Fit For Radio

The Paddle That Changed Pickleball Forever: The Steve Paranto Story

• Drew Tydeman • Season 1 • Episode 17

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On this episode of Fit For Radio, Drew sits down with Steve Paranto, one of the true pioneers of pickleball and a name that is impossible to separate from the history of the sport.

Steve has been competing in tournaments since 1974, making him the longest active competitive player in the game. But his impact goes far beyond what he’s done on the court. Alongside his father, Steve played a key role in developing the modern pickleball paddle—using composite materials sourced from Boeing to create a honeycomb core design that would ultimately change the sport forever.

That innovation helped shape the way pickleball is played today and cemented the Paranto family’s legacy. His father was inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2017, with Steve following in 2019, recognizing decades of influence on the growth and evolution of the game.

Today, Steve continues to push the sport forward. He runs the Paranto Playhouse, a double indoor court at his home, where he trains, competes, and introduces players of all ages and skill levels to the game he’s helped build from the ground up.

This is a conversation about innovation, longevity, and the kind of passion that helps turn a backyard sport into a global movement.

Introduction to Steve Paranto

SPEAKER_00

So your dad was put in in uh twenty seventeen. Yes. And you made it in in 2019. Correct. Now um it's not the easiest question, but your dad passed in 2019. Right.

SPEAKER_01

Was he So I got to tell my dad he was dying. He was in hospice care, and I got to go tell him. Well, I when I got the phone call that I was chosen for the Hall of Fame, I drove right to Olympia where he was staying at a hospice care and told it. I brought his jacket.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's Was he able to was he still in good enough health to be able to enjoy that with you? I still remember him going, that's great. Oh, that's amazing. It's the Fit for Radio Podcast, and I'm your host, Drew Tyteman. We're here at the Stafford Hills Club, as we always are. My favorite place to work out and to work. You can do the same. Hit them up today at Staffordhills.com. They've got it all. Saltwater pool. We're turning the corner on Sunshine, so you can hit that up. Brand new workout facility, beautiful tennis courts. They have pickleball here, CrossFit on and on and on. And it all works out because I've got uh one of the big names in pickleball here with me today, Hall of Famer Steve Peranto. Welcome to the show. Well, thanks, Drew. So glad to have you here. Uh I actually really enjoy the game of pickleball, but I am also finding myself to be a bit of a rookie on the history of the game. And so many of us thought that it just like showed up. Right. And that it was, you know, that it's brand new, right now. Exactly. And when you told me how long you've been playing the game, it blew my mind. Um now your history with this game goes all the way back, which we're going to get into, but you grew up in sports, um, lots of them. It looks like your parents were also athletic, um, and even mom maybe a little bit competitive. Very much so. Um, which all kind of rolled downhill to you. And and athletics and physical movement become a big part of your life. But let's let's go back to the beginning. Growing up, you were into a lot of sports. What was it like for you at your house growing up?

SPEAKER_01

Well, we we uh I was an only child, so uh my parents were my playmates. And so dad and I took up, you know, we'd take okay, now we're well, he he coached us in my softball team, baseball team when we were kids. He was the dad that would play basketball with us on the streets. Nice. In fact, I still remember sixth grade. My birthday present was a basketball hoop. We lived on a cul-de-sac. Surprised me at the so the whole neighborhood played, actually. Yeah. And we painted lines on the we had NBA, which is neighborhood basketball association, and foul, you know, foul. But my dad was the dad that played with us, and I don't ever remember one other dad coming out and playing basketball with the kids except for dad. So that's kind of how I grew up with dad just doing everything with us.

Growing Up With Sports and Family Influence

SPEAKER_00

That's pretty cool. And you know, I think you know, I'm one of four kids. And so one nice thing about being an only child is they are kind of hyper-focused on you and your path. For me, my dad was my older brother's soccer coach, my older brother's basketball teammate, but it's also all relative. And I'm I think a lot of parents, only child, lots of kids, especially when you're growing up, a dad is making an extra effort if they're partaking in their kids' activities because so many dads were get home from work, I'm exhausted, hit the couch, or have dinner, and then just shut it down. So a cool relationship brewing early for you. Right.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, I I I just remember him always having time after after work, after school to be playing with us, whatever our hobbies were. Um table table tennis was a big uh thing in our house. We had one in the garage. Uh and we would we would back then, you know, you played to 21 games. And uh we'd play for money. Uh so if uh if you won a game by ten points, you owed you know, I owe dad 10 cents. And mom too. I mean they were we would we were serious. They'd go at it. Yeah. Until about junior high when um my mom couldn't beat me anymore, then she wanted to stop the the betting.

SPEAKER_00

Because you know, I was reading your bio and it said that you you pointed out that your mom was competitive in sports. So when she d got dug in, it was I want to win this thing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Everything she did, she I I think it just would kill her to losing was uh just like killing her. I mean, so that was uh she didn't deal with that very well. We had we had a pickleball court on uh on our lake that we lived on. That's where dad invented the first composite paddle. And you know how sound travels across water? Oh, yeah. And we had lights, we'd be playing late at night, and mom would be cussing, you know, uh uh and what one night she's yelling and cussing, and across the lake we heard, hey lady, it's only a game from like a half mile across the lake, uh hearing my mom cuss during a pickleball match.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, that is water is just the ultimate amplifier too. And pickleball, and I'd like to get into this later, where I grew up, pickleball didn't end up being in the parks and all of that until much, much later, after the quote unquote boom or you know, the rise of the game. Um, and it and noise becomes an issue for neighbors and and things along those lines. Yeah. Um, but back to the early days, you know, did you so when you're playing pickleball with your parents on the lake, is that before or after you're playing it in college? Oh, that was after.

SPEAKER_01

So you you found the game at the end of the day. Yeah, I introduced it to my parents. And uh they were my best, my biggest fans. So they came to the world's first pickleball championship that I I was in in 19 uh 75. Okay. So it's uh been over 50 years. We're gonna reenact that. Um fact it was 1976, actually. We're going to reenact that this summer on Bainbridge Island. That's awesome. Where the sport was invented.

SPEAKER_00

But people don't know you are the longest-running tournament player currently, correct?

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Ross Powell Right. I'm still playing and I've played tournaments since 74.

SPEAKER_00

And so take me back to when you're in college and somebody introduces you to this game because I didn't know it was even invented at that point. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Right.

Discovering Pickleball In College

SPEAKER_01

Well, people always ask me who introduced you? Well, it wasn't a person. Uh I was going to s uh college at Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington. Um, I was on the tennis team and it rains a lot. We didn't have indoor tennis facilities. And we heard the sound of this of the pickleballs on the wooden paddles and saw people playing it. We're all tennis players, we'll be good at this. Let's and um, in fact, our college professors went on strike. This is my right, I'm a freshman in college. Professors went on strike for two or three weeks, and my me and my my buddy Dave Lester, we just played pickleball every single day. And then it turned out that that was we're we played just about every day. We played more pickleball than we did tennis.

SPEAKER_00

And so it's nice to get a little break for as they take the the strike. That's just free time to pick up a new game. Right. So when you when you start to play this game, is it an instant love? Does it does it jump the line on tennis almost immediately, or does that is that an ongoing process?

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Powell I I think it was an instant love for me because um I just had the knack for it. I I wasn't the best tennis player at our college. Uh and and my partner wasn't number one singles either, but we were the best pickleball players. There was something about that game, I think, because we had had table tennis experience. It's kind of a hybrid of table tennis. Yeah. And then my partner was a top badminton player. Um tournament, you know, level rated really high in the Northwest. So he combined badminton tennis and table tennis. We're probably really the first person to really combine those three and and uh use it in in the game. We came up with strategies that weren't being used yet.

SPEAKER_00

That's impressive. Um so w as you're getting into the game, tell me like how how I want to say unpopular, but how popular is the game at that point? Is it completely off the radar?

SPEAKER_01

So it is totally off the radar. It was just pockets of people playing. Uh I mean, for years and years and years, I I would tell people I played pickleball and then I would have to go through my spiel. What they because all the first saying was, what is pickleball? I mean, this even eight years ago. And then you'd have to have your little spiel, and um we would be we'd be calling fitness clubs like this, like we did one here, to put on a exhibition, uh demonstration to get the our club in our sport into clubs like this. And we would knock on the doors of all the clubs and some would be interested, some wouldn't. Now they come, they're coming to us.

The Appeal Of Pickleball Across Ages

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's a it's a totally different operation. And what I noticed about pickleball when I first played it, we were out at a a place called Camp Sherman. Oh, yeah. Um, out near like Black Butte, Oregon. And there's no cell phones, there's no television, there's none of those things. And it's just what's in the activities box. Yeah. So we're gonna use whatever's in here. And so there were a couple of pickleball paddles, and so we went and and I'm not even sure they were in great condition, but they'd been out in the elements. We started playing. And what I noticed was the the point of entry on it is so much more inviting than tennis. Tennis, you know, we would go on these trips as kids and you'd grab a couple of rackets and you'd be banging it over the fence, or couldn't return a serve. And you just couldn't, I couldn't play enough to get good at it or find somebody who was also willing to put in the time. But pickleball, we picked it up, and my nephew and I, who at the time, I think he was 12 or 13, I'm a 40-year-old man at this time, and I'm I'm thinking, okay, well, we're just gonna have to kind of play this light. Next thing you know, the two of us are running around smacking this ball, battling back and forth. And and granted, he's an athlete, but it isn't often that a 40-year-old man and a 13-year-old kid can play a game where you're both enjoying it on a competitive level immediately.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'll go farther than that. I mean, I I'm watching 80-year-olds um play with very athletic teenagers also and enjoying the game.

SPEAKER_00

And they can stay in the game. Yeah. And that's so different from tennis for me. And for most sports, really, you you get that kind of an age gap, or even just in overall natural athleticism. Because I I find that I can get across a pickleball uh court in a way where I can get to the shot. Now, will I hit it correctly? That's going to be the the point there. But it just allows people to get into it and play a game when you're older. Because golf, golf had had that market cornered. When you can't play sports and you want to be competitive, you just play golf. But you can do this and still be in the game and get that heart rate up.

The Evolution of Pickleball

SPEAKER_01

Right. It's great for fitness, great for seniors. Right now I'm teaching a senior pickleball class with another instructor, Kevin Beeson, every Thursday at our club. And you have to be 60 and over to be in the class. And we're working on balance, we're working on strength, we're working on uh cardio. We do a warm-up that's I'm I'm I'm kind of like the Jane Fonda on the pickleball court where we have pickleball warm-up to music. Um it just it just meets checks all the boxes for fitness for seniors. Doubles, especially. Now, singles, that's a different story. That's too much court to cover. We have we had the reputation of of being the old person sport for quite a while until this boom happened recently. Our best players now, just to make this clear, are all very young. You're an old guy if you're in your 30s, if you're above just like an NBA basketball player. You're 35, ooh-ooh, you're slowing down. So our best woman in the world is 19, Annalie Waters. She just signed a deal with Nike. Um, she just signed a deal with uh Franklin Sports for her paddle. So that's a$10 million deal with the paddle company. Whoa. Not sure what she's getting from Nike. Uh so they're getting real athlete money now. Well, she's been making more money than any of the WNBA players. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Isn't that incredible? Yeah. And she's a n and she's been number one in the world since she was 15. Man. And she's 19. The number one man is 26.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell And I noticed that also because I was as I was doing some research before you came in, I was rolling through the Hall of Fame, which you're a member of, and we'll get to exactly how that comes about here in a second. But I'm looking at some of the newer classes, and you've got much younger faces going in and people who look like pretty pretty legitimate athletes. So it's not a game where you just sneak in and win titles at least anymore. It's not going to happen.

SPEAKER_01

No, to get in a the Hall of Fame as a player, you have to dominate for five years. Okay. Uh and um that's not easy to do. In fact, right now you'll get we'll have a great new player. Oh, this is this is the one. And a year later they're not winning anymore because there's just new people coming into our sport. I I don't know if you're familiar with Jack Saw, great, you know, great tennis player, won gold at in uh the Olympics. He's uh the most successful pro tennis player that's come to pickleball. Okay. He's not number one, but he's in the top five singles, which makes sense. It's singles is so much more like singles tennis. Um and uh he's moving up there in doubles, but also he is in his 30s. So he may, you know He's got a little time. If he was 26 instead of 36, we he would have more time to Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I I think that with um it's it's funny that you say that, you know, you're always leading the warm-ups and all that. Well, you're well qualified to do such a thing. You spent 30 years teaching physical education at the elementary school level. Yeah, I loved it. That's impressive. And you told me that you're still teaching kids and and you donate your time a lot of times, which you thought was pretty awesome. But what was that like for you? And was that always the plan for you to be an education?

SPEAKER_01

My plan, because I was like my life kind of evolved around tennis when I was in high school. And my plan was I I uh would love to be a high school tennis coach, maybe a college tennis coach. In fact, actually, the my first year at Pacific University, the coach had left that recruited me. I was a player coach my first year as at Pacific University. Oh, wow. But um that was my plan. And then when you student teach, you know, you student teach a different level. So I student taught at grade school, I and I student taught at Hillsborough high school level. And I realized, man, I just like working with the elementary kids. It had more impact. Uh and and I want to make it fun.

SPEAKER_00

Because those are the formative years of really building them into someone who can do this in the future. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah.

Teaching and Inspiring Future Generations

SPEAKER_01

And I wanted to, I was different at the time where I wanted to, I had I taught unicycling, juggling, footbag, hacky sack, racket score sports, and then all your traditional, you know, soccer, basketball, track, and everything. I just wanted kids to be lifelong movers. So I wanted them to have a great experience in my PE class so that for the rest of their life they're out there doing some kind of activity that they enjoy.

SPEAKER_00

And I think most kids who had a PE teacher that they loved and who loved it back, they never forget that. Because I remember the games and even the ones we're not allowed to play anymore, you know, the dodgeballs and the Pony Express and all these things where you're hucking items at each other. But I remember those years as being important. And now I don't think I got gifted with the kind of teacher that I believe you to be. I mean, m all of my physical education teachers looked like they had never taken physical education. Yeah. And so they didn't look the part. And maybe I caught I feel like I caught mine late in the game where they were a little over it.

SPEAKER_01

That could it could be. Now, I I taught nine classes a day. Elementary school, there were 30 minutes long, nine nine classes, and I actually worked out with every class. So if if the if I had kids going around the track, um, I was go I was going around the track with them. Um smart way to stay in shape, too. Yeah, I did uh kept in very good shape, but I I wanted to be a role model. And and uh Yeah, I wanted to be a role model. So I was doing things with the kids, and uh, we did lots of station activities in my in my gym class, and kids are going from this to this to this to this, and lots of lots of activity. Nobody's standing in lines. Now you mentioned we can't do dodgeball anymore. So there I loved having dodgeball type activities. Now we didn't use rubber balls, we were using foam balls. Yeah. And there's a million of them, and we have targets besides people, but we also have people as targets too. There's nothing really that can teach that many kids all at once how to track and react more than a dodgeball type game. And then we didn't call it dodgeball, it was SpongeBob SquarePants. You're and so you're SpongeBob and you're, you know, and and so I never had that complaint about you know the old traditional stereotype. You get hit, you're out. My kids aren't out. You do 10 push-ups, you're back in. Oh, there you go. So, you know, you do you do five sit-ups or what? You know, so nobody's out. That that's that's terrible. I mean, why I'm gonna sit down and have not get exercised.

SPEAKER_00

No, I want you getting exercise. I like that move. That's and you know, the kids who are willing to do that to get back in the game can play because that makes total sense. We get you get hit three times in dodgeball and you didn't move all all day.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's ridiculous. That's uh I want to teach teach some fitness and activity and movement, so um, you're never out.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I think it's uh also it's funny that you end up in the pickleball hall of fame because in a combination of unicycling, juggling, and uh I also had read that when you were a kid, you learned how to be a ventriloquist. So you could have been in the circus, Steve, with all these skills of yours, but instead you went another path. There's probably a time in my life I would have uh enjoyed being in the circus.

The Impact of Innovation In Pickleball Equipment

SPEAKER_01

Can you can you still do it I still ride my unicycle and I still juggle and I still hit uh kick hacky sack and uh ventriloquism I use at parties at my house, but that was my summer gig. I was uh doing children daycare centers. I had Pronto's pal. So music, magic, juggling, and evolved around my characters.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell And you even did this for um people who had been deployed. Vietnam, yeah. Yeah, so you were helping people on that level too. Which is cool. Now, your dad got you that ventriloquist.

SPEAKER_01

My dad made me real dummy my first real professional dummy my dad made by reading a book that Paul Winchell wrote. That was a famous ventriloquist in the 50s, early sixties. And uh he's the one that um wrote my routines for because I when I entertained at Fort Lewis, I was in a troupe. I was the only kid. So, you know, there would be the dance the dancers and there would be the rock and roll band, yeah. Comedian, and then I was the kid, but it's like a two-hour show. That was I was in that was my junior high period.

SPEAKER_00

That's impressive, though. I was a um kid performer as well. So like I was always the one on display uh at that same age. So it's kind of a special thing. And what did you do? What was your well, I was a kid actor, singer, all right, dancer, theater, yeah, the whole thing, TV commercials. Oh, wow. Um yeah. You go back, I will squirm out of the chair looking at the old TV commercials and the old Columbia jacket with the turtleneck and the whole thing. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I was into that for years before I got into radio and then I used that avenue to actually make a paycheck and entertain at the same time. Now I want to talk um more about your dad because that's not by chance that he makes you that dummy to play with, because he's a he's an engineer and an inventor and and so much more. And that actually is what's going to lead not just you, but him also into the Hall of Fame.

Developing a New Paddle

SPEAKER_01

My dad was inducted in the Hall of Fame the very first year, 2017, that the Hall of Fame formed with the inventors of the sport.

SPEAKER_00

Which that's on another level.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I mean dad just couldn't believe it. But he revolutionized the sport. So I was complaining about wooden pickleball paddles of being so heavy. And uh he wasn't even quite playing yet. He maybe he had just started playing. And then and I purposely complained. Yeah, and then uh a week later he's got two prototypes. I still have those two paddles. And we go out and hit, and right away, oh man, the sweet spot's bigger. Look at this of that nice sound. Of course, that's the sound everybody hates now if you live near a uh so my dad created that problem. Yeah, you wouldn't the wooden paddles don't make that much noise. But ours made that really loud punk and uh it revolutionized the sport. It made it so your hands were quicker, you could reset balls, the rallies are more fun, kids could h handle a seven ounce paddle compared to the old 12 ounce wood paddles. Uh to just rub, it just changed. The sport could have actually died without that invention.

SPEAKER_00

And you guys probably caused what, 10,000 noise complaints across the continental United States. States over time? Probably. Or more. I I want to discuss exactly how that paddle gets made because uh your dad was working at Boeing. Yeah, he was an engineer. Which that's a a convenient spot to be to find the materials needed for that. Boeing surplus store.

SPEAKER_01

So he uh knew he knew right when I said lighter material, he knew right away floor paneling from jet airplanes. That's what it what it was. Um and we he created uh the company was called ProLite. Nobody won a tournament without our paddle from '84 till like two thousand and four. Then the sport blew up. Now we have 2,000 brands, and they're all basically a copy of dad's honeycomb. There is some new things happening right now with foams, but uh yeah, it just revolutionized the the sport. But he was an engineer, went to the uh surplus store, brought panels back home, and before you know it, we're we're going to the surplus store every month, just filling up a truck full of those panels.

The New Paddle Changes The Game

SPEAKER_00

That's amazing. You're listening to the Fit for Radio podcast brought to you by the Stafford Hills Club. It's a place, let's be honest, you gotta check it out. Of course, it's the premier indoor-outdoor tennis facility where you can take lessons, you can play with your friends, tournaments, all kinds of stuff. Also, saltwater pool, an amazing kids' club with a group of people who take care of my wild kids. And that's saying a lot all by itself. So check it out staffordhills.com, all the amenities, you're not going to be disappointed. Voted the best health and wellness facility in the Portland area. And of course, tell them Drew sent you for half off your initiation at the Stafford Hills Club. So I wanted to ask you about the Boeing surplus store, because the thought of that where you would have you'd be able to buy paneling from an airplane. Now, was that for only people who work at Boeing or were you guys allowed?

SPEAKER_01

Everybody could go to that surplus store.

SPEAKER_00

Really? Does that still exist? I doubt it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it seems like an old school idea. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Actually, for legal reasons, um this that material that we had, if you don't have a mask on when you're routing it out, it's not safe. So probably for legal reasons, they probably can't even sell anything, a lot a lot of the things that they were selling.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell So you guys were going, filling up the truck or the car and then coming back, and you were personally making the paddles, or did you farm that? No.

SPEAKER_01

In fact, here's a good example of an early paddle right here. Dad made entire paddle. I made the the butt caps. Okay. Another machine that dad invented. Uh but it was a 20-step process that dad figured out. So it was like an assembly line in our garage. Oh, cool. Um and so on the inside of those two panels is a honeycomb. This is all yeah, honeycomb. And it's this one's fiberglass. We had whatever materials, some were fiberglass, some were NOMEX, some were uh kind of a metal uh metal, but uh Yeah. And any any of them that say Eatonville on them were made in our garage by my dad.

SPEAKER_00

Awesome. Yeah. So how long do you guys continue to produce these things yourself?

Variety In Paddles

SPEAKER_01

We did it until about nine middle of the nineties for about 10, 12 years, and then we sold it. And the guy that we sold it to didn't do much with it, but then he sold it to Mark Friedenberg, who's also in the Hall of Fame. Oh, okay. And Mark did a great job with uh the company for his years, and now his son has ProLite. So ProLite's still a brand. Okay. Um they're not sponsoring pros though. And just like anything else, that's everybody takes up. Everybody wants to use paddles that the pros are using on TV. And so right now the big brand I'm sponsored by Selkirk. You know, that's a big brand. In fact, it's one of the few made in the United States. That's in Idaho. Um Selkirk's big uh Eula, who was a table tennis brand. They're big. Um Franklin. Uh actually it goes on and on and on with uh ping golf is getting into uh really paddles right now. What a friend, uh friend of mine, a pro Eric Lang, is advising them. So he's working with Ping. Um Adidas uh goes on and on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Because when I when I had that experience out at Camp Sherman playing uh playing pickleball, when I got home, the first thing I did was go online and buy paddles because I needed to have them in case we needed to play again. How many years ago was that? I it was probably four or five years ago.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, there's a lot of brands even five four or five years ago.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So there were there were and that's kind of what I was gonna get at is that when I went, it was like a slew of different options, and I just kind of picked a price point for a a rookie like I was coming in. And so they do the trick, but I'm sure if I showed you, you'd be like, well, you should have got that one.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe. Uh beginners really spend$300 on your paddle. That's they're they're up to$300 now. Oh. Uh you can get a very good paddle for$100,$75, maybe. Um what you pay for when you spend the extra is a little more power and a little more spin and a little bigger sweet spot.

SPEAKER_00

So what causes more spin?

SPEAKER_01

Is it just the texture? Texture. So this is in the old days, the rules were no, you had to have a smooth surface. Okay. Um now um what even though the rules said smooth surface, paddle companies start, well, I'm gonna add a little. And then players loved it. So then they had, oh, well, you could have this much a little bit. And then this much and this much. But now we have governing body that's really keeping track of that. But I could almost file my fingernails on. It isn't rubber like a like table tennis.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah. It definitely has a there's definitely a texture. It's like it's not quite like a grip tape, but there's defin it's definitely not like linoleum smooth. Right. There's uh there's something that you see.

SPEAKER_01

Do you notice the weight on the sides? The that's that is perimeter weighting like we use in golf clubs. Oh, okay. And that allows you to have less less twist, and that makes it feel like the sweet spot's a little bigger. A little more pop there. Yeah. Those are cool. Yeah, that's come a long way. Yeah, and you see the size difference. So this one was that was traditional size. I did design the first oversized paddle back then. It was bigger than this. We called it the Magnum, which is pretty close to what uh we're using now. Um today's paddles uh can't exceed 24 inches if you combine the length and width. So if you have one longer, it has to be narrower. So it's give and take. That makes sense. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Because if you have a long, narrow one, well, now you're sweet, you don't have much sweet spot this one. So that's the rules we have. We there are quite a few rules now on on the paddles.

SPEAKER_00

Was like for you, you guys sold the paddle company and then it went through multiple hands. Do you ever wish you had kept it? Well, I I guess, because it would have been fun to be a zillionaire. Because the brand was it blew up on the left.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But you know, you never know at those times, too. And really, I'd rather be the inventor than the one who has it. You know, because when it's all said and done, you know, people remember the inventor of basketball. Yeah. They don't Daismith. Yeah. They don't remember who owned the New Jersey Nets for X, Y, and Z years. Aaron Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_01

You know, when you s when you talk about I was a big fan of basketball. And so I remember in sixth grade doing a book report on Day Smith. Yeah. And well, this is the world's first championship right here. That's me when I had muscles. Is that you on the left? Yeah. I was 20. Exactly. Yeah, I was 20. Um, and uh my partner, Dave Lester. And this was the first championship finals. And um grade school PE teachers don't look like that. That's impressive. And uh in the audience are the inventors. Oh, really? So I'm playing a right in front of them. And we beat them earlier in the tournament. And you know, how many people can say or that, you know, that Nay Smith watched them play a basketball game? Or, you know, I mean, there's nearly possibly nobody alive now. But you know, that's something I'll always have, is that I can say that.

Growing The Game

SPEAKER_00

And I think as the game continues to grow and it's really blown up, you know, the fact that you're in the Hall of Fame, that's just gonna get bigger and more wild with time, like how important it is to be there, how hard it is to be there. And you are in there, and your dad is in there for inventing the paddle as well. I mean, it's a pretty cool thing to be able to hang your hat on.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I have to pitch myself that I'm in a hall of fame of a sport, period, and then that it happens to be the sport that I'm so passionate about.

SPEAKER_00

And you continue to to work with people and kids, young adults, things like that on the game, because we were going to schedule and you're like, oh, I'm helping these people out and I like them, so I'm not charging them. And I'm just like, this is you're you're really promoting the game more than anything.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, that's what we what we did is we wanted everybody to play this game we're playing. And now they are. It is the fastest growing sport in the world. Uh people don't realize this. We think we had a big boom during COVID. It doesn't compare to what's going on right now in China and Vietnam and Malaysia. Vietnam per capita is the biggest pickleball uh place in the world.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell Because I was gonna ask you about worldwide growth, because you think with blinders on, you think, oh, it's all over the country. And but this game translates well to different types of people. And I would think that in in China they could be dangerous at this. Aaron Powell Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, we're uh Seymour Rifkin's gonna be a guest at my house tomorrow. Seymour's probably working harder than anyone to get us in the Olympics. Um and he has some Olympic background coaching, uh, Olympic uh gymnasts. Uh he's tr he's going to China two to three times a year, going to Vietnam, going to Australia, getting all these countries so involved in pickleball. Uh no, the grow think of all the countries that enjoy uh adminton and uh table tennis.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell And they like it on a level that we could never even understand. Yeah. And they're good.

SPEAKER_01

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah. We we are worried that when we do get in the Olympics, all the people on the metal stand are gonna be from another country.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell So what is w where are we at with that, with the Olympic push? I would guess that you would be on the forefront of of working on that.

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Powell You know, they the Olympic Committee loves pickleball. The problem right now, the one big stumbling block, we have two we have two governing bodies, and uh the Olympic committee wants one. And so they're gonna have to work together. So what are the two? Uh so one is Seymour, is my friend Seymour, and that's the World Pickleball Federation. Okay. And then there's another one, Global. Oh. Uh and they're they have to get together in order in order for us to get in the Olympics. If you're gonna grow it to the U.S. I mean, there's a there is a possibility that if like tomorrow these two groups get together, that we could still be in the Olympics for the L.A. Olympics. Wouldn't that be cool? But it's probably gonna be the uh Australian Olympics in Brisbane.

SPEAKER_00

Now it's one of those things where if it makes it into the Olympics, I feel like it's gonna stay. You know, some things have come in and then gone away. I mean, we've got a fad. We have breakdancing in the Olympics. Can we not get pickleball in there? Right.

SPEAKER_01

But they must have done everything correct politically to get in the Olympics, too, at the same time. That's what you have to do. But no, uh pick just to make this clear, pickleball is not a fad. No. This is this is here to stay. Um this is yeah, it's not going away like racquetball did. Yeah. Uh for one thing, you can it's easier to put courts, you can play in your driveway. Again, easier entry level. Uh but at the same time, even though it's easy entry level, the skill level to excel is difficult. Very difficult.

SPEAKER_00

And it's not often you get both of those. You know, because like golf is uh I guess golf is relatively close to this, but golf is tough to get started. You can't just walk out and play golf. You'll get laughed off a T box. Right. And I remember the first time I just went out with buddies and they were all good and I just borrowed clubs. It was embarrassing. Yeah. Golf is hard, a lot of moving parts. And now when you get a little better at it, it's so much fun. But it's also to get up the to the top. It's the same as any sport. Pickleball is not gonna, the pro and me are never gonna be on the same level, but I love the fact that I could play against just some standard issue guy, and we could battle and have fun and have fun and get a great workout.

All Ages Game

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So people that are coming from any sport that involves footwork or tracking and reacting, I thought for a lot of years, well, soccer players would be difficult to coach because they don't use their hands. No, they're great. They're footwork and they still track and react to ball. Um, right now, um, one of my kids that I love working with, um 17-year-old Miles Reedy, and his dad played for the Timbers of Troy. And um, he's a regular now at my playhouse playing. And my goal with him, he's 45 years old, is my type. See, we have age groups, uh, senior pros begin at 50. And he's kind of I'm trying to get him on that path to be that.

SPEAKER_00

To be ready at 50. Yeah. See, that's cool. And I think that having those other opportunities too is to be able to still compete on a higher level as time goes on. You know, like I had a guy in here recently, he runs Iron Man's, and you're running the Iron Man with other people, but you're competing against a finite group in your age group.

SPEAKER_01

And we do the same in pickleball. It's every five years. So last year was my first year in the 70s, and it's based on calendar year. So I was 69, but I got to play in the 70s, and the same with my my mixed doubles partner, Judy Horfrost, she's in the Hall of Fame of table tennis. Oh, cool. She was on that team that went to China in 71, ping pong diplomacy, the scene from Fort Scump, based on her team. She was the youngest member of that team. Well, we're the same age, and she's phenomenal. That's awesome. So um last year we called ourselves the 70-year-old virgins. We were the we were the that you know, we were the young ones and we were new, and and uh so that's all that's so the trick now when you get to be so at 70 to 74 uh is to stay healthy together. Or, you know, hey, let's do our knee surgery together next next So we're all ready on its side.

SPEAKER_00

Right, yeah. So how do you find that um since you mention it, you and her play competitively? Is the upkeep on the body are you and you're doing the stretching and you're doing all the stuff and you've you're 30 years trained in you know healthy habits, but how does the body hold up out there?

SPEAKER_01

I mean it's obvious for everybody. I I'm fortunate that my knees and hips are not an issue. Um right now I'm having a little foot pain from all the singles I've so I took second at nationals this year for my age. Um and that's a lot of running. Yeah. And um at my age, it's probably not too smart to play a lot of singles uh just because you're sprinting uh so much you know, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop. So uh you have to kind of be careful that you don't overdo it. Pickleball players are famous for overdoing it because they don't like to stop. So they just go, go, go. Yeah. Just yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So is the foot pain like a plantar fasciitis type thing?

The Playhouse

SPEAKER_01

I think I have some tendons that are strained right now. It's I've played the last three days. It's tough because when you're not resting, I can play doubles. I did uh singles right now would be a no-no. So I've I've got like every day schedule to play for the next week where I've my my men's doubles partner was in town from Seattle, and he brought his mixed partner, and his brother was my college roommate and my my doubles partner in college in tennis, and he's learning. And so we just had a big mixed weekend with mixed our our partners, so men, women, and then the ladies would play their gender match, and we'd play our gender match, and we would mix it. And then I threw in two of my star teenagers. Oh, there you go. And we called uh when we played men's doubles with the kids, we didn't let them be on the same team. Um but then it made it even. Yeah. But we could we jokingly call it men's mixed doubles because and if in mixed doubles, oftentimes the man just takes over the entire court and the and the girl has a small area, but she also has to hit a lot of balls because we isolate them. Yeah. Um, so we we are men's mixed doubles when we're playing with the kids. We're we're that role of let's let the kid cover everything. If a lob goes up instantly, I just say, yours. You just run that down. Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Well, that works. Now, you mentioned earlier I wanted to elaborate on this um saying that you play at the playground. Now you're not talking about play playhouse. Sorry. I have two indoor courts at my own. The playhouse. So yeah, it's not like a discovery zone. It's a legitimate double pickleball indoor court, uh, courts. So tell me, how did this what was the brainchild behind this?

SPEAKER_01

How did it come about? Oh, it's always been a dream of mine. So in the Northwest it rains so much. I've had an outdoor court since '82. So in four different homes, I've had outdoor courts. It's great, but it rains. And so I I found this piece of property in Beaver Creek, Oregon, not too far from Oregon City. Uh we bought the house and uh built a a big playhouse for pickleball.

SPEAKER_00

So did you have like a couple acres out there where you could couple acres? Because it's not a small channel.

SPEAKER_01

No, no, no, it's a couple acres. And then but the the building is 78 by seven by sixty two quarters. And then we have an upstairs um to view. Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_00

It's impressive. I also saw a golf simul simulator out there, which I was extremely jealous of.

Overcoming The Noise Drama of Pickleball

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we do have a golf simulator in there. Last night we used the golf simulator as a pr as our screen to watch the uh Oscars.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, which you do a you do an Oscar thing every year and then you also play pickleball. We played pickleball all day up until the Oscar ceremony.

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Powell It's pretty amazing. And no noise complaints. Well, no, I mean that's right. They can nobody Yeah. You can call all you want. We're indoors. So usually we have music plan and uh that's that's pretty sweet, though.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, and and you the weather can't get at you. So how often would you say that you're you're at the playhouse?

SPEAKER_01

Every day.

SPEAKER_00

Every single day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I have a teaching pro that teaches there three days a week, too. Yeah. Bonnie Williams, an excellent teacher and player in her own right, um, teaches at my facility three days a week, and she teaches at a similar one out near Hillsborough the other two days. So you know, eight hours a day. That's incredible. People love to take pickleball lessons. If you're serious about pickleball you, there's so many different shots to work on. Yeah. And because of these new paddles, the way they've developed, I'm teaching things now I didn't teach three years ago.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell There's extra wrinkles in the in the game now because it's more advanced. Right. Now when it comes to the paddle itself, and you correct me if I'm wrong here. Did you were you a part of uh creating a quieter paddle?

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Powell So I ten years ago when this when the uh noise issue started, I invented a product called the Quiet Pickle Pad that went on it was a felt covering, but then I put a smooth surface over that since we weren't allowed to have any texture. Well, at the time the governing body wouldn't allow it. Now there is one it it's it's called the owl. It's basically the same thing, and it is approved.

SPEAKER_00

Ah so you had the idea, but they weren't ready for it yet. Basically, something like that. Yeah. So do you um what is your thought process on because just speaking of the noise while we're on the on the topic, you know, there's a park in downtown like Oswego where and they were so up in arms about it. And now my stance, I would guess, would be more along the s uh stance of what the pickleballers would say is you bought a house next to a park. And so kids play baseball at that park right there. People are on the playground at the park right there. And so like to pick which noises are and which aren't appropriate at a park to me seems like a bit of a stretch.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean, uh pickleball players love the sound, by the way. I like the sound. But um, neighbors that maybe are trying to sleep. It it it is it I can I can see it being an annoying, annoying sound, but so can a basketball and so can kids screaming. But I I think part of that problem is because pickleball was so popular, the courts were always filled, which means and they used to be tennis courts, so they would only be hardly used. And then when there were people, you only had two tennis courts. Yeah. Well, now there's well, I think if there was something like eight pickleball courts, and everybody's playing doubles, not single, so parking issues too. Because park in front of people's homes and because it was so popular.

SPEAKER_00

And I'll tell you, Steve, my stance there is not from a guy who lives next to the park. Uh-huh. You see, I don't live next to the park. So I'm like, I don't see the problem. But if it's going pop, pop, pop, pop, and I can't get a spot in front of my house. That's I could see how it would deteriorate your morale. Yeah. So you said they lost that. Yeah, there's no pickleball courts there now. Oh, that's too bad. Yeah. So what what's the answer then?

SPEAKER_01

If you well, the answer is Is uh indoor clubs. So that I'm working at Rex uh as an instructor. We have, in fact, we just opened our second one not very far from here. Um, then there's pickleball kingdom not very far from here. That used to be at Bed Bath and Beyond. Yeah, that's near my house. There's Jumbos at Lloyd Center, there's Jumbos in Beaverton. So these are indoor clubs.

SPEAKER_00

Um I go way back with Jumbo and his family. Oh, you do, yeah. Yeah, his son Roshan is best buddies with my brother in the high school.

SPEAKER_01

Did you know they opened these pickleball clubs? Yeah, I did.

SPEAKER_00

I actually was going to mention them to you, but it's a small world out there, especially in the pickleball community, where I'm sure you guys all know of everything that's that's going on there. Yeah. So what do you think? Do you think that that what's our growth pattern here? So it's been exponential. Trevor Burrus, Jr. It's still exponential because of the other countries. And you think we'll just keep going, going, going until I don't see an end to it. Do you think it'll have a um a bigger presence when it comes, you know, like most of these sports, they get big and then they get more TV time and they get more notoriety that way. They start showing up on the ESPNs and the Fox sports of the world. What um what's your thought there? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01

Right now we have pickleball TV. Uh it's owned by the Tennis Channel. Uh so we're being bro almost every weekend there's been broadcast. And we have been on ESPN and we've been on CBS Sports. Uh so it's that's happening. Uh everybody loves football for not just because they're football fans, but because they wager on it. Wagering's coming to pickleball. In fact, you can already do it in some states.

SPEAKER_00

So yeah. So once it hits DraftKings, which is where you can legally bet on sports here, you're right. That's what blows something up on a whole nother level.

SPEAKER_01

Uh I believe this is correct, but during COVID, table tennis was the most wagered sport in the world. Whoa. Yeah. Remember, table tennis is huge in other countries.

SPEAKER_00

Uh and during COVID, they shut down so many sports that that was actually the super launch of um people already were betting on UFC fights, but they were the only ones. And I'm sure in other countries and table tennis is kind of the same thing. You could play in an excluded area without a bunch of people breathing on each other. Yeah. UFC was able to do it, and it blew up their betting game because the football fans and the basketball fans had nothing to scratch that itch. And so it grew exponentially there, too. So I could see I could see where, you know, I know enough degenerates to where it would help the other growth is going to be high schools are going to have teams.

SPEAKER_01

Colleges already have teams. One of my kids that I coach is playing for Great uh Grand Canyon University in in Arizona. He was on he was on um YouTube last week with one of his matches with National Collegiate Championships, and he won and got interviewed. And he's home right now for spring break. So I he's been to my house and I took him bowling. One day I found out he he joined the bowling league at his college. You know, and I was a college bowler also. Yeah. So you and your dad were good bowlers. Yeah. We both had 300s. I thought I saw that. My dad's 300 was when he was 66 years old. How many 300 games did you set? I've had seven in competition. I've had more that that weren't in competition. That's amazing. But um So you've got touch. That's for sure. There's a lot of bowlers with a lot of 300. So if you're serious about bowling, it's there's yeah.

The Growth of High School Pickleball

SPEAKER_00

The Fit for Radio podcast is brought to you by the Stafford Hills Club. And when you come here, you will notice the difference. The sense of community is amazing. People smiling, happy. They hold the door for you around here. And of course, it's one of those clubs that when you sign up, they want you to come back. They want you to be happy and healthy, because then we can all be together for a long time. Check out all the amenities and everything they have to offer at staffordhills.com. Tell them Drew sent you and get half off your initiation. All right, I did want to touch on the whole high school sports thing because I didn't even really think about that before we sat down here. And that is that that really is the growth system that we need to take it to the next level, especially if we're going to be competing on a global scale, because you talk about some of those Asian countries, they work hard at a game and they practice hard at a game. And so if we're like, oh, give it a shot, we're gonna get throttled. So, you know, the competitive guy in me is like, okay, well, how are we gonna win? And I would think that high school and and the youth sports in general, where we have a farm system that's going to find the next superstar. Right. Where are we in the process of trying to get it into schools? And is there like a group who's pushing to try and open that door?

SPEAKER_01

So we have quite a few high schools actually in there that have clubs, and then they will organize to play other other high schools. Uh, you know, that's how lacrosse lacrosse is a club sport is a club sport.

SPEAKER_00

I played club lacrosse, and it was multiple high schools would have to make one team. Uh-huh. Um, which but we knew it was the that was the catalyst to getting it where it needed to be. And that's where we're at right now.

SPEAKER_01

We're it's a club sport, not a varsity sport. We we sat down and talked with the OSAA, and um he said it we take we take forever. You know, what they've added like one sport in 20 years. Was it uh uh women's wrestling was added, maybe men's volleyball. I mean, it's they they snail pace. So they even told us really you should go the club club route like lacrosse. But lacrosse is a very popular high school sport.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, it's humongous now. It's and kids are quitting other sports to play it. It's it's when we played, there were six or seven teams in the state. You're you would play at home one week and then you would have to drive to Hood River from Portland the next week. You know, so it's there might be some growing pains in it, and you might have to find the competition, but I think it's all there. It'll happen fast.

The Importance of Physical Education

SPEAKER_01

I here's what I would like to see in Oregon. Our tennis is in the spring, have it in the fall, so we we could still use the same tennis courts, have uh lines that are you know, it'd have to be pickleball lines on tennis courts. Uh the tennis coaches might not like that right away, but uh, you know, we play basketball with volleyball lines and there's a thousand lines. So, and that's how we started pickleball, anyways, putting uh lines on tennis courts. But that would be so the tennis players are gonna be attracted to this. They already are. Yeah. So you get those kids playing in the fall. Some tennis coaches are gonna realize hey, my my kids are better tennis players now because of playing pickleball all fall. I would guess so. Yeah. And so I that's what I think is gonna happen. We do have colleges right now giving scholarships. Okay. So there is a path for people. Yeah. And um, not only that, colleges have realized that when they put courts at their university for study breaks for kids to play, they're very popular that attract students to those colleges.

SPEAKER_00

You know what I've noticed also where I live, you know, I'll go ride my bike in the summertime, and there's multiple businesses in Lake Oswego over here that have put in pickleball for break time. So, and and I drove by one day and I was like, oh my God, there's a pickleball quarter here. And so I went up to it and had a big sign. It was like, employees only, back off. But but the idea is they're keeping their people active. When they stop down, they're they can take that lunch break or whatever to go do pickleball. Right. It's a good workout, it's good kind of bonding with other employees. And does that tell you about the growth of a game? I mean, most businesses don't even have a basketball hoop outside. You've got a full-blown pickleball, like a nice court.

SPEAKER_01

Fire stations often will pull their fire truck out and play pickleball. And a lot of that is because they got hurt playing basketball. And that so pickleball was safer for the fireman to play so they wouldn't have, you know, injuries. I got hurt at work. Oh, yeah, playing basketball. Yeah. Um, you're familiar with the Leatherman tool. Yeah, of course. So Tim Leatherman played at my house last night. Oh, nice. Very very good top national champion for 75. Um, him and his partner, Steve Berliner, that started that together. They're the same age. They've been friends since table tennis days when they were teenagers. Um they have at Leatherman Tools a pickleball court, a very nice one. Nice. And um, so that employees can use uh that court too.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell And the Leatherman is is amazing and always has been. Uh that's another great invention uh right there. Now, when it comes to the Hall of Fame, I I heard that they are it's not just gonna be live online. They're planning on actually having a place that you could visit. We're going to have a brick and mortar soon.

SPEAKER_01

Uh it's uh I'm personally hoping it's going to be in Seattle because the game was invented in Bainbridge Island, just a ferryboat ride away from Seattle. So I'm I'm hoping it's Seattle. Might not be, um, but I'm hoping Seattle. But I expect it to be announced in the next week or two.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell Oh, it's coming that quick. Yeah. So your dad was put in in uh 2017. Yes. And you made it in in 2019. Correct. Now um it's not the easiest question, but your dad passed in 2019. Right.

The Rise Of Pickleball Communities

SPEAKER_01

Was he So I got to tell my dad he was dying. He was in hospice care, and I got to go tell him when I when I got the phone call that I was chosen for the Hall of Fame, I drove right to Olympia where he was staying at uh hospice care and told it. I brought his jacket.

SPEAKER_00

But yeah, it's Was he able to was he still in good enough health to be able to enjoy that with you? I still remember him going, that's great. Oh, that's amazing. And you know, as you guys were best friends and you're his only son, it's a it's a full circle moment because I would guess uh that there aren't there's probably none, but you could tell me there's probably no other family members.

SPEAKER_01

So we have a husband and wife. Oh, you do. Um uh the Hackenbergs and it's fun and um Yvonne Hackenberg, the wife, she's also in uh platform tennis hall of fame. Um so that you know that's a big that's easy to come from. It's very similar sporting about the same time pickleball was, but a double hall of fame or something. Yeah, she's she's in two Hall of Fames and her and her husband Jim, they won everything uh age group wise. They're about five years older than me. Uh his crush. Yeah. Yeah. Just freaks of nature is what you'll see at the older levels in pickleball. You'll you'll like I I'm thinking, I'm gonna be the fastest 70-year-old. No. There's like they're they're just freaks of nature for they're moving like the 35 when they're 70. Um and that was that's that that's Jim Hackenberg. And he's probably pushing 80 right now.

SPEAKER_00

And they probably live by the idea, and I believe in this too, and clearly you do, but you know, use it or lose it type of a thing. And and if you stay, if you stay in a position where you're healthy and you stay in it and don't have to recover or gain a bunch of excess body weight that's putting that pressure on your joints and everything, you're going to have a better chance of playing high-end stuff longer. You know, and I'm trying to do that now in my 40s so that when I look back, I have less knee replacements and less health issues. And I'd like to be the guy who can play pickleball when he's 70, you know, not necessarily super highly competitive, but I'd like to be able to walk out there and know I'm that my You might surprise yourself. You might get better every year from now until you're 70. Well, I've found that with so many things in my life, because I work out all the time and because I optimize the nutrition part of my life, that the people who are my age are fading away when it comes to competition or their ability to do big things in a in a gym or on a sports court somewhere. So they're actually naturally falling off. And as long as you just keep pace with your routine, then I'm just like on accident separating myself from the past.

SPEAKER_01

Well, if you never get out of shape, you know, that's cause that's a chore to get back into shape if you've so much more work. If you've gained weight. By the way, pick I I've known people in pickleball have lost 100 pounds.

SPEAKER_00

That's impressive. So if people are looking for something easy entry, easy to learn the basics, and you can get you get with some other people who probably want to get in better shape, and you could really change your life with this game. Yeah.

Hall of Fame Moments

SPEAKER_01

I I I it's countless the number of students that I give lessons to that I look at their book how their body type has changed, uh just you know, losing weight and how well they move compared to how they moved with a a previous year.

SPEAKER_00

It's it's huge. Um and you've gone so far as you still and you've been involved with physical fitness for a long time. And you come in here, you're still in good shape. You you know, you seem like you could play pickleball for another 30 years. Uh-huh. Um, and you even like you play pickleball with an old student of yours. Yeah, yeah. Tell me about that. So you taught him way back in the day.

SPEAKER_01

Uh, Marty Butler was a fifth grader, my first year teaching, so I was 23. That would put him at about 10, 11 at the time. Yeah, but then later he I could I did coach Hill Hillsboro High School's boy uh boys' tennis team, and he was on that team because he learned pickleball first, and then it was easy to learn tennis. Then we we just remained close. Then guess what? He becomes uh a teacher just right up the street from where I taught him, same school district. And then he just retired. That's so he is now uh he's about fifty-eight and just retired. That's incredible. He's a very good player.

SPEAKER_00

I think being a good teacher is also kind of contagious, you know. And I don't know what your system of teachers were growing up, but that's pretty cool that you taught this guy, you led by a good example, and then he goes the same path, and then hopefully planted that seed in another kid somewhere along the way where you continue to have these quality educators.

SPEAKER_01

It's funny because I I became a P teacher because I thought my PE teachers were so bad. And I wanted to do it differently. And well, maybe you started the catalyst. It was a it was all militaristic PE classes when I was a kid. Uh you uh pull-ups and jumping jacks. Yeah, I mean, yeah, you and you have your uniform and your yeah, it was very, you know, junior high PE was was I didn't look forward to it. What it we're just gonna do jumping jacks and maybe climb a rope with everybody sitting around while you're yeah. I mean uh I wanted I knew it could be done way more because my dad was doing it better than that in the neighborhood.

The Future of Pickleball

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So And you had your example, and maybe that that's your teacher right there, is it's coming from your dad. And I mentioned to you before, and uh half kidding, but still half serious that my PE teachers in grade school and especially in middle school. I'm looking at him in my head right now. There is nothing about this man that screams physical fitness, good health. I would be willing to bet that he was pretty heart attack, you know, in waiting mode. And you know, back then we'd go in the room and they'd squeeze your fat with the little fat getter and calipers and all these things. And I'm looking at him, I'm like, you couldn't squeeze his fat ever. And I mean, you just can't get there. And so it a lot of the lessons fell on deaf ears for us kids because we're like, well, what are you talking about? Right.

SPEAKER_01

And so you didn't set the example.

SPEAKER_00

So when you're running the track, now I'm like, okay, I can get my head around this, or you're participating.

SPEAKER_01

So here's here's something that I did that I'd probably be the most proud of as a P teacher. My fifth graders, uh, and there would be three or four fifth grade classes in my school. It's a big school. My last school was Shoals Heights in the Murray Hill area. And we put on a show for the entire school the Friday right before spring break. And every fifth grader starred in the uh show. Because I had those kids from kindergarten to fifth grade. I was like, oh, he's pretty good at I think he, yeah, you you're gonna be a juggler. Oh, look at how he dribbles the basket. Oh, he could spin a plate. So everybody starred. I'd have parents crying, you know. I didn't know my son could do that, you know. So that was, I think that's so important. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, I and I just have to piggyback that because I'm I'm so that dad right now. Um, my fifth grade daughter, she's in fifth grade currently, just starred in her first musical at the school. Yeah. And her mom, who is okay with me saying this, has no singing voice whatsoever. But the level of proud, like I've walked into the house probably 10 times since then, and she's one of the parents that put it on YouTube to just be sitting in a corner with a big old grin watching that kid sing. And and I growing up in the theater and and performing, I feel like that stuff is so important for a kid because it's well beyond who's going to be a star or this or that. It's communication skills. It's the ability to work with others and to, you know, give and take. And the list goes on and on. And so I that's very commendable that uh you were a part of all that.

SPEAKER_01

I worked really closely with a music teacher too in our school. We had the same kids. I mean, yeah. One day they had PE, one day they had music. So we, you know, we in fact some days we taught together. We call it rhythms. We, you know, something rhythmical. Yeah, that's smart. We taught together. But no, that's important. That's what makes kids want to go to school. Is the specials. You know, they think what special do I have today? Um, you know, do I have technology? Do I have PE? Do I have music? Do I, you know, that's those are the special things. And where do we cut first?

The Cultural Impact of Pickleball

SPEAKER_00

Right there. And that's what's been happening in our schools. And I my kids luckily go to school in a in a well-funded school district, and still they've cut the PE time T PE time down. They've cut the music time down. They almost cut music altogether if it wasn't for an internal uproar of people like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah. What are we building here if we're going to get rid of the arts? And so luckily those programs have been saved. But at that very same theater production, they were like, Could you guys all write notes to the school district that this was important tonight? Like we had to stop at the exit and be like, Oh, by the way, can you not? Yeah. And it's sad because it really is the a fundamental piece of what makes a kid. What of our who they are.

SPEAKER_01

One of our top uh local pickleball players. And he's also in the Hall of Fame. And I coached him when he was learning Wes Gabrielson. He's 40 now. He was my double partner when he was in his 20s. Nice. Um he taught uh history at uh um in McMeatville High School, and he got it approved to teach the history of rock and roll. You know, you had to be a good student to get in that class, but the kids loved it. Yeah. Uh and I got to be, I was a guest once a year. I was the Beatles guy. So I would sing Beatles songs and they would make a trivia game, you know, out of it, you know, which Beatles sang this song, which album was it on? Um, but that was, you know, the that kind of thing that makes kids want to go to school.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And I'm so glad that you've continued to teach and that you, you know, you're kind of passing uh this game, this beautiful game, on to a whole nother generation. Uh, what would you like to see moving forward for the game beyond the Olympics and all that? What where do you where do you want it to go? And do you see it getting there anytime soon?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I the path we're on right now is exactly what I mean. I could there's no way I I would have believed this was going to happen to our sport seven years ago. Anybody that tells you they knew this was gonna happen, uh I don't know. No, you no, no. Um so I like the path that we're on. Um I I like the idea internationally growing the way it is. And uh yeah, again, being in the Olympics, high school teams, uh or college. Or yeah, college teams, high school teams. Um I I don't know. I mean, we're we're going on the path that I wanted to go on. Oh, by the way, uh a documentary is just being released today on Apple and uh Amazon, and it's called The Power of Pickleball. It covers the entire history. I'm in it. Nice. My dad's in it. And I got invited to the screening in Hollywood earlier this summer at the Zanic Theater. And you know, to to look up there and see yourself on the big screen and your dad was it pretty great? It was yeah, it's a very well-done documentary. So that's available starting today.

SPEAKER_00

Nice.

SPEAKER_01

And what what did you say it was? It's called The Power of Pickleball.

SPEAKER_00

The power of pickleball. And people can also check out uh you've got a cool podcast yourself, Pickleball Fountain of Youth. Right. Uh, you want to explain what that's about?

Health, Nutrition and Longevity In Sports

SPEAKER_01

So it there was kind of a void where there's lots of pickleball podcasts, but none that really deal with seniors and pickleball. So we cover a lot of the topics that seniors are interested in. Fitness for seniors, uh, which uh eye surgery should we have when we need our cat, you know, do we want to see uh up close, do we want to see far away because you could make the wrong choice. And ruin the game. And and because we just want to see distance. And we'll wear our glasses to see to read. You're not gonna sacrifice things like that. Um I just had a guest on. Well, I had a pro player on who's coaching some of the biggest names in pickleball. Um good friend of mine, Eric Lang. In fact, he lives fairly close to here. He's on the tour, but he's now he's in his 40s, so he's really making it into coaching now. Um I had a guest on that was he's a very famous AA speaker.

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Uh

SPEAKER_01

Former convicted felon. And his addiction now is pickleball. Which is good. So he replaced the unhealthy addiction with a healthy with a healthy addiction.

SPEAKER_00

That's awesome. Because I mean, and you know this because I talked to you about it and you have heard a few of the podcasts. A lot of what this is this podcast is about are people who overcome the odds and people who do amazing things. And so I love to hear those stories where you find a way to fill the void with something else, because that's the best way to not go backwards. Right. Become addicted to something else. I always say I'm addicted to working out because I have an addictive personality, so why not be addictive, addicted to something that is good. And there people that have those addictive personalities need. Yeah. And they can get good at something because they have to come back for more. They need to do it, you know. And I think um most of us who have that type of personality kind of fall into the the wrong side of it accidentally. So I just know what kind of animal I am, and so I do it that way. Now, for you, I I guess one of the things in closing, you're in good shape and you're now into the 70 range. What do you do for your health uh when it comes to nutrition and all that? I or or just in general.

SPEAKER_01

I I did I was fairly um religious about being vegan for many years. I've kind of fell off that wagon lately. Um try to eat as clean as I can. Um I'm yeah, I am adding more protein because now all the studies are showing for seniors and longevity, strength is way more important than I realize. So I'm doing a lot more strength training that I which is now it's now it's religious for me. I mean, I do I do some strength training every day. Pull up pull-ups are huge. Uh that's yeah. Most people cannot do one pull-up.

SPEAKER_00

So I had a thing where I did 50 a day for a year just to see what would happen. Yeah. Um, and I do my push-ups as well, but it was transformational. I mean, like so much strength in areas that I wouldn't have thought. And not like sitting there doing 50 in a row, just doing five, rest, five, rest, five, just to and do it all back to back to back. But it it I've noticed big change.

SPEAKER_01

You know, a big predictor of uh longevity is how long you can hang from a bar. Yeah, the and the hang is not easy. No, because if you don't have any grip strength, you probably don't have strength in your legs. And and what happens when you ha don't have strength, you start falling. Yeah. Well, once you start falling and you're a senior That's when you get in big trouble.

SPEAKER_00

That's when you get in big trouble. Yeah. Because all it takes is a big break and then you start to go downhill.

SPEAKER_01

Pickleball, we're we're weight bearing all the time. We're on our feet. So our bones are stronger because of that. You know, weight bearings, any kind of weight-bearing activity uh is great for the bones. Uh, if you if you wanted to see a funny pickleball movies coming out, with think of dodgeball, Ben Stiller. Yeah. So he's got a movie coming out in July, and it's called The Dink. And so think of pickleball version of Dodgeball.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I bet that'll be and I love Ben Stiller. Yeah, yeah. So he is hilarious as a director and as an actor. I think he's directing this. I don't think he's been up, but uh and he's been doing more of that, but he's got good ideas, and I'm I'm all about it. So I will check that out. Like I said, I want people to check out your podcast as well. Pickleball, Fountain of Youth. Maybe if you're getting into the game a little bit later, this is a good chance for you to get in without hurting yourself and maybe improve your game along the way and know exactly when to get that cataract surgery. Yeah. Um, but you are you're a class act, and I'm so glad that I got a chance to sit down with you. And I can't wait for that brick and mortar of the Hall of Fame so we can go see. Uh, they need like a little bronze bust of you in there, Steve. You and your dad. I know we'll have some of our original paddles there. Uh and you brought some stuff in here today, and I think all that needs to be on display. There's no reason why the history of the game shouldn't be at the forefront uh right there. And you and your dad, Arlen, are big parts of that. So uh thanks for coming in. It is the Fit for Radio podcast. Thank you, Drew. You are the man. We'll uh we'll talk soon, and I'm I'm gonna go get those pickleball uh paddles out of the closet. And we've got to get you over to the Bronto Playhouse play. Oh, I would love to do it. And um, anytime you throw out the invite, I'll be there. It sounds good. Cheers.