Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductee Steve Paranto

He didn’t just play the game… he helped shape it.

In this episode of Kitchen Conversations, I sit down with Pickleball Hall of Famer Steve Paranto… a man whose fingerprints are all over the modern game.

From the earliest days of pickleball…
to helping revolutionize paddle technology…
to building one of the most unique spaces in the sport…

This is a story of legacy, innovation, and the people who made it all possible.

Because behind Steve’s success…
is a father who changed the game forever.

And a son who carried it forward.

As Steve reflects, everything comes back to three things…
“my parents… being a teacher… and this crazy thing called pickleball.”

🎯 In this episode, we dive into:

• The origin story of modern pickleball paddle technology
• The role his father played in shaping the game
• The legendary 1976 Bicentennial Tournament
• What it meant to grow up inside pickleball history
• Why pickleball might not exist today without innovation
• His life as a teacher and mentor for 30 years
• The emotional story behind his father’s ashes on the court
• Why pickleball is one of the most powerful tools for longevity
• The rise of senior pickleball and why it matters

🏓 The Pickleball Fountain of Youth Podcast

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👉 Apple Podcasts:
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👉 Spotify:
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A podcast dedicated to the fastest growing segment in the sport…
senior players… and how pickleball keeps them moving, connected, and thriving.

🎥 “The Power of Pickleball” Documentary

👉 Watch on Documentary+:
https://www.documentaryplus.com

👉 Coming to Apple TV / Prime Video
https://tv.apple.com

https://www.primevideo.com

A powerful look at the history, growth, and human impact of the game… featuring Steve and other pioneers who helped build it.

🏆 Steve Paranto Legacy

• Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductee (2019)
• Son of Arlen Paranto (Hall of Fame 2017)
• Pioneer in composite paddle development
• Educator, innovator, and storyteller of the game

❤️ Why This Episode Matters

This isn’t just about pickleball.

It’s about:

Legacy
Family
Innovation
And the small moments that change everything

Because one idea… one paddle… one decision…
can shape an entire sport.

🎙️ About Kitchen Conversations:

This is not an interview.
This is a court-side conversation.

More than dinks, drops and drives.
Stories from behind the paddle.

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Because the future of pickleball is being built…
on stories like this.

🔖 Hashtags:

#SteveParanto
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#FountainOfYouth
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#StoriesBehindThePaddle
#Longevity
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And that wraps up this episode of Kitchen Conversations.

If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves the game as much as you do.

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That’s where these stories really come to life.

You’ll also find links and show notes in the episode description.

Until next time…

more than dinks, drops and drives…

these are stories from behind the paddle.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi there. Welcome to the podcast and welcome to Kitchen Conversations. We've got a pretty straightforward goal. We hope each episode inspires at least one person to pick up the paddle and play their very first game of pickleball. And our next guest probably took the game a little further than most of us will. He actually went as far as getting himself inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2019. It's an incredible story. His dad was inducted in 2017. You've probably figured out I'm talking about Hall of Famer Steve Peranto. Now, full disclosure: when you get a chance to sit down and talk to someone like Steve, you tend to be a bit nervous. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I think that shows up in this podcast. I didn't do a great job on my side of the microphone, but I have to tell you, Steve Peranto was kind, he was patient, and he was generous. And I ultimately really ended up enjoying my time with him. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Hall of Famer Steve Peranto on this episode of Kitchen Conversations. And I'm going to start with an interesting question, at least I think it's interesting, but you know, I've I've just met you a moment ago, and yet in some strange and funny way, I feel like I know you. And I'm wondering with all of the content, Steve, that's out there about you and your legacy and going all the way back to maybe even that, you know, that tournament 1976, the bicentennial tournament you're featured in the book, and you've you've referenced it a few times. Do you do you find it odd that when someone like me, a complete stranger, runs into you either at a tournament or at a clinic or here on a podcast that we feel like we know you, yet we're completely, you know, a complete stranger to you? I I'm wondering if that's an interesting moment for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

It's actually it's been really gratifying at some events. I'll be at a uh, I still remember teaching clinics. In fact, I I teach most summers on Bain on Bainbridge Island with my good friend Rob Davidson and his camp. And um, a lot of the students, especially in the a few years ago, I I was really the one putting out instructional videos, quality instructional videos before COVID. Um, my good buddy Spencer Rent was shooting them with me. He was actually a student of, he was only in his 20s. He was a student of mine who had those skills. And now it's the the crazy thing is Spencer is the uh when you watch PPA on TV, he's the one running the show. He's the one uh producing those, working for the tennis channel. He's about 32 or three now, but he was only like 24, 25 shooting those videos in my backyard. But people would recognize me from uh those videos.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

For sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Yeah. And then and uh about three months ago, I was doing an I was involved in an exhibition uh for the senior uh pro pickleball uh tour in Seattle that they were having the finals there. And um, I was looking at the name on the back of a shirt, and I go, Oh boy, that name sounds familiar. And and I went to one of his teammates and they said, Well, that's former Heisman Trophy winner. And so I thought, I'm gonna go just take a picture of this famous guy and just you know, he's playing pickleball. He's a pro pickleball player now, and he was a Heisman Trophy winner. And then as I'm walking over to him, he walks over to me and he says, Hi, Steve, I learned how to play pickleball by watching your videos.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Wow, what a moment.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Yeah, so that that kind of thing. It's surprising.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Tell me the important role that your mom and dad played in your life and the credit that you give them because I couldn't find a lot of specific questions about that in some of the things I was seeing online. So I I would love for you to just kind of run with that story.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Yeah, well, you know, it's funny you mention that because tomorrow I'm speaking at a health fair and I'm starting out. The first thing I'm going to say, uh, I'm just trying to figure out right now my speech. Uh, but what I wanted to say was, you know, when I look back on my life and everything, I'm 70 years old now, and people look back and you think, what made me the person I am today? And I I think of three big things. Uh and number one is my parents. Right. Uh, and number two is me choosing the profession as being a teacher. And then number three is this crazy thing of pickleball. How those three things, what would what would my life be like today without those three things? Well, my parents would have supported me uh in any endeavor I I chose. I mean, any when I think of uh being a 11-year-old, maybe maybe kind of a shy 10, 11-year-old. I was I am an only child and um uh maybe a little bit on the shy side. And then I loved uh watching this ventuliquist, Paul Winchell. This isn't we're talking, this is a ventuliquist big in the 50s, but I was probably watching replays, and I just loved what you know, I I want to do that. And and um Sears catalogs back then had you could get uh ventuliquist mannequin dummy figure, you know, for about eight dollars.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

And and I wanted one. And you know, back in those days, the Sears catalog was that was our internet, you know, you circled uh the what you know, the things you you your wish list and Sears catalog. I don't know, people my age will remember this, and I wanted one that was really bad. And and dad uh heard that and kind of thought, I don't really want a doll for my son, you know, thinking it's a doll for your son, right? Well, um somehow my mom talked him into, you know, this is well, I got really good at ventuliquism as a 10, 11 year old and started being it made me more outgoing. I was entertaining in the classroom. Well, what does my dad do? Well, now, being the person really good with his hands, he gets a book by Paul Winchell, How to Make a Ventuliquist dummy, just like his that he used on TV. And my dad made me a dummy. Um this is when I'm in uh fifth grade, and uh I got very good where I was entertaining at Cub Scout troop things. Dad would write my material, you know, getting jokes. And then uh the big thing was in when I was seventh, eighth uh grade, Vietnam was going on. Yeah, sorry. And I tried out for the troop that entertains the Vietnam veterans at Fort Lewis. And I made I was the I and there's two a two-hour show on Sundays once once a month for the for the soldiers. And um I made it. I was the I was the only kid in the act. Dad wrote my routine, and it was probably some of it was borderline adult stuff, but I got I knew when to pause for laughter. But that what what an experience for me to be in front of all these soldiers. And then, you know, you're a junior high kid who's worried about going to Vietnam himself. Dad and I would, dad and I would go every month early and shoot pool, you know, one of our other things. We know we like to do we'd shoot pool and I'd be looking around at these guys, and I was a big Beatles guy, you know, yeah, you know, I like long hair, and I like the, you know, I love the Beatles. Sure. And I'm looking around, go, man, if I if I go to war, I have to get my hair cut. And then I'm thinking, how many of these people are gonna die and not make it back? You know, I'm just thinking that. Um, so it was pretty impactful. But no matter, so there's an example. I wanted to be, I wanted to take up ventuliquism, and then I had the support from both parents. And here my dad goes in, but you know, writes my routines, um, uh does you know, does everything for me. So I I could go on and on about every hobby that I took up. Uh I can't remember one that they shut me down and said, no, we're not gonna do that one.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Yeah. So Steve, so obviously sitting here today and and all that you've accomplished, both in and out of the sport and your career, your working career, and all of those choices that you made that turned out so well for you. I mean, you know, to have supportive parents today. And I think if we look at the, you know, the struggles that some of the younger kids are having today across the globe, uh, you know, and and some of the challenges that they're facing, I think a lot of it, I think that family core, you know, at least for us, and we, you know, we see it through our kids' friends and different structures within families. I think, I think that's one of the missing elements today. I think there's a challenge there in trying to keep the family at the kitchen table, you know, uh collecting your thoughts at the end of the day, sharing stories and just connecting on that family level. And it certainly sounds to me like that your your dad was certainly an influential part of all that you've done today. How would you describe him to someone who who didn't have a chance to meet him? Someone said, Tell me about your dad. How would you start that conversation?

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Well, well, he loved people. Um uh definitely was a people person. He he just liked uh be and he and he's one of those people that never said anything bad about another person.

unknown 8:48

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

I think, you know, and he got that from his dad, from you know, from dad always told me that too. But um just could always see the pause. He would always f uh get a kick out of every individual. I mean, that's just I would I I love it when I I'm with my friends currently who got to know my dad because I can talk about my dad with him. But that's a big thing. I mean, he he was he was very inventive. I mean, that's why, you know, with this whole thing about the pickleball paddles. Yes, I I watched dad invent quite a few things before that. Um he worked for Boeing and he was an engineer, and he was always coming up with ideas to save Boeing money, and that he would always put ideas in the idea box and it wound up, then they put him in the head of a cost savings division. So the whole paddle uh situation, yeah. Uh we were using wooden paddles that were very heavy. Um, I was already teaching school. I came uh dad was my biggest fan going to all our tournaments in Tacoma, watching me and my high school buddy Richard Skevington play tournaments, and we were losing in the finals to the same team. Um at least it happened like two or three times in a row. And I came home and a little frustrated, thinking, God, you know, I'm I'm not the biggest, strongest person. It sure would be nice if I had a lighter paddle. I weighed my wood paddle, and it was the ratio of it compared to the pickleball was 13 times heavier, but my tennis racket was only seven times heavier. I said to dad, someone needs to invent a paddle that's lighter. And of course, then the next week he's visiting me in Oregon and throws down two paddles on the floor. I still remember him tossing them on the floor. And I go, Whoa. And I still I still remember that day. Those two orange paddles cut out from floor paddling. And then I we had I had a court at my house. Dad and I dad was playing by then. We went out in the backyard. First hit, wow, it makes this cool sound. Oh, I think my sweet spot's bigger. I think the ball's going faster. And what a moment. What a moment to see. So um, yeah, he was one of those people that um I would purposely say things like that in front of, like, gee, if only someone would invent. And it happened several times after that, too. And then, in fact, products that became popular in elementary school, PE, I was the idea person, and dad knew how to make them and figure out materials needed.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Did you have a sense that day, Steve, when you're talking about the the the ratio difference between tennis and tennis balls versus the the pickleball paddles that you're using in the day in the and the ball? Did you did you kind of know in the back of your mind dad's going to solve this for me? Did you did you have any sense? Or didn't you surprise it?

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Yeah, I no, I wasn't surprised. I that's exactly what I was hoping he would do because I knew uh I had no idea.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Uh I I'm I'm I'm sure as soon as I said that, bingo in his head goes, ah, honeycomb floor paneling.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Um he must have been a yeah, sorry. I was gonna say he must have been a relatively curious man as well, someone that was consistently looking at things from maybe a different perspective than the rest of us would and finding solutions or maybe a a a better mousetrap, if you will, to get to that.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

So what a you know, I think that comes from because I heard I hear stories of uh he grew up on in the Dakotas where you know you had your own machinery. They hadn't, he hadn't, he grew up with an airplane that his dad would keep running and they would fly it out of their yard. I mean, there's like opens, and you know, and you had to make you know all your machinery when things broke. Oh, and he and his his dad owned a bakery. Well, things are breaking all the time, and or you want to make them better. And so I think he watched his dad continuously innovate, make things better, make keep things working. And dad, so dad was along those same lines.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Yeah, no, no kidding. And I think that's you know, again, part of the change that's happened, you know, over the last several decades where you know we've gotten away from some of that hands-on learning. And I think if you grow up that way, you you you end up sort of applying a lot of that to your life. Yeah, terrific stuff. Steve, that moment with those paddles, where do you place that in the importance of pickleball history today? I mean, so much has happened to the game since its inception and Bainbridge Island and all that's come after it. In your personal opinion, because I I think the pickleball world in general places that very, very high on the level of monumental changes to the game that really shifted it and made it perhaps more accessible, more entertaining, uh, more challenging, more competitive. But on you know, on a personal note, where do you place that?

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Well, of course, I place it very high. I mean, I I'm I think there's an absolute chance, and even I think Jennifer Lucor, uh, who wrote the history book would even say there's a the there's a possibility the sport would have died if we just continued playing with wooden paddles. Or one of these other racket sports would have taken you know over. I mean, already, you know, we have uh there's like five competit competitors that we have with pickleball. None of them have been able to uh do what pickleball has, partly it's because of the ingenious rules that the inventors made. But uh wooden paddles were not as fun to use. They were heavy, harder for kids to play, harder for seniors, uh just heavy, heavy, heavy. Um, you wouldn't want to get hit in the head with a 13-ounce wooden paddle, by the way, by your partner.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Good point. Yeah, fair point. Yeah, for sure. Oh, it's fascinating. The other story, Steve, that's well known and you've been generous to share with the world, um, is your dad's ashes, you know, where where we paddle tap in the playhouse. And that one really caught me. That one caught me in the heart because you know, I lost my dad 30 years ago to bone cancer. And it uh was a tough journey. But the one thing my dad did uh every morning before he headed out of the door was he he splashed a little old spice on his face. And so when I lost dad, uh, you know, I wasn't using old spice at that point, but I started that day. And every morning, including today, when I get going and I get my act together, I take a moment and pull out the the standard classic white old spice and I splash a little on. And you know, it gives me that moment every day, Steve, to just reflect on the things that my dad gave me in life. And I think the three that I would point out are honesty, integrity, and a work ethic. And I think, you know, as a father to a son, that's that's probably you know the three of the greatest gifts you can you can impart on someone. And uh all of those have served me well in life. So I I have a fond reflection of my dad, and uh, although I lost him a bit earlier than I'd hoped, and anyone hopes you don't want to lose your father in your 20s, but uh, you know, he left a lasting impression on me. And so when I heard the story about what you had done, uh, I just want to say on a very personal note, I was really touched by that. I thought that was really, really an interesting uh thing that you just said.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

You know, when you when you say work ethic and um integrity, uh you know, you learn you learn those things not by them giving, you know, teach sitting down and telling you, but by watching them. And 100%. You know, and I got a million stories. I still remember dad took me to a boxing uh match uh in Seattle or Tacoma, you know, I was a little kid, I was six, seven, and um we were getting ready to leave after the boxing match, and there is a wallet on the ground in front of us. And you know, there were people and he picks it up and he goes and he looks at the and goes, Well, we have to find this this person. And so, you know, he found and so I still remember, you know, there's money in it, of course, and I still remember us going home, him dialing back then, you know, dialing the phone, calling this number and says, I think, I think is this so and so, and um, you know, and just teaching me the honesty of that. Um, so there's the story, you know, integrity and uh oh when you when you um mention work ethic, dad always went to work no matter what, maybe not even feeling good. Um, and you know, and he would tell me stories, yeah. I think some people are just calling in sick, you know, and you know when they're not, it says, I'm never gonna do that. I'm gonna work. And that made an impression on me. As a school teacher, I taught for 30 years. Yeah, I could probably count on uh two hands, you know, my fingers, how many days I missed school because I was really sick. Um and and uh I can't say that about every every every school teacher. And uh so that that made an impression on me, the the things, you know, just him as an example, setting those examples for me.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Yeah, it's a great story, Steve. Dad, I had a similar one with dad. We were at a hardware store one day looking at a few things, and he needed a nine-volt battery, and he had picked that up first and inadvertently put it in his coat pocket while he fumbled with something else. And so we paid for the something else, which I don't recall what it was, not important. And we get home. We lived about 10 minutes from the hardware store. And we get home, and dad realizes I've got the battery in my pocket. Put me back in the car, drove back to the hardware store, walked in and said, I'm sorry, this is what happened. I'd like to pay for my battery. And I remember as a kid, I don't want to get back in the car. You know, I want to go and play with my friends, but dad put me back in the car. Dad could have just gone and dealt with that, but no, he he put me in the car, drove me back to the hardware store, dragged me in and showed me how you handle a situation like that. So, yeah, it's nice that we both have that uh fondness for our parents.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Yeah, and it's setting those examples. When you mentioned dad's ashes, so I I put them this, you know, my my playhouse is my dream house. Um I just it's a place where my friends play, I have fun watching, I have fun playing. I have two indoor courts, I have other games that, you know, grew up playing pool table, ping pong table, shuffleboard, uh pinball, other things. But uh, I put dad's ashes at on each court where we tap paddles. And uh dad was there's another example. Dad set example of always being a good sport. Um sometimes that isn't that easy for competitors like me. And my mom was more of the competitive side, um, uh super competitive, where you know, losing, she'd rather almost die than lose, you know. Um uh dad could always deal with uh he'd play his hardest. I mean, I that's the example I love is play your hardest, and then afterwards maybe you know have a beer together with your the guys who beat you. Um so um, or vice versa. So his pat his ashes are right there, and I think of him every time I see all my friends tap paddles.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Yeah, what a tribute, Steve. What an what a terrific idea. I'm so glad that uh you're willing to share that with the world because that could have been a very private moment. That could have just been something you decide to keep to yourself. But the fact that you've shared that, I I really applaud you for that. How does your mom factor into this? I read a story, heard a story, saw a story, something to do with the lake neighbors hollering over. Yeah. Uh she gets kind of fired up, I guess. So mom had the fiery spirit, dad was kind of the calm, cool, collect, let's deal with it in a logical way. But mom was pretty fierce, was she?

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Yes. Uh, she was very competitive and feisty. Um, and I think she got that from her dad. Uh from all this from all the stories I hear. Um, and she was a little, she wasn't very, she didn't weigh a hundred pounds. She was about five foot four, ninety-five pounds. And her dad was probably you know, five, seven, one ten, something like that. He was he was a guy that from the stories I hear could scare anybody. Um so he was feisty too. But um, yeah, mom mom did not like losing. I love playing some games with her though, because I I liked firing her up. I mean, we're talking uh table tennis matches with each other, we're talking um cribbage. Any anything, you know, sure and it and it was it was just fun playing games with her. I mean, it it was feisty, but it was also you know, the it's I don't I I don't want to explain it. We liked making each other uh riling each other up. Um back in those junior high days, elementary school and junior high days, we had a a ping pong table. And I'm like I said, I'm an only child, so my playmates were my parents, and both my parents were athletic and good at good at table tennis. And we would play, you know, back then games were to 21, not nowadays it's 11, you serve two days, all different. But anyway, we'd play games at 21. And if, you know, dad beat me 21, 15, I owed him six cents. We, you know, as a penny a point.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

And uh same with mom, you know. Well, by time junior high rolled around, I got so that they couldn't beat me, and then mom quit playing for money. That was it.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

She wants you to break the bank. Yeah, I can't play with you anymore. You've gotten too good. Yeah. Well, it's funny the different roles that our parents complain in our life, Stephen. It's just great that you you're willing to share a bit of that today. So thank you for all of that. Um, tell me about your teaching career. I've got a son that's just completing his master's in education in the city of Ottawa here in Ontario, Canada, and uh cannot wait to get in the classroom. Adam has always been passionate about uh teaching and sharing information. He'd gone through for human kinetics and kinesiology uh at one point, Steve, and then decided you know what? I don't really like dealing with the athlete in the moment of the injury. So wrapping them with tape and touching them and get, you know, getting them ready to go go and sit in the bench. That wasn't his thing. But what he really took away from it was imparting. You know, the the post-injury uh instructions. And he kind of tied that back to teaching. And so he decided to uh, you know, once he completed that program, to take teachers college and subsequently his master's program. So, what are your reflections on teaching in the classroom today? And and what changes did you see between the beginning of your teaching career and sort of the day of retirement?

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Well, first off, I'm I'm glad you're saying your son can't wait to get in the classroom because those are the teachers we need. We need passionate teachers. That's the number one important thing uh in the education in the in the school system is passionate teachers that um want to be important to uh people involved with those kids. Um so I was so, and again, when I look back on those three important things in my life, choosing the teaching profession profession, um, I don't know what I'd be like today without that experience. So I taught 30 years of elementary physical education. Um when I decided I wanted to be a uh a PE teacher, it wasn't to teach elementary PE. I wanted to be that coach at the high school, that you know, coach the tennis team. Um, that kind of and then uh the way they work it in in your uh teach in your uh program at college, they put you uh student teaching at the elementary school and the high school. And so I I was you know spending months at elementary school as a teacher and then months at a high school, and I realized, wow, I really like these, this elementary level. I'm really, I'm really teaching. These kids are really learning stuff from me, and um, it's important to them and it's fun. Um the the high school experience was yeah, maybe, you know, I maybe I'll try. I don't I I just I I mean, I'm sure you can be impactful at that. There's teachers who are really good at high school level, but I found my calling was elementary. So I was working with six-year-olds to 12-year-olds for 30 years. Right. Um my I was so fortunate with this. I got my teaching job about three weeks before even graduating from college. The interview we uh I went to an interview. Um I found out later I wasn't the I got interviewed by a principal and a PE teacher. And I found out later from the P teacher, because we became good friends later, we played basketball together, that I wasn't the number I wasn't the principal's first choice. I was the second choice, but I was his I was the P teacher's first choice. Well, later, um, I think my uh principal was probably very happy that he hired me because I did some innovative things. But so I opened a brand new school as a 23-year-old. Uh that means that means ordering your own equipment, coming up with, you know, setting up the playground, you know, where do the basketball hoops go? Where do we put the wall ball courts? Where do we, you know, put doing all that? And I loved, I love that opportunity to set up a new school. And you're part of a new culture, you're building a new culture at a in a community. And I was fortunate also because there were also a lot of other young teachers in this building, which don't always happen. So I got to be around people my age and uh and and also older teachers, of course, and experienced uh administrators. And then 10 years later, I did it again at a applied for another new school, and then 10 years later I did it again. So I opened uh three schools every 10 years, and then the last school I opened, um, I got put on the planning team that hired all the teachers. So that was a wonderful experience. And we hired such great teachers. We would interview 25 people before we found one we liked. Right. And and we're filling 30 spots. So you can imagine the quality of teachers that we had. And that that made that school so fun. That that's where I was until I was uh so that was my last school I taught at. I'd been retired now 16 years in uh 2009 I retired.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

Good for you. Well, to be able to go in on that first job at such a tender age, Steve, and have a blank canvas and a passion for sports, obviously, and a passion for kids. And that's where Adam falls. He he calls them um the littles, is how he describes it. He wants grade one, two, three, four, maybe. So he's sitting today, he's in a classroom in Ottawa today, uh subbing. There's no lack of subbing opportunities for him right now. And and there's a demand for male teachers in the elementary level, specifically here in this part of the world. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Everywhere. So I I I watched that happen too. And my first years teaching, it was very unusual to have a male teacher in first, second, third grade because the idea was, oh, you're not nurturing enough. Uh uh, and then we found the importance of if you can get a quality male, a lot of those kids, especially you know, now might be in a single parent family without a dad at home. And uh that that young, or it could be any age, male elementary teacher could be that important figure in your life.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Yeah, for sure. We've talked so passionately, both of us, about our dads and the role they played. And for some kids, they don't they don't get that advantage. And I do call it an advantage because it's so important. What Steve, what did you see as a fundamental shift between sort of the first few years that you taught and subsequently the last few years as it relates maybe to attitude from both um co-workers and and maybe more importantly, parents? Because I I I see that, at least where we are in this part of the world, uh, as one of the failures right now. The parents are not as engaged in the classroom and with the teacher, and they're not necessarily in sync. And I'm just wondering, did you see any of that in the final few years that you taught?

SPEAKER_00 27:39

Well, here's what I I saw. I you know, I'm by time I was teaching, I started in 79. So it wasn't that many years that you know, before that, I was in school. And at that time period, if you did anything wrong in school, um, it was your fault. You when you went home, you got in trouble. It was your and then late, you know, later on, and probably uh currently, a lot of times it's always the teacher's fault. You know, why did you know? And and I mean when I was in grade school, even maybe if I thought it wasn't my fault that the teacher should have done this. I would not tell my parents what happened if it was something that would you know get me in trouble because it would be my parents should be upset with me. Um uh it was always gonna be my fault. The teacher was kind of on a pedestal. Um I don't know if that's exactly what what we want. I mean, we want teachers doing the right thing and everything. And and in fact, my first years teaching, you could spank kids. Uh I I remember my, I still remember the student's name. Jace Branham did something, and he was one of my kids that loved PE. Um, but he was, you know, pretty hyper. But you know, back then we were um yeah, say calling up hyper, but they were ADD. Um and they loved PE because they could get a lot of you know their emotions out and everything. But anyway, forgot what happened, but I took him to uh Mr. Huggett, our principal, the man who hired me, who you know I was gonna be his second choice, but uh he hired me. Um by the way, I taught him pickleball later on and he became a big lover. In fact, I I taught everybody pickleball at my school and they all loved it. But anyway, um he had a he you could choose if the parents had signed a waiver, you could spank them. Wow. And Mr. Huggett said, so do you want to do it or do you want me to do it? Well, I never spanked the kid. I well, no, you can do it, Mr. Huggett. And so it's whack, whack. And um almost looked like a pickleball paddle, about the same size, except it had holes, holes in it, and it was was wooden.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

So um Well, we've come a long way.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

We've come a long way. Some, you know, I don't really want um to be hitting kids at school, but I do want the res, you know, kids to be responsible for their behavior. And sometimes it I don't know if they're held to that same responsibility that they were when we were maybe my first year's teaching.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Yeah, I agree with you, Steve. And I think it's a classic case of the pendulum sometimes swinging too far one way, and then the correction sends it flying the other way. And and I think pickleball may be in that moment today. I think that uh, you know, with the changes, and hopefully we'll touch base just lightly on some of those today and get your reflections, but we have to be careful when we're making, you know, foundational or fundamental changes to anything, whether it be education, discipline, or the game that we all love, that uh we don't allow that pendulum to go too far the other way and create a whole new set of problems. So yeah, we we've got some issues, so let's let's nudge it, but but we're not really good at nudging. We tend to swing it, you know, all the way to the far side sometimes. So yeah, interesting to hear you say that. When you talk about PE uh today, uh Steve, you know, for me, my wife and I have really embraced health and wellness and fitness, and we try to look after ourselves. We eat clean, we're committed to you know exercising and doing all the right things for longevity. Our goal is to be able to play pickleball in our 80s. You know, we've got some club, some club members here, and so the game has given me so much. But if you were to ask me, what's it what's the the greatest gift pickleball's given you outside of the socialization, which is just paramount to everything? But beyond that, it's the desire and the inspiration to want to be able to play the game for the rest of my life. That that's really it in a nutshell. And so that kind of forces you to sit down at the kitchen table and think, you know, be really focused on what you're eating and what you're doing and to make sure that you look after yourself. So, where do you see um health and wellness fitting into the pickleball world in your perspective, based on what you did for a living and also just as a pro player and a fan of the game?

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Well, pickleball's a huge contributor to not only mental wellness but physical fitness. Tomorrow I'm speaking at a health fair. So that's why I'm speaking. It's it's it's the benefits that pickleball uh has on uh on people. And you're saying you would you'd like to play in your 80s. Well, now that I'm 70, I want to play in my 90s. You know, I used to say 80s 10 years ago, I'd say I want to play in my 80s, but now I want to play in my 90s. So you know, we're on our feet, I'm on my feet every day, either teaching or playing. Yeah. Well, being on your feet, moving. Yes, just doing that, doing a weight-bearing activity. Uh I'm working on balance. I mean, all you don't you just take for granted that you have balance when you're 70. Not all 70-year-olds have good balance. Um so and and the the leg strength that we're building, the cardio that we're building. Here, I'm wearing a I have a wearable. Mine's whoosh. Uh yeah, here we go. Well, what I'm proud, what I'm proud of is I don't know if yours will tell you this, but uh I will check, go under health, and I will look at my physical age.

SPEAKER_01 32:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

Well, my physical age is 10 years younger than my um chronological age. And and and that would not happen without being on my feet every day doing an activity like pickleball. Now, yeah, I could spend my time exercising. Would I do that? Probably not, because this is just a motivator. I don't feel like I'm exercising. It doesn't feel like uh work, it's fun, and I'm getting exercise.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Yeah, I agree. Well, we talk about how much you enjoyed the work that you did, Steve. And so, you know, at that point it's no longer work, it's a passion and you're making a difference, changing the world. And I think if we find something post-working, you know, past our working career that gets us up in the morning and that when we go to bed tonight, we're already thinking about that activity tomorrow. And that's pickleball for me. It certainly is for you and has been and will continue to be. You know, I picked up curling this year as well, another very social sport, you know, and I love it. And and I'm, you know, I'm not particularly good at it, but that's it's all part of the learning curve. But yeah, anything that gives me social engagement, helps me reach those 10,000 steps a day and keeps me active, you know, I'm all for. So yeah, pretty fantastic. Yeah, I appreciate you sharing all of that. Um, can we jump into the documentary that you were featured in recently that just came out on Documentary Plus? How was that experience? I had a chance to watch it a couple days ago and uh I I felt it was well done. What was that experience of filming that documentary like for you?

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Well, you know, the the actual filming, we did that at Nationals maybe two and a half years ago.

unknown 34:12

Right.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

And that was much like sitting down with you doing this podcast for you know, my section, it was much like that, except we're in a studio. Um, and they ask me questions I'm answering. So I think, okay, I wonder what wonder if that's ever gonna come out. So I mean, sure. That's it, you know, that's what I'm thinking for two years. And then uh last summer I get a phone call um uh from from Rusty House from the pickleball uh channel saying hey the movie's about to come out. We're going to have a premiere at the Fox movie lot at the Zanic, famous Zannock Theater, we'd like you to come. Well, yeah, I'm gonna come. That's I've never been to I've never been to a movie premiere. Wow. And then Rusty says, and oh, and you're in it. So you know, when you you know, when you do interviews on the news and things, and sometimes they never put it on, or you're on for a split second. Um so I thought I'd just be in for a little bit. Well, uh I it seems like most everything that they asked me was they kept in the film. And uh so watching it in the Xanek theater with my with my significant other Lala and looking up and seeing my dad on the screen and my friends, uh was just uh it was really moving to me. And there were some other really good uh uh people featured in the movie too. And that it covered the history better than any other uh anything that's been out on film. Uh, you know, Jennifer LeCore and Bob did the book, and then now we have the the movie. It's it's it was really it's really a good movie. And now it's this next week coming up, it will be on Apple and Amazon Prime. Oh, wow, good. That's uh starting the 16th. Um, so I think now then we'll really I would say people who don't play pickleball who watch this may go, I think I'm gonna give this sport a try.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

Yeah, I agree. I think it should be, I think actually, to go back to your point just now, Steve, I think both that documentary in whatever format it comes out and Jennifer's book should be mandatory. I think I think you should we should pass a law. Maybe you can start that, make a motion. But I think you know, you should watch both of those or read both of those or take both of those in whatever format they're presented because it really um expressed everything about the game. I thought it was well done. And Chuck actually, we talked about our friend Chuck McDonald earlier before the call started. And uh yeah, Chuck gave me uh his copy of Jennifer's book, autographed, of course, to Chuck. So I it's sitting on my coffee table. I began reading it a couple of days ago. It's just such a great part of it. Uh, just very quickly, I'm watching the clock, so I'm being very careful here. Um, but I did have a chance to talk to a gentleman named Johannes Lizitsky who wrote a book about the bicentennial tournament. And he referenced you very fondly in our call last week. And I'm wondering, what about that moment, Steve, in 1976? Do you remember, um, long before the paddle technology your dad invented in 1984? So obviously playing with the old technology. What about that day uh sits with you? I know there's a quote in Jennifer's book that you offered up about that day. I'm just curious to hear it from you today.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

Well, you know, it's not just that day that I remember in my head. I remember seeing a flyer at my community college that that tournament was going to happen. And my my partner at the time, Dave Lester, we had never lost to anybody in doubles ever to anybody, thought, well, let's go play that tournament uh and go play and be the champions. And so they had a practice day the night before or the week before, and we had been using the wrong size ball for nearly two years. Oh we were using a softball. So we had to learn in a week how to use a baseball size uh plastic wiffle ball instead of a softball size. So I remember that's one thing I remember. Uh the next thing I remember, we walk into the club and we're it's carpet. So we're playing on carpet for the first time. Which later on I wound up playing a lot of tournaments on. Uh and then uh just lots of people in there. And I remember looking, oh, he played tennis. He I played against him at tennis, he played for this other club. So there were a lot of community college tennis players in this tournament. Um, and much many of them were better at me in tennis, but I was better at them in pickleball. Um, so I remember that, and I remember um it's playing, you know, singles was kind of the big deal back then. And and um looking at the looking at the draw, going, oh good, Dave's on the other half is the draw, because I had never beaten Dave, my partner.

SPEAKER_01 38:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

He was the top badminton player, good table tennis player. He he was the first one who really combined those things. And so, oh good. So if I beat everybody in my half, I'll get to play Dave in the finals. Well, I did beat everybody in my half, and he did beat everybody in his half, and um, so we got to play in the finals. And wow, I lost, I lost to to my partner in the finals. Wow, and um and uh that was no surprise to me. But I thought we would win the doubles, but we re we played um Scott Stover and Rob Cahill, who learned on the real court. They're about eight years older than us. We're still good friends. We're gonna we're going to try to reenact that finally this this summer because it's the 50th anniversary, and we'll do it on Navy's Island. And I still keep in track touch with those guys, isn't that crazy? And they were older than us, and I remember thinking, well, I'm 20, 20 years old. They're almost 30. They're so old. They can there's no way they can 30-year-olds can beat us. Uh, but they sort of did a dink.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

I mean, it wasn't today's dink, but we had never seen that.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

I mean, what why don't they hit it?

SPEAKER_01 39:47

Um what's wrong with these guys? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

And all I remember was that we lost, but then um, I found out later it was a close match, but I didn't, I didn't, I don't all I remember is losing. But um I mean that's and my dad and mom were watching, and I and I didn't realize at the time that I was in play, I was playing in front of one of the inventors. In fact, we beat him earlier in the tournament. I did remember, yeah, you're playing these guys that invented the game. Really? Wow. Okay, and we can but yeah, but yeah, but um there's a picture of me hitting an overhead today. Yeah, yes that's a current pitcher, and and uh a Barney McCallum is sitting on the sideline, which is one of the inventors, which that would be like I was a I was a big basketball fan, be like playing basketball in front of Mr. Naismith, Dr. Naismith, you know, yeah, a picture like that, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:35

Yeah, so I agree.

SPEAKER_00 40:37

Yeah, really that was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. And and here, my there's a picture in that book, the bicentennial book, and you can see my parents in the audience. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 40:49

Yes, yeah, yeah. And uh 86 years old today, you know. So I had a chance to chat with him, and it was a a moment and had you know, having a chance to do that before talking to you, I was really intrigued by it. So, Steve, final, final just a couple of questions. I I would love for you to expand on your idea between behind your podcast. I mean, I've watched a ton of them and and I love it. I love your format. And you had Eric Lang on the other day, and you know, just some really great guests. And I just love your format. I love the playhouse, and uh there's a lot of really neat photos. There's a bowling photo, I assume that's your dad that's kind of over your left shoulder. And and there's just a lot of memorabilia in that room. Obviously, the playhouse is something special. And yeah, you said earlier it was a dream come true. It's it's a dream come true for all of us who play pickleball. We all want our own playhouse, I think, at some point. But um, tell me about the podcast and the concept behind that and how it's going.

SPEAKER_00 41:38

Yeah, uh, well, I I try to do things that haven't been done before. And there's plenty of podcasts, and it and about seven years ago, um, Lala and I, my girlfriend, we had a live call-in show back then. It was called Pickleball Talks. It was a first of its kind where it was live. We were live. And we were losing money on it every month, but it was a passion, right? And I had at the time the best, you know, the top players in the world were on my show, Tyson McGuffin, Simone Jorge. You know, these are the top players in the world at that time. Um and Catherine Parento, we we found out we're actually distant cousins, by the way. But um and that then I now there's so many pickleball podcasts, but there's the time when we started ours pickleball fountain of youth two years ago, there wasn't really anything geared for seniors.

unknown 42:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

And and so um I'm now a senior, you know, I'm obviously a senior. Um uh I don't feel like a senior, but um, I thought, well, let's uh cover the topics that seniors are interested in. I I what some important topics for people our age. Uh Dave Rumpf, in fact, he's he's he was my college roommate at my second college, my doubles partner at tennis. He's visiting again this weekend with his brother. His brother's now one of my partners. Um and they're staying at the playhouse for playing. But he's he was an optometrist for 30 years and knows a lot about sports vision. So there's an example I had Dave on talking a lot about okay, we're seniors. What kind of glasses are best to play pickleball in? C distance, we want uh ones that you can see, you know, sharp here. No, you know, what surgery should we have when we're seniors? When it's time to get our LASIK surgery. Important things. Um uh any lots of things that deal with seniors. And then the last one with Eric Lang as well, you know, he's not a senior, but he is kind of like considered a senior on the pro tour. Yeah, and he's coaching some of the best young people in the world. So just trying to get the point of view from senior uh pickleball players.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

You'll you would hear me say quite often, uh Steve, that I like the game, but I love the people. And I say that with the utmost respect for the game. But for me, it's the people behind the paddle, the stories behind the paddle. And someone once said to me, it's one of the few games where you can be on the court with a bank manager, a bank teller, and a bank robber. That was quoted somewhere. I think you probably heard that.

SPEAKER_00 44:02

But one of my guests, um uh stated that was J Jason Johnson, uh, one of the guests on my show. Okay, um, who he's the one that uh at one time was a kick convicted felon, drunk issue follow. And now he's a famous AA speaker who speaks it.

SPEAKER_02 44:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:20

Um, I wish I could I wish I could tell you the uh the famous people that he uh associates with as people like, oh man, you're kidding. Oh yeah, they're just normal people, you know. But yeah, uh that and so that episode was really about pickleball is his healthy addiction.

SPEAKER_01 44:38

Yes.

unknown 44:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

Well, I'm talking to a gentleman named Roger Belair. You may know Roger, but he started a not for profit Steve where he's taking pickleball into the prison system in the US and helping rehabilitate. So Roger and I are hooking up in a week or week and a half to chat about his program and his passion. And and I think that'll be an interesting story. So I applaud you for what you're doing uh with your podcast. And and I want to thank you for today. It's been wonderful to meet you and uh appreciate your time. So thanks for doing this.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

Oh, thank you.