kenny G - jazz saxophonist
• Derek Jeter
• Alex Rodriguez
• Olga Korbut - Mother of Gymnastics
• Eric Burdon - The Animals and funk band War.
• Jackie Joyner-Kersee
• Joe Walsh - James Gang, Barnstorm, Eagles, the Party Boys, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
I have been a certified ski instructor for 17 years, although I taught skiing back in the late 70s as well. I’m also a National Ski Patroller and a NSP instructor.
I grew up in Royal Oak, Michigan and moved to Kalamazoo, Mi in the late 70's.
Shooting and teaching photography and videography was my primary career, while my hobbies consisted of martial arts (52 years now) and racquetball. I switched over to pickleball two years ago and I've been hooked since!"
So much in today's episode, including the early days of pickleball, the invention of the first composite paddle, a visit to Bainbridge Island, and Steve weighs in about the current Pickleball Hall of Fame controversy.
Background: Steve is the longest-running tournament player from 1974-present. He has been teaching pickleball since 1980 and was one of the first certified pickleball instructors with an IPTPA certification. Steve also helped his father Arlen, invent and design the first composite pickleball paddles. This was the creation of Pro-Lite back in 1984. Steve is a multi-National Champion at the 5.0 level. Steve was inducted to the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2019 while his father Arlen was inducted into the inaugural class of the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2017 along with the founders of the sport. Steve has a Masters in Education and has taught physical education for 30 years.
The goal of the PicklePlay app is to build a pickleball community; it's a free resource to all pickleball players no matter their skill level.
Pickleplay offers the following: finding courts, finding players of a certain skill level, finding local clubs or groups to join, managing playtimes, and much more.
Some more from Blake:
Our family loves pickleball and we started playing about 3-4 years ago. What we love most about the sport is ANYONE can play. I love to play casually, my husband plays more competitively; our kids love to play and have FUN! Playing and seeing the need ourselves for a mobile application to help players find courts, find others to play with, and manage play schedules was our motivation to make our dream a reality with developing PicklePlay! My background is in business management and marketing. I have teamed up with a professional development team to create our application. We have learned so much and are excited for new enhancements and more features coming this fall.
Steve Wong has over 28 years of playing experience, is a National Champion, and is a person who strives to grow the game. We'll talk about the early days, his previous companies, Armour pickleball and a new paddle release, along with Steve's annual tournament for his brother Tommy. Finally, we'll ask for some highlights from his popular pickleball clinics.
Here's a timeline of some of Steve's accomplishments:
2005 - Steve Wong and several friends (Mark Friedenberg, Fran Myer, Barney Myer, Lela Reed, Phil Mortenson, Erne Perry, Carole Myers, Earl Hill and other pickleball lovers created the USAPA.org (USA Pickleball Association). Steve started as the webmaster and Vice President.
2005 - Steve Wong co-founded S-Type Sports, LLC which later became Onix Sports, Inc.
2009 - Steve Wong participated in the first Pickleball National Tournament.
2011 - Steve Wong created the Surprise Pickleball Association and led a movement to get permanent city courts created.
2011 - Steve Wong became the first Pickleball Professional (Pro) by touring the USA and promoting the game. He did clinics Nationwide. He taught many pros that became successful in their pickleball careers.
2012 - Steve Wong co-directed the USAPA National Pickleball Tournament.
2018 - Steve Wong was a Nominee to the Pickleball Hall of Fame.
2019 - Steve Wong founded Armour Pickleball with a mission to keep growing the game and give back to the community for future generations to come.
Bonnie Coffey and her husband Ky have lived a nomadic "pickleball" lifestyle for five years. In their adventures, they take lessons with pros across the country, experience amazing pickleball courts, and meet new people everywhere. Bonnie writes a regular blog, and today we'll chat with her about some of her best experiences these past years. When asked why she likes to write and why she has a blog, here's what she wrote:
"I think I have said this before, but it's good for me to remind myself that writing, for me, fulfills three purposes. 1) A blog is a type of diary and a place to organize my photos. 2) It is a way to stay in touch with the amazing people who we've have the good fortune to meet on this journey as well as our wonderful family and friends. 3) It is a way to encourage and spur people to get out and live their best lives. To spur those with nomadic souls on to say, 'Hey, if they can do it, so can I/(we).' " Check out Bonnies blog at www.coffeys2go.com
Join today's "Picklebilly Podcast" as we chat with Dan Normand who started with pickleball in 2019 and has since been a whirlwind of activity. Dan created the SoCal Pickleball Academy, a consortium of coaches,; he has a company with unique pickleball products, and he developed a coaching system that gives his players a detailed "report card" of their progress. We discuss pickleball concepts and strategies as well as a great new location Dan helped to design. Stay tuned!
Here's more about Dan's background:
Entrepreneur, Inventor, Innovator, Dan Normand is one who questions everything and who also happens to be an advanced Pickleball player.
After working in the healthcare industry for 35 years as a respiratory therapist, marketing manager, product manager, sales director and CEO Dan ventured into his own businesses. Dan is respected and admired by our pickleball community as a fair, honest, clear communicator. Leadership is natural because he is never afraid to roll up his sleeves and dive into challenges.
Dan is currently CEO of Aromox, Inc. Aromox is a natural product device delivery company. Aromox is the producer of PaddleCleanse, an all-natural plant-based Pickleball paddle cleaner. Dan has also recently become an IPTPA Certified Instructor and has founded the SoCal Pickleball Academy based out of Escondido, CA.
Dan attended the University of Rhode Island biology program and graduated with honors from the Rhode Island School of Respiratory Therapy.
Matthew Cross is involved in all aspects of pickleball; He is a USA Pickleball Certified Referee, an IPTPA Instructor, and the Referee Coordinator for the PPA. You'll want to hear what he has to say in today's broadcast including overcoming a tragedy, why pickleball is "transcendent," tips for overcoming anxiety on the court, being center court at a championship match, and the importance of hosted housing at upcoming tournaments.
What's it like to be a top athlete and new to the pro pickleball circuit? Today we'll chat with Julian and Stacy about their recent competition in Newport Beach. This was Julian's first singles pro match and their first match as partners in 5.0.
We'll discuss their preparation beforehand, their game plan going into the matches as well as how the action unfolded.
What will they focus on going forward?
Addam Shand is bringing his extensive background to getting kids involved in pickleball. Those interested in adding pickleball to their community will want to hear his thoughts and get his contact information. Addam's energetic style is a pleasure to hear as he talks about the dynamic future of pickleball and some exciting things in store for the development of youth pickleball.
Today we'll be talking with Zane about early struggles, how to compete against bangers, what he does in his free time, and his perspective on the evolution and future of pickleball.
Zane Navratil, 25, started playing pickleball in 2013 after claiming 3 high school tennis State Championships in Wisconsin. Zane continued his tennis career playing Division III tennis at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater where he earned a Master's Degree in Accounting and achieved Academic All-American status. Upon graduation, Zane moved to Milwaukee, WI and took a position as an auditor for Deloitte & Touche, an internationally recognized public accounting firm. Pickleball, however, was calling his name, and he left the auditor position in July of 2020 to play and teach pickleball full time. He is now the number 2 ranked singles player in the world!
Gregg's vast experience in tennis and pickleball has equated to gold medals in 5.0 in prestigious tournaments across the country. A player, coach, writer: Gregg has his hand in many aspects of the game. Let's catch up with this dynamic pro and chat about his experiences and our favorite sport!
Pickleball Coaches and players: Dave and Tracy have their fingers on the pulse of pickleball. Let's find out what they're up to, where they play, and what's happening in the hot spot of Santa Barbara, California.
Skip is an enigmatic part of the California pickleball scene. An avid sports enthusiast, coach, Vietnam Vet, husband, and all-around good guy, he lives and breathes pickleball. You'll want to hear what he has to say.
Author, instructor, coach: Matty Klein has taught over 590 pickleball clinics and has inspired so many to love and improve their pickleball game. We'll start off talking about the hard vs. soft game, and then learn about Matty's clinics, his history with pickleball as well as some upcoming pickleball cruises with Royal Caribbean.
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In this interview, Scott talks about how he started live streaming which has lead to his current job announcing major pro tournaments. We also talk about driving the ball, finding a good pickleball partner, and some players he admires out on the pro tour. Here's some of Scott's background:
Scott Golden is a USAPA 5.0 rated pickleball player originally out of Birmingham, Alabama, but current resides in Boca Raton, Florida. He discovered the sport of pickleball in October of 2016. He has played close to 100 pickleball tournaments all over the country since March of 2017. He signed a major Pickleball contract with Monarch Pickleball/Dicks Sporting Goods on November 1st, 2018. This allows him to travel the country teaching & playing Pickleball. When not on the courts competing, Scott can be found live streaming and color commentating big matches at Pickleball tournaments all over the Country. He is also PPR & IPTPA level 2 certified as a Professional Pickleball Instructor. In January 2020 he signed a contract with the Professional Pickleball Association to do commentary for their pro tour on ESPN.
Julian Arnold has played tennis since he was 6 yrs. old. and earned a scholarship to play for UCLA. He took up pickleball 8 months ago. In a few days, he's playing in a pro tourney and has all the confidence in the world to get to the gold. Let's hear his thoughts about the upcoming challenge, and about how he intends to win! Watch out, Ben Johns!
We'll be catching up with Daniel in today's interview. The conversation gets started right away with a discussion of court techniques and the ability to see the court to play the game to a player's strengths. I enjoyed this conversation, including Daniel's goals, his training techniques, who he admires on the pro circuit and who he sees as "up and coming."
Daniel is heavily involved in pickleball as a player and a coach. Here's a little background:
Daniel (DJ) Howard comes from a tennis background, playing four years of college tennis. He started playing pickleball six years ago. DJ recently resigned from a 20 year career teaching tennis to dedicate himself to becoming the best PB player and coach he can be. His goal is to reach his full potential and become one of the most recognizable names and faces within the sport.
DJ travels the country teaching clinics as a lead instructor for Gamma's Never Stop Playing Pickleball Camps. He strives to be the best coach possible and cares for each individual equally. His pickleball experience, knowledge of the game, passion for people, and love of teaching are evident in all his lessons and camps. He understands what it takes to take a player from where they are currently to where they want to be based on their goals.
DJ competes at the Pro level in tournaments whenever his schedule allows. He continues to train on and off the court to increase his fitness level and improve as a player.
DJ is the proud father of five beautiful children, four boys and one girl. They play pickleball recreationally.
Let's catch up with this pickleball superstar and get the latest details on what she's been doing. We'll get some tips, her perspective on those pro matches, along with some exciting news about Callie's future plans.