Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sleaz here with the Senior Pickleball Report, powered by TNC Network. Let's get it going.
Today in our People of Pickleball episode, we are speaking with the top three finishing teams of the National Pickleball League Champions League Senior pros. We speak with the ownership of the top three finishing teams and those are the Houston Hammers, the Columbus Hot Shots, and of course, the Champions, the Boca Raton Picklers. But before we get to that, if you like all this content, consider subscribing to the channel. Check out our newsletter to keep up with all things in the Pickle verse. Subscribe to it. And hey, we got a ton of discounts below of all the products we talk about and review. So look at those as well and check out our merch. Hey, wear some sleeve stuff. All right, let's get to those interviews, starting with the Houston Hammers from the Houston Hammers ownership team. Back again on the Senior Pickleball report. Welcome back. Dr. Romy Massey. Good to see you, man.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Hey, great to see you, Mike.
Happy to be on the best senior Pickleball podcast in the country, baby.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: One of the few, but we'll take it. And I appreciate the props. It was great to see you in person a little bit briefly at and we can talk about that a little bit once we get to that part of the season. But you know, you get into this league and you got to do, you know, you got a draft and yeah, you know, you hope for the best in the draft because you know, obviously there's relationships that need to be built and see if they work out.
And I mean, regular season, you guys, heck of a start out of the gate. So talk about really kind of walk us through your regular season because you guys, you were the money a lot and it puts you in a great position for the playoffs, which we'll talk about in a little bit.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: Mike, we did. We started out really well and the team gelled early and had a lot of excitement. We had some great people on our team. Mary Beth Hinthorn, for example, is she's a professor at Texas A and M and also a great person and she's a team builder. And so we had team building exercises were actually strange sometimes and fun, but it was really a great experience for everybody to come together because, you know, you're bringing together 16 people and for the most part they don't really know each other. You know, they may have some acquaintances and maybe they played a little bit together along the way, but it's 16 brand new people and bringing those Individual person personalities together and how to form a team is a challenge.
[00:02:49] Speaker C: So.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: So just. I give a lot of credit to the whole team, but Mary Beth in general, that she helped bring us together, and it was really exciting times. We played very well early and.
Yes, and we were in the money four out of the six events, which is the most that anyone did. And so that was cool. That was a lot of fun.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Yeah. And, you know, you got yourself a bye in the first round, which I think is very important. You know, long season, we're not youngsters anymore, so any. Any rest of body can get and mind can get, I think is beneficial. And, you know, you get to the playoffs and you get your first round against okc, who pulled an upset, you know, in their opening round against Coachella. And, you know, teams pull up sets, they get. They have some momentum, and plus, they've already played. So talk about your first round match against them and what went into that.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Well, you know, we. It was kind of interesting. And to go back to what you said about the buy, we didn't realize how important that actually turned out to be, because if you looked at the finals, the four teams that had the buy ended up in the championship and the team. So as you said before, being over 50 can be problematic as far as the stamina that you have moving forward. So I think having a buy was certainly instrumental in us having an opportunity maybe to move forward in that regard. So okc, we came off a very poor outing at Houston, I'll go ahead and say that. Just we tried some different lineups, and we thought we'd see if those things might work, and they didn't, but that's okay. And so we came into. Quite honestly, we came into Cincinnati to make a statement, you know, that the Hammers are back. And we did that unfortunately, a little bit to OKC's disfortune, because they took. They took a kind of a beaten, but it was not. It was still competitive. They played some very close matches. They're a very good team. But we were making a statement. We're back and we played very, very well. And it ended up being a marginal defeat, but it set us up for a really good semifinal match with Columbus.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, you play Columbus and, you know, you play them in the seasons a couple of times, and, you know, as the saying goes, and it was brought up by Jeff as well, it's. It's hard sometimes to beat a team three times as they had to play Boca. What was your matchup against Columbus during the season?
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Like, well, you know, we had, we had some success against Columbus and again, very good team, very good ownership, good people. And we had some success against them, but. And we knew it was going to be a battle and our strength this past year was really in mixed. So we always felt like if we could stay close in gender play, you know, if we were three and three, something like that, that we were probably in pretty good shape to finish it out because we, we were really, really strong in our mixed play. And as it turned out though, we came out of. We were, we were one in four to start the day and two of those matches were lost in three game sets and we lost the third game 11 to 10. So at any point in time, had we just got, you know, one more point, yeah, we wouldn't even have been in a. We would actually beaten Columbus. And of course, they give them credit, they played well, they got the 11th point and so we were down significantly and it looked like it was almost going to be a runaway for Columbus. And then we hit mix and here came the Hammers and it was really exciting. We came back and won five out of six and we got ourselves in position actually to, to win it. We were playing in the last game. If we win the last game match, then we would have won it 7 to 5 and they won and went 6 and 6. We went into a tiebreaker and they, they did better in the tiebreaker than we did and they advanced onto the championship and again, credit to them. And it was really, really close and it was a lot of fun. It was a great battle.
[00:07:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think it gives, you know, it says a lot about the league when, you know, I think people often forget these games to 11 are, you know, one point, one point games. You know, it's pretty much sudden death once you get to 10. And to have it come down to, you know, the entire season, all the regular season into the playoffs, and then you get to these matches and they're decided by literally a single point. And you know, you think of all the, you know, the tape shots here, the lines there, you know, the miss serve, whatever it happens to be, and to get yourself into a team breaker. And then those things on some level can be a crapshoot because, you know, it's people shifting in and shifting out and a lot of strategy put into that.
I think, you know, obviously hold your head up high because you put yourself in a position to win and that's all you can ask with your team. And God, I mentioned several times, first year out of the gate and you're on the podium only obviously things to look forward to as it continues. So, you know, you got to recover from that, and you still got to, you know, you still got to play a match. And so talk about playing a team that, you know, one of the OG teams, you know, one year ahead of you guys, Denver, talk about that match and how that went.
[00:08:27] Speaker B: That was really a fun deal. Again, you had to kind of, oh, my gosh, we maybe could have, should have, would have been up in the championship and to. To face that type of defeat in a team breaker, and then to have the resilience to come back the next day and still have enough fortitude to get out there and say, okay, look, we still battling for third place. We got to go right?
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Get it done.
[00:08:51] Speaker B: We could have just said, you know what? Doggone it, we lost out. But no, they didn't. And the team really came together, played their hearts out again. It came down to a final game.
It was being played, and there was two games going on at the same time, and within 10 seconds of each other, one ended and the other ended. And the first one that we won actually won it for us seven to five. And so that was kind of. Then the next one happened, and so we said, well, who gets credit for actually winning it? And so that was 10 seconds apart. It was kind of fun. But. But that was a. What a battle. I mean, Princeton played Denver.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: I'm.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Excuse me. Went. Played by their hearts out and then didn't quit. And it was the dramatic match in the end, and we were excited to come out ahead, of course, but it was. It was great. And as it turns out, again, as the seating went into the weekend, it finished exactly like that. Boca, Columbus, Denver. So that was kind of an interesting side note, too.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, first season under the, you know, under the bell, so to speak. Give me. Before we let you go here, some things to you, some highlights things are reflecting on and also looking forward to.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Well, there's a couple of things, you know, we're dealing with as far as the league is concerned right now, and then that's if we're going to have keepers next year, which could kind of be exciting. And the discussion is somewhere between two and five, and we haven't finished that process yet, but again, that would give us an opportunity to maybe have somewhat of a nucleus leading, leading forward to next year, which would be kind of nice.
That determines some things as far as the draft's concerned, if we, you know, have more females and Males. Now we got to address, you know, whatever case might be. So those games got him. I said this earlier and I don't know if it was on the tape, but, you know, the NPL in itself is. I say it's the best thing since cotton candy for 50 and over players at that level. I mean, it's just, it's so fun. It's so good at the team.
It's just dramatically different than going just with a partner to a tournament and.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: And so everybody's pulling for each other, they're cheering for each other. You're going to dinner with each other later. And then a lot of times, many of these players will either play together or they might play against each other two weeks later in a period.
So it's kind of an interesting format. But they're best, they're best friends during that NPL event and that's exciting. So, yeah, leading into 25, we're excited. We think we're going to be bigger and better and we got to, you know, make some choices on some good draft picks. The combines are going to be vital. Vital, those combines, because all those 49 year olds that are turning 50 in January, they're coming in and you're going to see some new players. You're going to be going, oh my gosh, that lady or that guy can play, you know.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: And that's somebody we are interested in. And of course, you're keeping it a secret. We tell them to pull a hamstring on Sunday, don't come back.
[00:12:05] Speaker D: We got you.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: No, it's exciting times. We're looking forward to it. And, you know, the Hammers are alive and well and we're hoping to come back next year and try to do a repeat, maybe a little better.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And again, congratulations. First year man, you know, make the podium, so to speak. And nearly in the final. And then, you know, he closed the deal on the third place match, which shows some resilience and some obviously culture that's been built in your organization. So congratulations on that. And I always tell folks, if you get a chance to come out and see it, it's incredible in person. If, you know, we were at Pickle Con together and I think there was a new set of eyes, so to speak, kind of on your league. And I was sitting in the stands on the grandstand court and you can just hear behind me like, holy cow, like, these are 50 plus. I'm like, yeah, yeah, really good. It's no joke.
[00:13:05] Speaker B: The, the surprising level of play, I think, to Some people would be astonishing. That's just. It's really good play. Outstanding.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, hey, great to have you on the show. Hope to have you again next year. Maybe be the chance and we can do this again. Thanks again for your time, Romeo. I appreciate it.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: Hey Mike, always a pleasure and really enjoy your program and and best of luck to you as well.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: We'll be right back with Jeff McKnight of the Columbus Hot Shots.
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[00:15:43] Speaker A: Hey Jeff McKnight, welcome back to the Senior Pickleball Report.
[00:15:47] Speaker C: Yeah, Mike, thanks for having me. I appreciate you letting me get back on.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: Yeah, well, absolutely. You earned it.
First year in the league, taking it by storm and we'll get to the playoffs in a minute. But let's start obviously with the work to get to the Playoffs. And we talked prior to this season starting, and all teams have sort of their hopes and dreams of what's going to come to fruition, but you really don't know until obviously you get out there and you start seeing how the relationships between the teams work within your own team, the dynamics and all of that as well. So talk about kind of take us through your regular season and some of the highlights and challenges getting to the playoffs.
[00:16:31] Speaker C: Okay. Yeah, it started with the draft. We, back in April, we felt like we had drafted a really strong team, really balanced team. We felt we were strong on top, but strong all the way through the bottom with men and women on our roster. So that's kind of how it worked out. We started the regular season in Chicago. We went 40 for that weekend.
Cincinnati was.
Columbus was weekend too. That was a little bit of a challenge. John Hedberg was away in Europe, so we kind of shuffled the lineup around a little bit. And so we went one and three that weekend. But, you know, it's one of those things. Our record wasn't the best, but we learned some things about our team. And from that point on, we shifted the lineup around a little bit to kind of accentuate some of our strengths on the team. So we, in the next weekend in Cincinnati, we ended up four. Now, again, so we ended up in the regular season. There were five regular season weekends, and we went undefeated in three of those weekends.
We. So we were happy with that. We saw you in Kansas City, and we started out on Kansas City. That was weekend four. We started out 2:0 on Saturday, but we lost both of our Sunday matches in Kansas City. So we didn't, you know, but this, this league, that's what I love about the npl. You, you could think you've got it figured out, but there are so many top players and really good players throughout the entire league. So you, you let down your guard a little bit.
You know, you're going to. There's going to be players gunning for you and they're going to try to win as much as everybody else. So we were definitely happy with the regular season. We ended up 15 and five for the regular season and finished. Yeah. Second place overall in the regular season.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, you know, if somebody would have told you that preseason, you go, I'll take that. I mean, holy cow. It's, you know, obviously it starts with the draft and you guys drafted very well, and I'm not asking you to give away any secret sauce here. So obviously that, that, you know, took you into week One where you just were lights out and.
Yeah, I mean, five bosses on the whole season.
Anybody would take that and phenomenal, phenomenal regular season. So you get in the playoffs, you get, you earned a buy obviously, you know, first round by. But you know, then it gets tough. You got to get another new team that's really talented in Kansas City.
So talk a little bit about that matchup.
[00:19:09] Speaker C: Yeah, Kansas City, they're, they're as tough as anybody. I had them ranked pretty high just on, on my draft results sheet. So again, a lot of this is a lot of the NPL regular season goes down to injuries or who's available for the weekend because some people already have previously scheduled vacations. So if Kansas City dealt with a little of that, same as we did early on in the year, so I knew they would be primed for the playoffs. So they beat Austin in the first round of the playoffs and they. And the only time we played Kansas City in the regular season, that went to a team breaker that we were fortunate to win. So we knew they would be a really tough matchup. And we went, we were able to squeak it out. We won 7 and 5 on the Friday night of the playoffs to advance for the next round. But they were, they were strong, top to bottom. Their women are really strong, led by Darrell Wyatt, David George. The line one guys are tough. Jen Dawson all up and down their lineup. They were, they were. We knew they were going to be tough matchup. We knew that we needed to win however we could Friday night and we were able to squeak out the victory.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. You named some of the players on their roster and it's a who's who of pickleball, you know, past, present and future. So yeah, great, great wins. Squeaked it out there. But then, you know, you mentioned team breaker and well, you run into Houston in the semis and so talk about that nail biter.
[00:20:39] Speaker C: Yeah. So Houston was, you know, we played Houston, we lost in Columbus and we lost to him in a team breaker. And then we were able to get the win in Houston at Houston on weekend five. So we were one and one with him on the regular season. And you know, Houston, of course is led by Sherry Quarter who is from Columbus, Ohio. So, you know, we knew she would be gunning for us and we were. And they were top team. They were a top team all season.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:07] Speaker C: So we knew that would be another tough matchup. They had some people in their lineup that weren't available when we played them in Houston. So we knew you can't really Take. You got to go. Each. Each matchup is different. So we were. We actually jumped out on a lead in that match. We were up five games to two, just needing, you know, best whoever gets to seven first win. So, right. We were feeling fairly confident, but we knew that they were going to on the mixed matchups, they were going to play as hard as they could, and that's what happened. So they won the next four mixed matchups got up on us six to five. And so we came down to the very last match of our top pod mixed of Chris Headings and Natalie Bagby against Sherry Quarter and Rich Lopez. So that. That was a classic match.
That was a great battle. We were able to pull that one out. Natalie and Chris both played lights out. All four players played lights out. But Natalie really stepped it up that match for us and helped us get. Get the. Get a chance to advance to the team breaker, which we did. And so it was a. We had. I think we. I consulted with John Hedberg's kind of a. On our team. He's kind of a intellectual and really tries to figure things out, not just in his play, but also on the team breaker situations and things like that. So we work together all year and trying to, you know, get to our lineup just right for the team breaker. So we felt pretty confident going into the team breaker that we had a good team breaker lineup set. And then we were able to. Our pod, three women, Beth Olivier, Renee Chang were able to get the two lead and we were just able to build on the lead from there and close out the team breaker to advance.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think you brought up a couple of great points. You know, you have personnel. This is an all on you. Obviously you can, you can pick the minds of your, Your, Your roster because you have a lot of people like, you know, obviously Natalie a legend in the game, somebody you want in the clutch situation. She's been there so many times and come out on top. And then obviously, John, who has the mind for this, it's nice to know that you can just sort of pull from these folks all around you. It is, it is a complete team effort. It's not you just picking a lineup and going, well, go get them, you know, all season.
And as you mentioned, moving parts, people that are not there, people who are there. And you know, cohesion, obviously is something that y'all really kind of get out of the park year one. And I think that says a lot for ownership and in the approach that you and your dad took. So kudos to that. And obviously gets you to the finals against the team who's obviously, you know, Ben, probably the most steady all season. Finished number one regular season, Boca. They finished third last season in the playoffs. So they had been there, so to speak. So talk about going up against, you know, Rick and Carl's squad.
[00:24:20] Speaker C: Yeah, we knew that was. We. We felt, you know, we had two battles on Friday and Saturday that both could win either way. So we were fortunate to advance to the finals. We had gone 2 and 0. We'd won both of our matchups against Boca in the regular season.
First one was a weekend, two in Columbus, but kind of a different. We kind of threw that out. We just played them in Kansas City, and we beat them 7 to 5 in Kansas City. And we knew we were going to have similar lineups than we did in Kansas City.
[00:24:53] Speaker A: Right.
[00:24:54] Speaker C: But, you know, you know how that is, that sports cliche. It's hard to beat a team three times in a season. We had the two. You knew that they were going to be fired up, and they. And they have a great team with Burcha leading it, and they were. They were tough, extremely tough. So they came out fired up Sunday morning, and they really took it to us. So all credit to them. They played really well. I thought our team played well, but they kind of took it to another level. And, you know, they're all credit to them. They. They stepped on the gas right away and jumped out on a big lead and took home the championship. So we came up a little short this year.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, obviously, first season, you get, you know, finished second regular season, you finish second in the playoffs. Out of 12 teams, as you mentioned, 12 teams that are pretty evenly stacked. If you look at all the lineups and people just read through the names of who's who, you're like, good luck picking who's going to win.
You know, those of us from the outside, it's even more, you know, it seems even more tighter because we don't know all the inner stories between, you know, teams and relationships and all that kind of stuff. So well done. I mean, so, yeah, you know, the off season here.
Talk about what you're looking forward to and some things you may do or do not do differently in 2025 for the NPL season. Obviously there might be some new teams as well.
[00:26:20] Speaker C: Yeah, there might be some new teams. So what's what we really wanted to. We thought we had a strong team, but we did have a strong team. We finished second, came up a little short, so, you know, kind of in the process of evaluating how things went this year, maybe what we could have done a little different, we reached out to our team, we've got a great team and said, you know what, anything you can feedback you can give us as owners, first year owners that we can maybe improve on, not just to play or the lineups or just your weekend experience in general. So. But you know, I think, I think overall everyone had a pretty happy with the season, happy how this season went on our team, but we're, yeah, we're definitely reevaluating. Actually today I was kind of looking over the draft results from last year and you know, a lot of that was based on some rankings and with the NPL just in its second year and a lot of new players in the league, that was kind of a ranking system that was everyone's best approximation of players. But a lot of players came on this year that, that will have higher rankings next year if they decide to play again. And then there'll be new players in the league and things like that. So it'll be. And there'll be some hidden secrets that people will try to. And then no one will know about except maybe regionally. So it's, it's all fun. I love all of it. It's all fun to look back and. But one thing that we do want to do, we want to have a local combine in the Columbus area where some of where we've got a lot of great players that are at 45 and older. We got like a lot of great players at any age, but especially 45 and older that might be looking. See kind of where do I evaluate with the. Within the npl, maybe look to play in it now or when they turn 50. So we want to do something like that to get, get our players not just in Columbus, but around Ohio or the Midwest to come over for like a little tryout combine that they can kind of experience what the NPL combine is. And maybe the winner from that gets to go on to the NPL combine and things like that. So we want to, we want to use this off season, this, the first year, we kind of focused on building the team and awareness around the Columbus area. You know, we're reaching out using this off season to kind of continue to get the name out there, look for potential partners within the Columbus community that we can, you know, possibly sponsorship or dual events on and things like that. So there's, there's a lot of work that we have before the draft combines and the draft rolls around next year, but it's all fun. So it's all pickleball. You can't, you can't have a bad day when you're messing with pickleball, so.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: Exactly. Now that's the attitude I like to hear and I can tell, you know, I obviously interviewed you beginning of the year. We saw you at Pickle Con, got to meet your dad. You guys are having a blast. And that's what, that's what this is all about.
[00:29:18] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. My dad, it's been, it's been exceeded our expectations that we've, we did something to, we're investing in a long term growth of pickleball, but it's also, it's a way for us to get together. He has his travels and down to Florida quite a bit. So we know for at least six weekends, plus the combine that we're going to be together with our team that we picked. You know, hopefully there's a lot of people that played our team this year, will be on a team in future years, hopefully. But that's all, that's all part of the experience and you meet new people and things like that. So we've had a blast all year. I can't say enough about the National Pickleball League. Anybody that wants to play a high level pickleball, whether you make the league or not, it at least gives you a chance to evaluate yourself, to see where you stack up with players. And if you like playing pickleball and want to continue to work on your game, it gives you a good goal when you're 50 and over that you can be part of that community again whether you make the league or not. So I love everything about it and it's been a great experience.
[00:30:23] Speaker A: Yeah, well said, Jeff. And congratulations on, I mean, dynamite year, really.
Debut year and big things are coming. You guys, you guys have the right attitude and that's what's important. I think people like to play hard for you because you know what this is and you take it serious, but you also know what it is. So congratulations.
[00:30:45] Speaker C: Thanks a lot. I appreciate it and appreciate all your support of senior pickleball.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: After the break, we have a chat with NPL champions the Boca Raton Picklers.
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All right folks, we have the regular season and playoff champion Boca Raton Picklers. We have some of the obviously the ownership is here and we have some players, general managers and leaders of the team and we will talk the whole season through here. But we're going to start by welcoming everybody. We got Rick, Carl, Mircha and Kara. Welcome to the Senior Pickleball Report.
[00:32:42] Speaker D: Thank you so much for having us.
[00:32:44] Speaker G: Thanks for having us.
[00:32:46] Speaker A: You bet. I've had Rick and Carl on before and you know they're semi paint, they're kind of a pain in the ass but we'll start with them and they're I was at the finals last year in Glendale in the incredibly difficult lighting of the chicken and pickle which took forever to adjust to get to the final match. And I would say focus sort of gained a little momentum at the end of the season there and finished third. They were not pretty. It didn't seem real happy with how the regular season went. There were some ups and downs and you know, and that happens in a season. But Rick and Carl, kind of walk me through the end of last season and what you were planning for with the draft because you know you get a fresh start. So let's talk about the end of last season and going into the draft and what kind of moves you were looking to make.
[00:33:39] Speaker F: Go ahead, Carl.
[00:33:41] Speaker G: All right.
[00:33:42] Speaker F: Well last season the key word was drama. So now with our number one pick, Steve Kennedy and in the draft and then after the press conference he went to the doctor and had to get surgery and was lost for the season. So we immediately started out with our number one draft pick gone for the year. So it was scramble time right away and we actually were able to pick up Paul Olin as a substitute for a few matches, make all the things develop there. We had injury, a couple players on the team. So we struggled the regular season. I think we finished last regular season but we were able to Pick up towards the end of the year, got Johnston and Saad. IB SAIs were available. They'd been playing as subs throughout the season for other teams. And when we had our injuries, we were able to follow. We were able to pick up a top player. And they came in right at the end of the season. And we went into the playoffs really with no pressure. I mean, it was just a matter of Rick and I said, we just don't want to finish last.
So we ended up losing to Indy in the first match in the playoffs. We ended up winning the championship in a close match and then we upset JBB Naples and then we beat Denver for the bronze. So we finished high note in the money and it was a great ending to us this dismal regular season. We forgot totally about when he gets in the playoffs.
That was, that was 2023 in a nutshell. And we learned a lot. We were putting our lineups together, consulting with our top player. Jennifer Dawson was very instrumental in helping us like Kara is right now, this past season. She was helping us with the women as a captain and we really didn't have a men's captain. So Rick and I sort of took that on and tried to use our limited expertise with the senior pros to set the lineups and so forth. And we said at the end of the season, we don't want to do this again. And so we decided to said, you know, our plan was, you know, we know merger from Boca, right place in our area. We knew he was coaching a lot of players and we had talked to Mercer and, you know, if he was going to play in the season, he filled in a couple substitutes last year for a couple teams.
And so, you know, our plan was if we could get Mert, we wanted to get a top player to help us with the draft and to really coach and captain a team because, you know, we're, we're business. Rick's an attorney. I run business and events. You know, we have our own businesses. It's not a full time job running the pickler. So that was game plan and I'll let Rick take it over from there. As far as the draft where we were able to, you know, lock in Merch or Morario to assist us. And the luck of the draw is we were able to get him in the first round because if we didn't get him, he wasn't gonna be able to help us if somebody else took him before. So we had a calculated risk there, but it all worked out and the rest is history.
[00:36:48] Speaker H: So Just go ahead, please.
[00:36:51] Speaker G: Yeah.
[00:36:52] Speaker A: Rick. So obviously, you know, you had a game plan going in and one of the things which Carl talked about was to sort of eliminate the drama and have a little bit of a buffer between you and the players and making decisions, you know, for everything. Because obviously, you know, when you're at an event, people are constantly coming up to you and expecting you to do things and sometimes pull off miracles.
So talk about, did you sleep better this season?
[00:37:20] Speaker D: Rick?
[00:37:21] Speaker H: Like a baby. Like a baby. And I just want to preface by saying that we had a lot of good friends in that team and we were really proud of that team. And we really love. A lot of the players in that team were still family to us, and we had a lot of good times with that team. But definitely Murcha was a game changer for us and we knew what we wanted. We just didn't know able to accomplish that with him because he's a top player. He was right. You know, there was a lot of posturing between the teams. We had the seventh pick, so we weren't sure if they were going to lack, you know, so everybody kind of was posturing. So we actually spent a lot of time with Mircha before the draft. I mean, these guys. And I give credit to Brian Levine, who was on the side with us, and. And Mircha just knew all of the things that he wanted to accomplish. And I won't get into the particulars of some of the cool things that he was requiring of our players, but a lot of time with the. With the draft lists and we had a game plan and, man, he went to work like a master and he put this whole team together. And I tell everybody every day, him and Kara basically were the glue to our team. And at some point we got to give a shout out to every player in our team because they, from the top to the bottom were equally important. And Point and Murchison, Kara continue to instill that in our team. And that's how we became together. And literally, Carl and I, as you said, we did not much. I think we were responsible for the lunches to make sure that the orders were there after Murcha took care of it all. I mean, this was their team and they did it all on their own. We take zero credit.
[00:39:11] Speaker A: They're just awesome.
[00:39:12] Speaker H: And I let March and Cara top.
[00:39:15] Speaker A: Yeah. So Martha, you know, you didn't play first season. I subbed a little bit. And you're a top player coming in. A lot of people obviously know you've been very successful on you Know the app, the PPA people know who you are, you helped coach the Johnsons and things like that. So well known figure, a little bit of pressure coming in because there's obviously expectations. So talk first briefly about the draft and sort of your, I guess, basic idea behind it and then, you know, kind of take us into that first, I guess, first season match and where your head was at.
[00:39:55] Speaker D: Well, the first step, which is the most important was obviously the draft. And, you know, again, while, you know, I'm very grateful for the credit, you know, I also have to give credit to, to Rick and Carl because they completely, you know, held up their end in terms of the word that, you know, the words that they had promised me, you know, they totally stuck to their word. You know, they wanted basically to have me kind of, you know, work to look at the players, analyze the players, the ones I know and the ones I don't want to research on. So. And they allowed me, you know, free rein to pick the players. And what I was looking for was in terms of the men and the women were both generally athletic people that could move, and the older you get, the more difficult it is to move. And so we had very athletic players kind of top to bottom, and we also had players that were flexible, that could play either side. I really wanted especially men, men that could move and mix and they could take up a lot of court and players that could play both the right and. And then one of the biggest things was just people that were great people because one of the issues I knew they had last year was a lot of, you know, a lot of conflict sometimes on the team. And obviously when you're not doing well, that generates some conflict.
But I really wanted people that I generally knew and they didn't have to be rah rah people. They were just people that I knew would be positive influences on their partners that could play with other people respectfully and positively and would generally be part of a team and, you know, try to come up with a team word. And the one that really like we all, I like the best was together. And that, you know, we ended up choosing that as our team word because, you know, if the bottom part of the team doesn't win and the top wins, it's just. It doesn't do us any good. Like, we all have to kind of work together, row in the same boat. We all want to be, get better and better over the course of the year. And that was really my thing was, was to really get to know each other, to try to gel as much as we can and just to try to get a little bit better every, every week in terms of game plan, shot selection, things we worked on. And you know, everyone worked really hard at their games. And I felt towards the end of the year everyone, you know, started improving their shot selection, improving their consistent strategy, sticking to the strategy. So that was really, you know, kind of my goal, just to get a little bit better for each of us every week, Each and every one of us.
[00:42:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And obviously mission accomplished and well done because you were very consistent all season. I mean, you look at your record in the regular season and you look in the playoffs and what you did under pressure because there was an expectation obviously finishing first in the regular season and taking that title and then trying to back it up with the playoff title. Kara, talk to me a little bit about the regular season because it's once a month so there are going to be off times. You're going to have a good month somewhere and then sometimes you're going to run into a loss or two here and there. And so kind of take me through the ebb and flow of where your head was at during the season and the team as well because although you're highly successful all year, you know, there were some matches drop and I'm sure as any evening community goes through, there's a little bit of ups and downs. So talk to me about that a little bit.
[00:43:44] Speaker G: Yeah, well, first of all, a shout out to Mircha. I mean, he drafted a great team and he's so smart.
Number one, he was smart to ask me to be his co captain, of course.
[00:44:04] Speaker A: Right.
[00:44:07] Speaker G: And I think we just worked really well together. I think that was a smart move because Mircha is really good with the strategy.
He's just like a scientist with it. I mean, you ask him any player in the NPL he knows. If he doesn't know, he'll quickly find out. I mean that's just. And then he would, he would we go over film in between the month and he call it. And for example, he called Audra and I and we all watched a match and we reviewed it and he's just like picking on these little things. So that was an amazing addition.
We wanted a different word, believe. And he said together. And I think it was just perfect.
And then, you know, as far as the season, I mean I, you know, I feel like what I brought was I'm really into chemistry and working as a team.
And so let's talk about the very first one was Chicago. We're all just Trying to get to know each other. And I mean, we had people with different people. I mean, there's different teams from Chicago to the very last match we had. And I think, you know, what Mircha did was try to put the games that go together. And then I really, you know, I can look at a team and if they're not gelling and they're like two individuals, I went and I talked to them. And either they had to come together and talk, tap, paddle, whatever it is, or, you know, I talk to them privately. And if it just wasn't a match, sometimes you're just not a match with someone, and that's okay for sure. And so, you know, Chicago was definitely, let's feel things out. And I don't remember what place we got in, but we went along. And then I feel like Kansas City was like right in the middle and that was our low point. We just.
We just. Some things happened with. With teams and we just. That's when actually Rick came in. And Rick said he did nothing, but he had a really, really good motivational speech. I mean, usually it was Mirch and I given our speeches, but Rick came in and as. As you know, with any team, if you don't have a low, something's probably wrong. And that's when you learn the most from getting down low and losing. And that's what happened in Kansas City. And it was awesome because then we could see, oh, those two didn't work well together. Those two people went home, practiced even more. And then what was after Kansas City? Mircha, what was next?
[00:47:02] Speaker A: Houston.
[00:47:04] Speaker G: Was that the one that we won next?
[00:47:07] Speaker F: Cincinnati, I think.
[00:47:08] Speaker D: First Cincinnati, yeah.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: Cincinnati, I think. Ben. Houston. Yeah.
[00:47:14] Speaker G: Oh, no.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: Or maybe it's the other way around.
[00:47:18] Speaker D: Yeah, I think it was the other way around.
[00:47:20] Speaker G: And what I do, I do love is that before Kansas City was Cincinnati. And I mean, not many people know until I told them I had the worst weekend. I mean, one day I went.04 and we won. I mean, that's just team right there. The other people stepped up and there was other weekends, maybe I stepped up, whatever. And that's just how a team goes. And it was just beautiful how we just got better and better. And then come championship weekend, I mean, we won the season and we all knew. I mean, we're all athletes and we knew, okay, let's be excited about this, but let's, you know where it beat and we're not going to get too cocky. We got to finish this thing. And, you know, it was Tao a lot of times would say do your job. You just do your job. And that was our thing is you do your job on your match if you need to warm up a certain way.
You know, we all had each other's back and we all just did our job and we were there to win it.
[00:48:31] Speaker A: Our interview with the Boca Raton Picklers continues after the break.
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[00:50:14] Speaker A: Yeah, and obviously I think what actually what maybe helped a little bit is you ran into a test right away in the playoffs. It wasn't like you had to, you could walk through. You mean you had a tough first, first round match, I think which generally in sports kind of gives you that like wake up call. Like, you know, they're all here gunning for us and so Mircha, why don't you talk a little bit about that opening against, you know, Princeton, who beats, I believe. Yeah, they beat the defending champs just to get out of that round.
[00:50:43] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:50:44] Speaker A: And then they got to play you and obviously they're ready to play, right?
[00:50:48] Speaker D: They definitely were. And honestly, I just want to kind of piggyback one thing quickly about Kansas City.
[00:50:55] Speaker A: Go ahead.
[00:50:56] Speaker D: And it was actually Kansas City was for me, our high note. And I'll tell you why. And Kara, I don't Know, if you remember this, at the end of the day, I said I was most proud of the team for that one because we had lost the first two the first day Saturday, and we bounced back and played really well and gelled great the next day. And that's when I knew we were going to win. That's. That was the turning point of the season for me. Even though we had won Cincinnati, Cincinnati was our high, so we won that event. We'd finished second in the other ones, and while our record was only 2 and 2 and it was statistically our poorest performance, it was for me the turning point of the season in terms of gelling and knowing that we could rebound from being down and we made adjustments and people did things a little bit differently. And so for me, that was really the most positive, actually that I felt after we finished a one of the events. So it's kind of a matter of perspective. So I really love, love that event, believe it or not, because we overcame adversity.
The first, the first round we knew would be tough because any team we played in the championship had their full roster. So, yeah, in a bunch of the events leading up to the championship, there were some players that were kind of obligated to play because they had to fulfill a certain requirement. People, you know, had different schedules. So other than injuries, which certainly other people, other teams had, each team had their full roster. So the most talented players played where they were appropriately slotted and, you know, New Jersey had a, had a great team. I mean, the Bruisers had a great team up, you know, top to bottom. I mean, they're led by, you know, Jose.
Very, very tough players.
Tough mentally. Tough physically, really, really excellent team. And so we were fortunate enough to squeak that one out 7 5.
And then we ended up, you know, kind of peaking at the end, which is, you know, was the goal of the whole season was to get a little bit better and better. That's did great in Houston. We knocked it out of the park, I felt, and then we were able to finish strong. So once, you know, once we got the first round jitters a little bit, it wasn't our best match, but we were playing, you know, it's kind of like in a tournament when, you know, even though you might be seeded highly, you're playing a really good team that had just warmed up by beating another team. And so it's tough. And that's the hallmark of champions. You know, you know, Federer, Nadal, they've had a lot of tough, you know, second round matches and they they pull them out. They find a way to win even when they're not playing their best. And that's really the mark of the champion. And I couldn't be more proud of our team for that.
[00:54:03] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Carl, I don't want to give you because you're kind of the guy who apparently creates bulletin board material, and I'm going to give you. I'll get a little bait here. You guys own Denver now because, you know, you just.
[00:54:19] Speaker F: Funniest because I was interviewed after we won the regular season, and they sort of put me on the spot, said, well, yeah, what teams are you guys? You're fearful. So I said, well, you know, I mean, overall, I said, Denver gave us a tough time. Columbus gave us a time. We lost twice to Columbus. So obviously, yeah, we. We, you know, Houston was our, you know, I said, we're, you know, we're. We're Houston's daddy. I mean, we went into Houston.
[00:54:45] Speaker B: We went into Houston.
[00:54:46] Speaker F: We were down by like 30, you know, 30 games behind. And I think we. We had. We, you know, we pickled a team 12, and, oh, I mean, we had. They just. These guys came out on fire and we just. Houston didn't know what happened, you know, I mean, so that. That's, you know, that. I think that woke everybody else up in the lake. Said, wow, you guys manhandled Houston. We took care of Princeton there also.
[00:55:09] Speaker A: Who else?
[00:55:09] Speaker F: We beat somebody else strong that, you know, everybody thought that.
Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I think that, that. That said that really put us on a.
Before that, we were sort of under the radar.
[00:55:24] Speaker C: Right.
[00:55:25] Speaker F: People weren't respecting podcasts. They were talking. They say, oh, Columbus and Houston, those are the toughest teams in the league. And every now and then, Michael Chatterson would say, oh, well, look out for Boca. Look out for Boca. Okay, we're under the radar. We liked. Right. You always like to be undergrad, are the underdogs. But then after Houston, we weren't underdogs anymore. We came. We were the target after that point. So I sort of put bulletin board material and let you guys figure it out on the court. I didn't have to go out and play, so I was just. I knew you guys could do it. I felt, you know, I mean, I was hoping if we play Houston. I was worried about Columbus in the final. I thought that was a tough matchup for us, and I was rooting for Houston to be there. But when Columbus was there, I mean, we came out, smoked Denver and smoked Columbus. I mean, just unbelievable. Rick and I Were like nervous as cats. I mean, like, we're, you know, we're going out eating ice cream every night and just trying to stay solidified, you know, because it's tough when you're not playing. You know, when you're playing out there. You can talk in your team. You can't really, you know, you can root them on and stuff. But yeah, we're just. So.
[00:56:31] Speaker B: It was.
[00:56:31] Speaker F: It was just a. It was a dream season, as we said, a dream season, start to finish. And we, we appreciate all the players, the fun times we've had and the relationships built. And, you know, when players come up and say, you know, this changed my life, you know, they're crying. I mean, it's like, literally we don't know what's going on in people's personal lives. They all have different things going on. And this, this brought them into a reality of, you know, as champion pros, the competitive spirit again. And to win a national championship, 50s and 60s. I mean, come on. I mean, this is like a sexual life as an athlete, right? So it's pretty awesome.
[00:57:10] Speaker D: Yeah, we had. We had about a four and a half to five hour celebration dinner, you know, not to tot our own horns, but to recognize the connections and the appreciation and quite frankly, and I don't use this word, you know, lightly, the love we had for each other and that was, you know, probably the highlight of the season for me was that celebration dinner when we all, you know, shared a lot of snippets throughout the year and how we all, you know, became closer and closer as a team and personally. And we recognized each other in, you know, in a very, you know, open and honest way. So that was amazing.
[00:58:02] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that summarizes what NPL has been, at least from, you know, an outsider's perspective for the last two seasons. I've gone to three events, and it's just different. It's different than the open pro events. And mainly there's several factors for that, obviously. One is, you know, people aren't playing necessarily for their livelihoods. So there I have. They have other priorities in this league, and part of that is building relationships and friendships that you bet you've all mentioned. And I think that's what makes not only champions, pros in general, a great community, but NPL has obviously expanded that greatly and will continue to expand it as you add more teams. Before we get you all out of here, maybe just a last note from each of you, something you're taking with you out of this season because you know, who knows what next season looks like and where people will be and all the above. So we'll start with you, Carol.
What's something you're going to take with you in the off season here and that you cherish a little bit?
[00:59:08] Speaker G: Friendships.
I just got a whole new group of friends, and even if we lost together, it would have been just as great. I mean, it's just.
It's just. It's amazing. Like you said, I mean, all of us have succeeded or as a kid or college. I mean, we had a pro baseball player on our team. I mean, how cool is that he coming back, you know, to compete in a different sport? And you know, what's just so great about the whole group, as you said, is just like, it's all people that love what we love, and we all are so competitive. Nobody likes to lose. But some have grandchildren, some have kids. You know, we've got jobs, and at the end, you see most of us hugging our opponents.
But in the end, it's just. I'm just. The bond we had with this team and the friendships I have, I'll take with me forever.
[01:00:19] Speaker D: Yep.
[01:00:20] Speaker A: Right. Nirsha, how about you?
[01:00:24] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna first of all shout out to Kara for number one, putting up with me all season, but for how instrumental she was. And I told her from the beginning that, you know, I definitely cannot do it myself and I need her help. And. And she stepped up in such a huge way, and she was able to, you know, to tell me to, you know, stop, you know, stop over coaching, you know, and shut up when I need to. So I'm grateful for that.
But along those lines is the connections and the camaraderie that we formed were incredible. I was really, really focused on that in terms of developing that over the course of the year because it was, you know, about the process. You know, we. You can't achieve the result without putting the work and the connection and the chemistry as part of the process. So.
[01:01:25] Speaker A: Right.
[01:01:25] Speaker D: That's really what I'm going to take, is the connection.
The connections that we formed and the camaraderie that we developed that we all, you know, we'll never forget. And the pro baseball player is Peter, and he, you know, he's really not a warm and fuzzy, you know, kind of guy or rah rah kind of guy, but he's a great teammate. And he. He said at the end, at the dinner that, you know, this team was, you know, had gelled better than any other team. He'd ever been on. And that was probably one of the biggest compliments I felt that he could give us all and, you know, over the course of the year. So.
[01:02:11] Speaker B: Right.
[01:02:11] Speaker D: That's what I'm going to take away from our statements like that.
[01:02:15] Speaker A: Right, Absolutely. That's very cool. Rick, how about you? Before we go to the guy with the trophy, what are you going to take with you?
[01:02:23] Speaker H: First, I just want to give a shout out to Brian Levine, Brian Shapiro, Alan Mendelsohn, Peter Pradnav, Tao Doc Reading, Audra, Tracy Taylor, Susie, Pam, Yvonne, Jeannie, all the team. I also want to give a shout out to this special guy who was the glue to our team. He's the funniest guy.
[01:02:49] Speaker D: Scott. Scott Burger.
[01:02:52] Speaker H: He is, like, part of this family, too.
[01:02:55] Speaker A: And I took.
[01:02:57] Speaker H: I just want to leave you with this. As we were seeing, we were doing the championship match, Ryan, Ryan from Coachella Valley, one of the guys from the brain trust of Coachella, which is awesome, by the way. Total respect for all of the new owners. The NPL is just getting better by the minute right now. But he came to watch our match and he says, I'm watching your team because I'm scouting players for next year. And I said, you know what? I could tell you one thing. Every single one of them is equally good. They are just equally awesome.
[01:03:36] Speaker A: Because they are.
[01:03:38] Speaker H: And that's a very important thing. Last year, when we were going to get a draft, I suggested to the owners, hey, let's do high maintenance, regular maintenance, and low maintenance.
[01:03:48] Speaker A: Just great players. You don't have to get into specifics.
[01:03:52] Speaker H: And I can tell you, everything here was zero maintenance. They just played for each other. And like they said, it's all about love and being together. And at this age, at this stage in our lives, where can we create that environment, Right? Bunch of old farts jumping around like little kids in the middle of a. I mean, it's just this amazing experience, and it's hard to explain in words, but sleaze. We want to thank you for everything you do, and you are.
[01:04:20] Speaker A: And you've been with us day one.
[01:04:22] Speaker H: You know how much we, Carl and I, love you and. And you have an open invitation to come down here anytime. I know you haven't been here since spring break, 1980, Fort Lauderdale.
[01:04:37] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[01:04:37] Speaker A: But whatever.
I appreciate it.
[01:04:41] Speaker C: Paul.
[01:04:42] Speaker A: Man with the trophy. Show us the trophy.
[01:04:43] Speaker F: A little more.
[01:04:43] Speaker A: Put it in frame. A little more there for us.
There we go. Look at that.
[01:04:49] Speaker F: We're getting.
We're getting, you know, bricks being made now. And also one for the mayor. Boca. We're. We're planning a nice CBS watch party in Boca. We're hoping to get most of the team if try to get them in here to do a little exhibition and watch our CBS sports, because it's our championship. We can relive it with the comfort of the cocktail and just enjoying it because there'll be no pressure.
Take the trophy there so we already know the outcome. And then we've invited to be in the holiday parade on December 4th, the next day. So we're going to have a vehicle in there with a little pickleball and hopefully as many players. The mayor's going to talk about giving us a key to the city. And Rick and I were at the historical Museum, the first ever professional team in Boca Raton and winning not only the regular season, but the championship. So there's a lot of history that will be here long after we're gone, that we're all even.
And to do it in our hometown. I mean, Rick and I, you know, live here, grew up here. I've been here since 83. Rick's been here. He's a native of Florida. But each other for 25 years. To be able to do this together as friends, playing tennis and basketball, all our lives together, and then now playing pickleball and owning a team together and winning a national champion. I mean. I mean. I mean, what else. What else can. What else can you do? I mean, in these players, right? The first year we had some of the drive where players would come to us. I can't play with this person. I can't play with this person. We didn't hear any of that, you know, so we want to celebrate this. We're the championship. We're the champions until next year, until somebody takes us off the step, you know, so Indy was the first champion.
And, you know, the league's growing. We're gonna have more teams next year, more coming in from tennis. The younger players coming in. They're 49, 50 years old. We're seeing them. You're seeing names now on the, you know, I know merchants playing with some of these people. Acara in these other tournaments. And there's new names popping up. Every tournament I'm running, I got a tournament coming up in Boca, and I'm seeing new names that I've never even heard of. These people sign your pro, you know, so, yeah, I think they're catching the wind of it. So we're going to melt this. Our championship merchandise is all up now, right now. So it's Just, it's just beyond. I'm 72 years old. I'm the senior citizen here. So, you know, for me, for me to just get out there and play with these guys and practice with them and be around and the team aspect, it's just. It's just awesome. So I'm looking forward to it. Like we said, somehow we're trying to figure out a way to bottle this team and keep them together because it's hard to do something like this. I don't care what team, what draft, from start to finish.
[01:07:37] Speaker A: Right.
[01:07:39] Speaker F: You know, we had a lot of players played with us last year. Still good friends of ours. They've been coming to us. Oh, man. You know, we want to play for the Picklers. I mean, we have so many people lined up that want to play for the Picklers. That's because of the Mercer and Cara built together. They saw the performance.
I think it's just a tribute to them and I'm just hoping. We don't know yet on keepers and we don't know how many people keep. But man, it could be the toughest thing for Rick and I for sure.
We'd like to bottle this whole team and keep them and go on the road.
It's not possible, unfortunately, but we're going to do our best to move on. We want to celebrate this for a while, so we'll just keep on going. So thanks, Liz, for all your great work too. I'm in the radio business and stuff. You do a great job and with a great niche and focusing on what you're doing, so bringing light to the seniors and we try to do that in our tournaments also, you know, pay the seniors a little bit more money and get them to come out and give them respect. Because, you know, this is high level pickleball that people don't realize.
[01:08:42] Speaker A: Right.
[01:08:43] Speaker F: You know, so it's awesome that what they're doing.
[01:08:46] Speaker A: Absolutely. It's very, very, very high level pickleball. It doesn't always come through on YouTube or on television, but I tell you, if you get there in person, you will realize very quickly the level of ball that's being played in the npl. So congratulations, Tara, Mircha, Carl, Rick, I appreciate your time. Hey, maybe Boca dynasty coming, we don't know. But enjoy your off season and you know, I'll see you in person, hopefully at some events next year. And man, one hell of a run. Winning the regular season and then coming through with the pressure and winning the playoffs as well. Congratulations.
Thanks for listening today, folks. Fantastic season and can't wait for the 2025 campaign of the National Pickleball League. Get out there and see some senior pro ball. It's unbelievable in person. So congratulations again to the Houston Hammers, the Columbus Hot Shots, and of course, the Boca Raton Picklers for winning the regular season and the championship playoff run as well. All right, till next time, folks. Hey, let's Pickle.
