Episode 71 Denver Iconics Open Pickleball Tournament Recap - Jen Hamman, Mario Bosch (Denver Iconics Owners) & Former NFL Players Lamarcus Caradine and Jaret Smith

[00:00:00] Thank you for joining in. I'm Mike. I'm Christana. We're the Pickleballers Next Door. Denver! Feel that energy? Professional Pickleball is here. Your hometown heroes, the Denver Iconics, are serving up non-stop thrilling action. We're more than a team, we're a community. Be part of the movement sweeping the Mile High City. Get the latest news, grab your gear and join the Iconics family. The action starts at DenverIconics.com.

[00:00:30] That's DenverIconics.com. Hey Mike. How are you, Christana? Good, good. Hey, we're here with Jen and Mario from the Denver Iconics. They're the owners and we're going to talk to them about their tournament last weekend.

[00:00:53] Yeah, this is awesome. It was really awesome. We were there. Got to watch some great play. Got to watch Jen play. That was fun. Yeah. Yeah. That was fun. She did really well. She's getting good. That serve you have, I'm telling you, that's a little power with a lot of topspin on that thing. Yeah. I think it surprises people.

[00:01:13] I was a little conservative with the serve because I was worried about it going out or, you know, and so I was, Mario said, you want to make sure all your serves are in? And I was like, okay. So I just did, I didn't do my power serve. I have to just keep working on it. You had a couple there with the grunt. Yeah, I grunted a little bit. Yeah. Timing. Sure does.

[00:01:38] Yeah. And I can tell I've played with you enough now that I know when your power serves coming because your whole body goes through that. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. I can't really throw my body under the court trying to serve it, right? You're coming. You're coming all the way through. So. I know. It's a dork move. Your first tournament, how did it feel for you? You know what? At first I was like a deer in a headlight.

[00:02:06] And I, and I met the nice people. My partner is one of my closest friends. And so I just kept easing up, you know, I kept kind of relaxing more and more. And I just didn't really worry about my win because you only had one match up to 11. So I didn't have a chance to sort of find somebody's, you know, pattern to adjust my, my game so much. Um, and so, and just really think about my game.

[00:02:34] It was just like new person every time. Uh, and yet at the same time, I really enjoyed it. I really liked, um, the community of it. And I say that because I've always been like, Oh, I'm a rec player. And to play in a tournament and meet these people who are so, um, some of them were there first time. And the excitement was really inspiring. I mean, I thought this isn't a cult. This is a community.

[00:03:04] I mean, cause I, you know, when I first looked at it, I'm like these big wallers, of course I own a team. I'm like, how are you cool? But they're really a community. They're really, um, cause it's addictive, right? We've talked about this before, this addiction to it. And, um, and so it was, it was really cool and fun to experience it and understand in a different capacity. And I think your partner was so cute and you guys put you, you, you could tell you guys were friends.

[00:03:34] It was so cute. You know, you guys were just so happy. It was like, even when I seen you, I'd say, how'd you do? Ah, we didn't win that one yet, but no, the next one, it wasn't, you weren't like, I've been on tournaments and I get pretty stressed out. Like, I can't even think, I feel like I'm going to pass out. And you were just calm and collective, just having a fun time. And that was cute. And I think that helped with you guys being friends and you look good. You guys were a little, you had matching outfits and it's really good.

[00:04:01] We had trailhead wealth management shirts on, um, our sponsor. Yeah. And you know, I wanted, I didn't want to walk in and try to just balls out it. I hope that's okay. I said that. And, um, I wanted to really just have, enjoy the fun of it. So I was just pretty chill. And you did, you looked like it, you were, you were fine. You know, you had a good time. So, and you ran a great tournament. I mean, it was very fun. It was very well organized.

[00:04:31] People were having fun moving. You know what? I think people that one number, one thing I heard the most is that they were moving us. Like we were ready for the next game. They, you were so used to doing tournaments that you just wait. And then you get kind of, that makes those nerves and all this. You were in the next game. Like it was the next game was ready to go. And I thought that was well, really well ran. That was all Patty, Patty the Lagos. Is that how we say her name? Yeah.

[00:05:00] I think she, she runs those for pickleball.com and she's on our 60 plus team. And she was just so efficient. She got a chance to play too, which she hadn't played since her hip surgery. So it was pretty cool. Awesome. It's awesome. But I, I think that was such a positive for people. They were so waiting and it was, cause we were trying to do some podcasts while we're there and they were like, we're up again. Sorry. We'll come back. We're up again. I know. I know.

[00:05:28] I felt bad that you didn't get to do that so much. Um, I didn't even know if you did at all. Cause I was running around in my own little. You were busy like you always are. You're, I mean, you are making things happen and we love that about you. Both of you, you both are just there and supportive smiling and always having fun. I see hot times of hugs. I don't know how many hugs you, I mean, you're probably your shoulders hurt from raising your arms so many times, you know? Yeah. I was like, is that you or is that me?

[00:05:58] Right. So Mary, I do think you, you played too, right? Yeah, I did. The tournament went very well. I was very happy for the first one for the Denver Iconics. Um, you know, I think everyone did a tremendous job. My wife did a beautiful job, um, getting this going and with the help of Patty, plays for 60 masters, uh, division, you know, I, and it's what I expected.

[00:06:25] It's walking in there on Friday night, uh, the singles, uh, matches. It was awesome. What I loved about it is you saw these players and I went to say hi to them. And then, you know, like, Oh, we're back tomorrow. Cause we're playing in the, in the gender division, which is awesome. So they're back for another day and some of them play three days. And I was given out ribbons and there was one guy and a lady that played all three days

[00:06:53] and they won, uh, they medal every, every division. It was great. It was just, it was so much fun putting medals on the, on their head. Uh, so they can take the pictures, but overall, you know, you guys mentioned a lot of stuff. It's, um, and just to say it again, the fun was very important to see that. I wanted to see that. That makes, that means a lot to me. The fun means to me is that I'll be back. When's the next tournament? That's what I'm looking for.

[00:07:23] It's not a one-time deal. We don't want any of that. Cause that doesn't work for anyone. So that getting a lot of that from everybody, uh, and being their first time entering event was so much fun. Uh, that, that was very important. And then, uh, like Mike said, the, the playing in tournaments and I've been in, um, uh, before getting into the MLP is that, you know, you go to a tournament, you might show up at eight o'clock in the morning, but you're not playing till 11.

[00:07:52] You're not playing till four. I mean, Mike, you guys know that you're not playing till seven o'clock at night. That thing was, was perfect. You know, you had your games, everybody's on schedule. You know, you had maybe five, 10 minutes in between matches and you went out and played again. That's, that was what we wanted to see. Otherwise we'd be all there till midnight, which is what we don't want. You know, everybody has families. You want to get back home. And I think overall, I loved it. I love playing in it.

[00:08:20] Um, I had so much fun playing against the youngsters and I had fun playing against our age group, uh, and people who we know. And I met some new friends, uh, new people that just got into it. And I, I really enjoyed it. So overall it was a beautiful tournament and I can't wait for the next one. Well, and we got to talk about you. You are so fun to watch your partner and you. I don't know how many times you guys have played, but we had a little conversation about this. You two were so fun.

[00:08:48] Like he was like just around that court and you were just the setup man. And you, I mean, what a good partnership. And I think you guys gave those youngins, those two youngins, the best run of their night. I mean, we were trying to try to keep up with them, but we're trying to hold them at 14. And a couple of times we held them back and, and I look over at my partner on and I says, let's get one more. And he looks over me. He goes, let's see if we can get a few more. I'm not sure. But he made me laugh.

[00:09:18] And he, as you saw him play, he's a phenomenal player. I love me setting up and he's the guy that jumps right in and does what he has to do. He's doing Superman's across the floor. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So, and, and he also played on Sunday cause I was there. He played mix with Natalia, his mix partner, and they took a bronze medal. Nice. They did very well. They did well. Yeah. It was great.

[00:09:45] And the young kids again, ended up winning it in the, in the, the mixed. So, but yeah, it's a, it was a fun overall from the time I stepped in there from Friday till Sunday night, but till Sunday leaving. So I really enjoyed it. Well, you're such an inspiration to pickleball because you doesn't, you don't care. You go there to have fun. You're smiling. You're cheering people on. Yeah. And it means a lot. I don't mind.

[00:10:14] Like I do that all the time. And when I'm on the court, I'll play hard and do what I need to do. But at the same time, just making sure that we're, we're just really enjoying what we're doing. It's hard to play. I'd be, I'm the few times I've got to play with you just a little bit. Cause you just play with me is it's just your smile and the way you roll through that ball. And you're like, Oh, he just took me out again. And he's smiling while he's doing it. Such a good player. I mean, it's so. Thank you. Appreciate it.

[00:10:43] So ask him, ask him, what does he do when he gets really mad? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Actually, it was great. That's a great question. So on my partner, we were there and he goes, what do you do to get you upset and mad? And I looked over him. I said, I just smile more. Oh, so there was. Were you mad the whole time? Yeah. Yeah. I guess I just smile more. So I just, so it was, it was fun.

[00:11:10] And it was, it was an, it was an honor play with him. He's a great guy and they have a great family. It was nice. Have you guys played before together? No, I, I, not in tournament. The, I played with him when we do like a fun stuff that we, they put together. I've been there a few times with him. Uh, and we played a he's great. And I'm glad that we ended up playing this tournament. So it was a lot of fun. He's so fast. It's very, because he doesn't look it. He doesn't look like he's going to just like, yeah. Like zero to a hundred. Like now.

[00:11:40] Yeah, absolutely. Exactly. There's no way in between there. I know. So it's a, but yeah, I noticed that from him when we played before that, but he can see it when he really wants to go on and at the court, he just really, he really lets it go. Well, we just love you too. You two are just incredible to this whole ball. Um, you're just, you bring so much energy. You put all your time in. And I mean, you just, it doesn't matter what you're doing every time we're around, you're just, you're making this a better sport for everybody.

[00:12:10] Oh, we appreciate that. That's really nice. Yeah. I think, I think all four of us make it a better sport. I mean, I feel like, you know, our relationship with you is like, we're just a family that is, you know, growing our community in this and a healthy way. You know, I mean, having fun playing competitive and being just, you know, great sportsman. Yeah. I love it. I mean, you gave me a little bit yesterday.

[00:12:38] You had to give me some mom, some, uh, Mike, you're going to have to get that duper up and you're going to have to work really hard. If you want. I loved it. Oh, but it's, but it's honest, you know, and I love it. You know what I mean? You're not going to, you're just trying to help. And that's what you do with this whole community. I don't even know how you guys do all this. I really don't. I think you probably ask yourself some days. Like, yeah, we do. Oh, yeah. You guys got three. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's, it's right.

[00:13:07] And I think I would sort of divide the work or we have these divisions. We've had that prime with the 40 plus we have our division, which is your premier. And then we have that masters, you know, it's great for the, it's great for the actual, uh, the company from the, with MLP champion series league. Um, it's great for everyone. And the exposure will help as we move forward with this, uh, with all these events. So it's a great thing. And it's nice that our work is divided.

[00:13:34] You know, we have part owner, uh, Gail, uh, hook, who is a 10% ownership with us, with my wife and I, she's doing a fabulous job running the 40 plus division and drafting that team. So proud of her. And then my wife taking care of the 60 and 50 plus doing both at the same time. I'm trying to do as much as I can in the 50 plus and helping out, but it's, it's dividing the work is what we need.

[00:14:01] Cause if you ask me to do this and run all divisions, run everything, this is impossible. There's just no way. So all the help is appreciated. So you forgot one important player, the water boy. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. I thought you guys kicked him off. No, no, no, no, we didn't. We always need water. Yeah. We always need water. Yeah. Yeah. I have no boy. Yeah. You'd be in the house.

[00:14:30] Um, you know, with this tournament, we have a lot of talk about doing another one this fall. It was such a hit and we liked that we didn't do it duper. Um, and it was just really to promote fun pickleball play competition. So that is in the, in the discussion period. On that whiteboard. That's a pretty big whiteboard though. It's a whiteboard. Although I talked with third shot, one of the owners and he's like, and we're going

[00:15:00] to make it this big. And I'm like, Oh, whoa. Okay. What a beautiful facility too. I mean, we need to talk about that too. That is a nice facility. Yeah, it is. Yeah. It works so well. It really works well. Yeah. Well, it was well set up and organized. Um, it's beautiful. It's clean. I mean, you clean cleanest actually. Yeah. You're right. Yeah. River Point. So people know where it was. Yeah.

[00:15:30] Third shot river point. And then, you know, when you're done, you rent do your Costco run. Yeah. Right there. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know what, I'm really excited what's coming up that you're going to do. And I called you yesterday because I need to get on my calendar is the, um, the, uh, I was just my blank there. Pickle lab. The pickle lab. I'm really excited about this and people, when you're watching this, you guys got to look this up and go to the Denver economics. This is something you have to do.

[00:15:58] You're going to have some of the best of the best out there helping you with your game. You want to improve? You want to be on the team? Just like I got told yesterday, I got our, I got to get to this. I got to come to the lab. I got to go to the lab. Yeah. Go ahead. Oh, when is that? June 5th, 6th and 7th. Yeah. Greenwood athletic club. Yeah. Greenwood athletic club. And you just go to their website or you call Alex, um, at the tennis center.

[00:16:26] If you're not a member and you got, it's a three day clinic. It seems like a hefty price, but what you get for instruction is like going to, you know, a big clinic, you know, like a level up or something like that. Only you actually get, you know, such diverse instruction. It should be really, really informative. It's really not three days of instructors with these types of pro and people. Yeah. That's not expensive. I mean, we just did a, we just did something for Inverness and it was $500 for two hours.

[00:16:56] That's what they got for two hours. So I mean, this for the whole weekend of Friday through Saturday. I know. Right. Yeah. Really not. I mean, if you value your game and you want to get better, this is what you do. It costs money. I mean, coaches are $175 to $200 an hour. Correct. You're getting this for a weekend. So I really think it's a very good value. I think you could charge more for the people that are going to be there. And having coaches. Oh, sorry. No, no. And you're right.

[00:17:22] Having the coaches is what I was going to mention is that, you know, you're getting a piece of different information from different coaches and the way they see it on the court and or off the court or see you playing. And that, that helps, you know, just as a pro myself, as I'm on the court, if my couple of my other teammates or coaches, they're watching me and they're trying to help out, you know, Mario, what can we do to make it better?

[00:17:50] And I'm always wanting to listen and learn. So it helps listen to other coaches say, oh, they do it a little differently, you know, and they work. So it's great. And, and I like that philosophy. There's not always one thing or a coach is telling you the same thing. There's eight different versions of it. And it's nice. And people have an open mind and you learn from that. Yeah. And you're one of the coaches, which you're in. I mean, you travel. I mean, we're lucky to have you here. You're usually gone. You're out of your.

[00:18:20] Yeah. No, it's nice. It is. It is. But it's, it's getting a little busier. So, which is great, but I do enjoy that part of it and learning from coaches. I learn from my students. That's even great. Yes. The students I learned from, and I meet so many people from all around the world. So it's, it's a, it's fun and it's good. And you're good at it. I mean, you are great at it. I try to sneak in some free tips every time I see you. How'd I look? How was that? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:49] Well, we're going to get you on the court when we get her, when we get our 60 plus here, Mike, 60 plus we'll get you on the court. Yeah. I'm ready. So we're going to get you on the court too. I took her paddle for the 40 and older. Yeah, that's it. That's right. Exactly. Yes. Yeah, I know. I need to write. I took her paddle. I donated it. Very nice to me. He's been telling me he's taking my paddle. Oh, not improving. Kevin.

[00:19:19] I'm taking your paddle. Oh, she's nice. Love it. She's a worker bee too. She is a workie bee. I mean, she, this is an incredible person. I always give her, we give each other a hard time, but I couldn't do this without her. Actually, everybody on this is an incredible people. So thank you. She is. I might give her a hard time, but it's only because I like her. Yeah. You're only mean to the ones you love. Right? Yeah, I know. Yeah.

[00:19:47] Guys, I have a question to you guys, a podcast people. Like, what did you think, or what was, you know, what did you take away from it as, as a podcast company and coming into the pickleball world and seeing that and, and meeting people. So what was your take on it? Well, again, we talked to everybody there cause we want to get their take. They don't always know we're a podcast. So the neat thing is we get to hear the good and bad about tournaments and the coaching and how the bees were. Sure.

[00:20:17] And we get to hear the crying and a lot more people cry than you think about it. You know what I mean? They, they're not, they're nervous and right. A lot of times it's their nerves, right? Yeah. It's like, Oh, it's everybody's fault. I am this way. But you know what, what we heard was that the number one thing was we are just turning, we are going, they're keeping us moving. There was, it was excitement on the, the, the players were lined up. Well, they knew where to go to their courts, you know, down to the medals.

[00:20:44] I mean, it was down to the medals. I mean, for something that you haven't done here, it looked like you've been doing it for 10 years there. Well, thank you. Yeah. No, I hear you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Our, our experience is that's a big for us when people are not stressed out and they're having fun and they're smiling and there's no, you know, you, you didn't have to get anybody on the court and referee anybody. They just had a good time. There was nobody arguing. There was nobody fighting.

[00:21:13] It was just, and it was just the moving of a tournament. I think my biggest complaint with tournaments, as you know, wait, you know, you play at seven in the morning, not till seven at night, or you're in the queue. Yeah. Worst thing in the world. It is. It is. For me, I'd rather not play in a tournament. Right. Like your tournament, everybody got in and got out and got out. That's right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And I think that's why people want more. Good. They did.

[00:21:40] They kept asking for more and I was like, okay, well, let me get through this weekend first. So as a podcaster, that's what we look for. We look for the community. We look for the people that feel like they're not happy. So what people don't want to do is they don't want to think when I pay you something, if I give you a hundred dollars. Yeah. Think. So that's what, buddy, that was my takeaway is people paid their entry fees. They have, they were, they were guided to where to be and what to do. And they didn't have no havoc about it. There wasn't anybody on the wrong course. There was nobody.

[00:22:10] There was balls there. There was everything ready. And you had a team of people there to support everybody too. You had somebody in front. You had somebody in the back. You two are definitely always all over the place. And we're watching this because we're the eyes, right? We're me. We're watching every we're listening. Cause we're looking for that like edge, right? As podcasters, like we can't say nothing. I can't say anything, but great. You know, it was really, really good. Thank you. I'd rather be a hundred of yours than one bad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:39] And we've turned down going back to some because they're just so chaos. And, and I don't want, I won't mention names, but they're just chaos. And that chaos is not fun. It's not worth it. You're right. Yeah. When we put people on with the people that we put on the podcast, they're just thrilled. Haven't got me very, very excited. Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Good. Yeah. I hope that gave you your answer, but no, no, it was perfect answer. No. Thank you. Give an answer though, real quick. Yeah.

[00:23:06] It's what we didn't hear because when you go to these tournaments, you always hear the bad. Yeah. And we didn't hear bad. People weren't complaining. They didn't come up to us at all to say, Oh, it should have been this. So it was what we didn't hear, which is a good thing too. Good. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. So what we see, there's a lot to come and got people, you got to get out there and get on the different economics website. You've got to get out there and follow them. These are pros.

[00:23:34] I mean, these, this isn't just that this, this is just something that they do extra, which I don't know how they do, but they do it. Um, and then the lab coming up, you have to join guys. You have to come. I mean, if you don't, if you don't, don't complain to me, if I know you didn't go and you complaining to me about, you didn't get better. I'm not going to listen to you because this is where you get better. You can't play rec and think you're going to get better. It won't happen. Correct.

[00:24:02] But where, so where do we find you guys? Um, Denver iconics.com. Oh, Denver. I'm sorry. We're going next. I'm like, well, um, we're late weekend. Uh, sorry. Denver iconics.com. And you'll, you know, over the course, we're waiting for photos from our, our 2026 season team members. And so they're slowly getting implemented on.

[00:24:28] So just check out periodically because, um, we're just waiting on our players to send their shots and, you know, it's just, it's, it's just starting to really go for the season and it's exciting. So, and just what you had to do to get the players, the draft. Yeah. Oh yeah. We just got off the draft and then I, the draft was draft. And let me rephrase it. Draft day was easy. Trades. Trade week.

[00:24:57] 72 hours after was crazy. It was insane. So, you know, it just, I guess that's the way it works, but it was insane. The draft day was nice and easy, but after that, it just got chaotic. And you kind of, you're, cause you're, you're, you're building this to win. Yeah. Great team. That's right. Yeah. You know, you want the great players. You do. Yeah. We're all there. Every team's out there to win. But at the same time, it's pretty crazy.

[00:25:25] Trying to do some trades within 72 hours. And you got to think about it. We're trying to, it's like a family. We use that word a lot. Yeah. But you know, we're going to be together. And we want people who will get bringing their best selves to the court, the team, you know, it's a lot of thought process on, you know, there's a lot of egos out there, um, on the, on the court, off court, um, all around.

[00:25:52] So, you know, it's, it, it's a fine balance to find the great teammate for that. And, and we've experienced what happens. It is incredible. That's why people need to follow all your dates are on there. I know some of this is advised, right? There's some television. Yeah. We're hoping to be on pickleball.com. I don't have clarification on that yet, but yeah, there's some good stuff coming. And I know a good podcast company that's going to follow you. That loves you. We know. Yeah.

[00:26:21] Well, one of them is one of them is really awesome, but, uh, Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. That's right. But the other one is our water boy. And water boy is awesome. You can be there. I'm, I'm building me a little thing and a strap on little back thing. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to be ready. Yeah. Spencer. You don't know. I'm working on it right now. You're going to laugh, but I'm going to be like, No, I love it. Perfect. You like it. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:26:52] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, that's what brings the fun. I mean, just like that. I mean, this was, this was created from just us talking and having fun. And you just can't not have fun, not being around you guys. And that's, what's awesome. Like I said, if you know, the more we get and do with you guys, the more fun it is. And people, when they experience this and just like your tournament, just like this stuff that's coming up, it's awesome. That's great. That's awesome. Thank you. We appreciate you guys too. Yeah. Really, really do.

[00:27:21] You're like I said, a part of our family. That's right. I appreciate that. And thank you so much. You guys are definitely, you know, I was nice. Like just to call you on the scuff yesterday and say, Hey, what's all these and what's going on and how, and you were right there to. All right, Mike, that's what you gotta do. You know, I didn't like to hear the answer. I was like, I want to be on now. And you were like, no, Mike, you've got to, this is what you're going to do. Or you're not coming to be on the team. So I have faith in you, Mike. Thank you.

[00:27:51] I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to, I mean, it's my goal. If you get there or not, at least I tried, you know, it's not just like you get a pay and beyond. You gotta, you gotta qualify. You gotta, you gotta get in. You know, I'm going to be, you're going to see that name one time, Mike. Yeah. The water boy, the roster. I'm hoping you see that. And then, do we give them a chance? I don't know. You have to send me a picture for my website for water boy. I will. I'm going to, I'm working on my, my, my not costume. My, uh, water boy. Yeah.

[00:28:21] Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You guys are going to be, you're going to love it because I'm going to be right there. Okay. That's awesome. That's awesome. Well, I just want to thank both of you and always do be here. We, you know, this was a big deal to have you on today because you are the Denver iconics. You are the legends here and bringing this community more together and making it happy and fun. So I think we appreciate that. Thank you so much. Thanks. Thank you guys. Yeah. Have a great day. Yeah. Thanks guys. Appreciate it.

[00:28:50] Bye. Bye. Serve rally connect where business meets the court on court networking, come play and network. Find out more at on court networking.com.

[00:29:20] Christana. How you doing? Hi, Mike. How are you? Oh, I'm here at another pickleball event. Not playing. Yeah, I know. Right. Because you're hurt. Hey, it's not even that. I just don't get it. It's just your head. I don't know. It's probably swollen right now. Yeah, it is. Um, so anyway, we're out here at the Denver iconics open. Yeah. And we're at third shot in river point river point, which is awesome. A new facility. That's beautiful. Yeah. And, um, they had 110 players sign up for this tournament. So it's going to be a crazy day.

[00:29:51] And we are lucky today, uh, right now to talk to Andrew Carver. He's the social media and a website maintenance for the Denver iconics. How are you, Andrew? I'm doing great today. Thanks for having me on guys. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I mean, we're going to be best friends here. I mean, cause we're all looking for, you know, you know, content. Yeah. So we're going to be getting best friends. Yes, we are. And I'm looking forward to it. Nice. Nice. So what's your background?

[00:30:18] Like you, this is kind of what you're trying to get into, right? Yeah. So, uh, right now I'm a MBA student at university Denver and I want to make a career shift into a sports and entertainment industry. And, um, I was lucky enough to get in contact with, uh, Janet Mario and they are giving me a shot at running their social media for the iconic, such great people though. You couldn't, you couldn't have picked the better people. I don't care what she says, but I think they're awesome. I love them.

[00:30:47] So there, they are the absolute best. Yeah. Um, they're letting me spread my wings and fly, letting all the ideas out. You're doing a great job. I've been watching. It's good. Thank you so much. I, I would not be where I am without their help. So I shout out to Janet Mario. Well, and what are you start with a pro team? I mean, what a place to start to, you know, this is pro and are now, are you going to travel? Travel with them to the other, uh, meets? Yeah. So, so far the plan is, is that I'll travel with the team.

[00:31:16] Uh, I'll start gathering some more content, some more pictures, some more videos. Um, going to start some video series on our Instagram too. Um, so stay tuned for those. We're going to do some player spotlights, uh, some fun facts, uh, just to get to know more about the team and spread awareness that we're out there. And, uh, you know, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. It is. Well, you know, I'm on the team, right? Oh yeah, of course. I'm going to keep you hydrated. Hydration. Oh, specialist. I like this. That's what my shirt needs to say.

[00:31:45] Not water boy. That sounds like a movie. I like that. Yeah. I'm putting that on my shirt. Hydration specialist. Specialist. Yes. Can you say specialist? Specialist. So, uh, so anyway, it's, they're awesome. And I really, truly, my goal in my life is to be on this team. I'm going to hopefully go try out next year if I can get, I got injury right now. Um, Christina, Christina, Christina, and I tripped me and I fell.

[00:32:13] And yeah, when I was going to court so she could beat me. So it was really a jacked up thing. Actually what happened is he was trying to jump over the fence. Yeah. Well, don't tell him the truth. And he couldn't even get to the ground. Yeah. Anyways, my, I almost stretched my groin the wrong way. So anyway, we're out here today and this is awesome to get to kind of meet you. I know Chris and has met you, but I get to meet you and, and what a great thing to start with. You know, here's our first tournament, you know, of the year.

[00:32:43] Um, now you say you play, I was talking to you a little bit. You say you're a player. Yeah. You know, I, I play casually. Uh, I play with my girlfriend, our friends. Uh, I joined a league once it was a Volo league, one of those intramural leagues. Um, and various cities around the country. Denver has one. Um, but I like playing recreationally more because watching everybody in this tournament, I would get my, there, there, there are some very good players here today. You're looking at the four, four, five, five O's, you know, which is crazy.

[00:33:13] Even to consider that some of these players, I think they have six O's coming. There's some six pluses coming in here, which that just blows my mind. I mean, I'm a four O plus, but I mean, to play, I just can't imagine. Playing above six O. I don't even get that. When I came in five O was like the craziest thing in the world. There's actually almost eight O's out there, which is just blows my mind. That's incredible. And being a O O such as myself. Double O. Oh, yeah. You got a best friend now. I know.

[00:33:42] We should play. Yeah. You guys could, yeah. You guys could do some damage. Thank you, Mike. Sorry. She's gotten a lot better. I teach. I'm the pro for the Hilton Inverness here. Oh, awesome. And so I teach and she was playing the other night and she didn't like me. I was recording her. So every time he records, of course I mess up. It's just the way it goes. That's how, you know, that's how it is. And no, it's always, but anyway. That's how I say, right?

[00:34:10] She uses me as the pawn or the excuse. I'm like, oh, that's why I messed up. Where's Mike? So what's the next, what's the next thing after this? So the next thing that we have on our schedule is that there's going to be a tournament in Chicago. We're going to the Windy City. It's going to be awesome. And I believe actually they're going to be hosting a pickleball lab. Yes. I got to get joined up. I'm going to do the lab. I mean. At Greenwood. Yeah. The Greenwood Athletic Club. Yeah. You almost qualified, but you didn't quite get in. Yeah.

[00:34:41] They didn't have two O's. I'm not even going to let you in. Well, I took your paddle. The door. You don't have a paddle to play with anymore. But that will be good because what, so do you know what it consists of? It's going to be a bunch of pros teaching different skills. Yeah. Yeah. So it's going to be a bunch of pros for a mix, I believe of the club and also the Iconics as well. Um, and they're going to be teaching skills, drilling, uh, basically a more personalized pickleball clinic.

[00:35:10] It's awesome. We've done a few with some other companies and I can't, I'm looking forward to this. These labs, if you can do a lab, if you want to learn something right now, I suggest you do this lab or get in, you know, as you're actually great for you to get in and you know, what's going to happen to you now, right? You're casual player right now. Yeah. But you know what's going to happen. Oh, you're going to get the itch. You're going to, once you start playing a little bit more and you've got all these pros around you that are going to give you these tips that are like very valuable, $10 or $2. Not everybody will get. Yeah. Yeah. That you won't get.

[00:35:40] I mean, you know, and so you're going to warm these guys up. You're going to be around. So, I mean, it's going to be awesome. Yeah. Getting, I mean, getting all those tips and tricks, it's just going to come at the expense of getting my butt kicked. Yeah. That's okay. That's how you learn in this game. Really? Exactly. When you can play with upper level players and that's how you grow so fast. Oh, absolutely. And that's what's happening out here now. And we realize this four years ago, it was slow go. I mean, you just moved like a turtle. Now you're a 3-0, you're a 3-5, you're a 3-7, you're 4-0. And then people are doing this in a year. Oh, yeah.

[00:36:10] And this used to take years just to get to a 4-0. You know, it's nuts. So. Yeah. But we're looking forward to working with you. We just wanted to say hi and get you on the air because you're going to be a normal regular on here, especially talking about the Denver Econics. Yeah. We're going to be sharing content together and videos. So that's going to be a lot of fun. Oh, yeah, absolutely. And thanks again for having me on. You know, I've listened to your podcast before you guys. You guys are fun. We're all right. It's me usually, but it's all right. I mean, she's okay. I'm just the. What am I? The.

[00:36:40] Don't even say. I was going to go there, but. I know. No, no, no. Yeah. So. But thank you and have fun and get some great photos. Yeah. We'll get some. Yeah. Awesome. And we'll see you at the next one. Yeah, we'll do. And just a quick plug. Follow us on Instagram. Denver dot iconics and on Facebook. Just Denver iconics. This man is professional. I don't care what Chris Anna says. He's awesome. Wow. Awesome. Don't worry about what she says. I'll tell you later. Her out.

[00:37:10] He's all blush now. Sorry. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Take care. Appreciate it. Bye. Hey, Chris Anna. Hey, Mike. How are you? We're here. We're here. We're here with some great guys. Yeah, we're here at third shot again for the Denver iconics open. And we have LaMarcus Caradine. Yes, ma'am. And we have Jared Smith. How are you guys doing? Doing good. How are y'all doing? Good. Good. You guys look good out there. I appreciate it. You guys look really good. Yes. Yeah.

[00:37:40] We appreciate that. Yeah. I mean, when you guys, I mean, when you put the power on, you were scaring some people. Yeah. You could see they turned a little. They were just like ghosts. Yeah. They're like, oh, they're coming. It was nice. And is this your first time you guys have played together in a tournament or have you practiced? I'm sure. Right. Yeah. We practiced. We should have practiced probably a little bit more. But at the end of the day, we got out there and like, to be honest with you, we was figuring it out as we went. So it for us to kind of look like that, like I was feeling him.

[00:38:10] He was feeling me. Yeah. You guys did phenomenal. It was actually pretty fun. We started to really figure each other out. Yeah. Well, what I love too is the communication. Like that's something that was missing in pickleball. You guys were on and you were like, let's go. Let's go. Come on. I mean, it was. I loved it, man. That was the best part of it. Yeah. It was good. It was really good. No, it was really nice. You know, playing with a little Marcus is it's a treat, you know, because he understands who I am, you know, as a football player deep down, you know, so football players were rowdy. Yeah. Like we like to get hype.

[00:38:39] So when I get hype, he's going to get hype. Oh, yeah. You know, and so like when he hyped me up, I'm hyped up. And so like that last game, I felt like we were really in our in our element. We were. We were definitely in our element. You guys won that last game. Right. We did win our last game. And then it was just like, you know, I feel like we play better. We're aggressive. Yeah. Like when I'm on that left side, I want to go hard. You know, I want to push. I want to put pressure on them. Yeah. I don't know how you didn't break about 10 of the balls. You guys are. I mean, when you followed through and came, they popped it up. Those things were coming.

[00:39:09] Yeah. They were. Those were bullets. Yeah. So yeah. I would have been scared. It's the same thing with playing with Jerry, too, though. He gets me and we kind of we kind of stick together like glue. I love playing that right side because I love being aggressive. All I need is a couple points, like a couple of shots. And I want to set him up to finish it. Yeah. He's going to bring the hammer. Yeah. Yeah. For being for being with our first tournament, I thought it was actually really good. I know our first game. We start off a little slow and we picked it up and then we ended up winning that game.

[00:39:39] And then we were playing the second game where we're playing a team where they were very. This is a team that is known, you know, like they're really good players. Yeah. Were they the young ones? No, they were not. They were not. Miles and Ben. Yeah. They were James and Keaton in which they are like the number one, like I would say like the number two, number three. In the state. Yeah. But I felt like when we played with them, it was like, hey, these guys got it. So bring it. You're going to bring it on. Let's lock in. Yeah. Yeah. You know?

[00:40:05] I do feel like we started catching our, we started catching, we started getting better at what we were good at and what are, what should be next for us. And so like, I'm really, I'm really excited for it to play with more with Lamarcus and get better with him as well. I can see you guys leveling up pretty fast. I mean, if this was your first time, it did not look like it playing the first time together. You guys looked really good. I mean, you were communicating, moving. If somebody made a mistake, it was like, hey, I gotcha. It was awesome. It was really good.

[00:40:33] And that's the thing with Lamar, because he knows, like, I'm not going to be upset at you. Hey, I'm going to make my mistakes. You don't make your mistakes. At the end of the day, we are a team. We can't sit here and be fighting with each other. Yeah. Oh, I mean, you guys are amazing how good you guys communicated, and they're smiling. They're not yelling at each other. Like, you yell at me. You deserve it, though. I mean, actually, Mike pushes me out of the way. I'll be on my side. And he literally pushes me out of the way and takes the ball. I take the ball. All hot.

[00:41:04] Oh, so you're pretty much Ben John. I can pretend when I'm with her. Okay. Watch out. I see. I see. Put your Anneli Waters out. It works out. It works out. He pretends to be like you when you're jumping that fence. It's not pretty. Yeah, we got a video for you guys. He makes this look. This fence is over four foot high, and he just, he's like, he don't use the gate. He just goes over like a little gazelle. I would be very hurt. They'd be calling the ambulance if I tried that same thing. You'll still be flipping right now.

[00:41:34] Oh, yeah. Yeah. I need a helmet, pads. Then I might be able to do it. You barely walk. I can be out of that. Yeah. All right. All right. Your age. So how did you get into, how did you both like say, hey, we're playing pickleball? Like, all of a sudden you're like, I'm playing, you're playing, and we're going to get together and play pickleball? Yeah. Ultimately, what ended up getting us kind of together, we saw each other through passing. Like, we would randomly sometimes see each other playing, and I'll see him over there. I'm like, oh, he looks like he's pretty good. And then I'll randomly play. Pretty good? I think I played him. Oh.

[00:42:05] He's all right. I've seen better. He's like, you know, I'm good. I looked over there. I was like, okay, he looks, you know, he looks pretty good. And then I seen him play a couple times, and we kept seeing each other. And I think it was throughout like months before I even thought about even playing with him. Yeah. I went inside of Game Set Match, and I seen him in there, and just one day we got to talking. And then one thing led to another, and then we was just like, we started texting randomly. It was like, let's play singles. Let's play singles.

[00:42:35] Then all of a sudden, went from singles to, you know what, let's play doubles. Let's try it out of a match. It's kind of like a date kind of thing. Yeah. It was. You know? I had to test him out on the first day. Yeah, I know, right? I had to test him out on the first day. How did the singles go on it, though? How did the singles between the two of you? Honestly? I'm going to let you answer that. I'm going to let you answer that. You better answer that. Oh, okay, okay. The first time we played, I'm going to be honest with you. First time we played, I'm looking at Jared. I'm like, okay, I'm going to cook him. You said you were going to cook him? Yeah, I was like, that's the first thing.

[00:43:03] When you see another, like football players, when we see another person across from us, and they look athletic, oh, I'm going to cook you. Oh, you're done. I guarantee it. I'm going to cook you. Yeah, we started. You both were thinking the same thing. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So when I started off with my serve, and he hit a crazy return back, and I said, hmm. I was like, hmm. He's got game. I might have to come with it. Oh, he's a little stronger, huh? Oh, no, no. He doesn't look that strong. I was like, he doesn't look that. Yeah, yeah. He doesn't look like it. Oh, he about a buck 50.

[00:43:34] Strong buck 50. Strong buck 50. Yeah. But we started off. He ended up, I'm going to be honest with you. First time we played, I had to play him, like, it was 5-2. He beat me two games in a row, and I got so upset. And I said, you know what? Let's do the best out of, I said, let's do the best out of seven or something. I said, I got to get my guess. I would have did the same thing. He would have beat me, too. I would have been like, oh, no, we're going to seven. We're for sure going to seven. I was like, we're going to seven. And so then I got the next two.

[00:44:03] Then after that, he started running. Like, the last two games were really close, but he started cooking. And I was like, bro, he is really good. And it honestly amped me up a little bit. And it was like, Marcus, you're not, like, the only super athletic person in this sport. Yeah. Well, where you two come from, from the football, that's what you, I mean, it's on. Like you said, and you play really similar. Yeah. So you guys play really close. Yeah. Like you said, you got some drives, though, man. And moves. Yeah, yeah. Yes.

[00:44:33] I would say that LaMarcus didn't say the biggest thing of how we really met is like, so in football, his coach in college was my coach as well. And did you know that? We didn't know that until we met each other. Because he was like, oh, I'll play at Bellhaven. I was like, hold on. My coach went to Bellhaven to coach there. You know Coach Bliss? Yeah. And it was like, oh. And so we started talking more like that. So we knew each other from football as well, too, because of our coach.

[00:45:00] But with being with, I mean, meeting with LaMarcus, it was like more of like this guy, he's talented. He has a good head on his shoulders. He wants the same exact thing. And that's a hard thing to find in a partner, is to find someone that is dedicated or is motivated as you. And so when I found someone like that, I was like, I got to play with this guy. You guys got to level up. I'm telling you. You got to take it to the next level. Yeah. Your guys' athleticism and your goal and your goal and man, you're going to take this all the way. Yeah. I think you guys need to take it, like, keep going.

[00:45:30] And don't forget about us. That's what I'm saying. No, no, no. For sure. When you guys are like professional, it's remember us. Oh, yeah. I mean, y'all can invite us back any time. Yeah. We're going to stay locked in. Oh, yeah. I mean, we're like it. Yeah. Yeah. We'll get rid of her, but we'll talk. It doesn't run without her. Yeah. It doesn't. It does not. That's true. That's true. Thank you. Our fiancés, we know. Yeah. We know. Oh, and you know that we're just business partners. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure. Oh, yeah. No, there's no way. But at the end of the day. I would slap him right now. Yeah. I would have some lime and be out there burying her somewhere.

[00:46:00] Wow. But I will say this. Wow. In dedication to Mother's Day and stuff like that, though, we always know the women that's close to us, the women that's around us, they make or break a lot of stuff that we have going on. Oh, yeah. We kind of in the back seat a little bit. Yeah. We there when you need us. Oh, yeah. We had to step up there. Oh, yeah. It's true. It's true. But no, I feel like it was a really good tournament. It was a good tournament first to start off with and to figure out our game, but also we can practice more.

[00:46:29] We know what we need to work on. But yeah, I'm looking forward to the next tournament. I'm excited. Did you ever think you'd come to pickleball? I mean, coming from where you came from, from football? Like, I mean, did you ever look at it going this old people sport? What is this? You know, that was the first thing, you know, because like, you know, we played a bit we both played at very high levels of football and and coming from, you know, playing at the high level of football, you know, you think like I can definitely play pickleball. I mean, I actually took I actually took a college course where it was like racket sports in college. Oh, nice.

[00:46:58] And so they did we did pickleball, but it was on a basketball court. And I was like and we had we had her name was Susan and she was teaching us pickleball and it was all its football players. And we're like, what is this sport? Now I am hooked. I play every day. Oh, you know, there's there's no I mean, I coach it like there's a lot of things, you know. So it's like I mean, I absolutely love it. It's absolutely great. It's a great sport. I love the community. And I think that's the biggest thing for me is like everybody's super nice and you can play with everybody. Yes. Yes. And you can be whipped.

[00:47:25] You can be whipped by a 10 year old or a seven year old. It doesn't matter. You can't. Or a 90 year old. Oh, they're throwing shots. Yeah, they're throwing shots real quick. I got the lime in the car. Oh, yeah. And you wonder why I throw shots. So tell me. OK, so you guys are both retired football players. Yes, ma'am. OK, so how long have you been retired? So for me now, honestly, about a year and a half.

[00:47:52] I picked up a pickleball a year and a half ago and I never looked back like it was one of those things. It was also the same. It was kind of the same thing as him, except for I ended up my first time playing. I was we was in a basketball gym as well and we played against it was a 15 year old girl and then it was she was 71, 71 year old woman. And it was me and my friend. We had just got finished. He's with the Cowboys right now. But we had just got finished playing, got finished practicing and stuff like that.

[00:48:21] So we went in there to play pickleball just for it. It's one of those things. And we get in there. We lose 11 zero. I'm talking about when we got the four. You got school. Yes. When we got the four, I was like, oh, when they got the four, I was like, hey, bro, we got to turn it up a little bit like we and he was like, you're supposed to be athletes. Yeah, we're supposed to be athletes. They taught us a valuable lesson about pickleball in there. And that's when it got me kind of hooked because I'm a competitor. Now I'm like, OK, I can't be letting people just beat the brakes off me.

[00:48:50] And it made me like it made me start really trying to figure it out. Yeah. And you have you guys are. How about you? So I've been out of football for about. Shoot. I left. I left the league like eight years ago. Oh, wow. And then I didn't really pick up pickleball until about 2021, 2022. But I wasn't really taking it serious. But then I was like, you know what? I told my I told my fiance. I was like, hey, I could probably do this. Yeah. And she was like, you could definitely do this.

[00:49:19] And I was like, as long as she's got my back. Yes. Yeah. That's it. That's the most important. That was the biggest thing. She was like, I'll support you anyway. Anyway, I can. I'll support you. And I was like, I got this. And then she was like, we just got to find a partner because I've played a lot of tournaments before. But it's hard to find a partner that is jails with you. This this here. And this and this right here. This is it. This is it for us. This is a match made in heaven. It was. It is. It really is. This is great. And it's funny how you guys kind of you're scoping him out. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[00:49:48] I was scoping him from a distance. You're like, yeah. Wondering. Everybody told everybody was talking about, man, you got to play with LaMarcus. I'm like, who's this bum? Oh, yeah. Yeah. But then it was like, you know, when you see him and it's like, OK, this guy, he has gang. OK. Yeah. I see how he can really we can really benefit each other. Yeah. You know, and like it it just comes down to, you know, like we have the same. I love our mindsets. And at the end of the day, you know, we are determined and we are wanting to do more with the sport, but also grow the sport as much as we can.

[00:50:17] You know, because if when we when people see us play, you know, people like watching us play because we like we get rowdy, we get excited and stuff like that. But smiling all the time. Exactly. Exactly. I mean, and that's just that's just our personality as well, too. But at the same time, it's just like I'm just looking forward to the next the next tournament for sure. Yes. Oh, yeah. You had some Ernie's. I mean, oh, I appreciate it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I got some of those on video. I'm going to tell you he needs to do more. I'm going to say I'm going to tell you the truth, though. He set me up for a couple of those. Yeah. He set me up for more and I should have did more. You were right there.

[00:50:46] You were there because, I mean, you were jumping before the ball was even returning. I mean, you were already in the air as that ball was coming. Well, I mean, that's and that's our game, too, is like setting each other up because we know each other's athleticism, but we also know each other's speed. So both of us being on the same court on the same side, he can set me up on his side. Like Ernie is one of my favorite things. Yeah. Oh, yeah. If you if you're going to if you're going to do it, I'm going to go for it. Oh, yeah. I already I can already read. I'm going for this ball. So like as long as we're setting each other up and playing fast and playing aggressive, I think that's one of our biggest things in our game right now.

[00:51:14] And I think if we can keep that going, I mean, there's no stopping. Yes. Yeah. You guys were on. I mean, there were some good lobs these guys did and you guys were up at the front and you communicated your back. You stayed in the center. You were ready. I mean, everything was so calculated. Good. And that's a good players. That's what I'm telling you. We're going to be seeing you guys up in the lights. I'm telling you. I mean, that's it. Oh, yeah. That's the goal. That's that is the goal. Well, these this is the new million. There's a new millionaires coming and pick a ball now. Yes. Oh, yeah. You can make a living now. Yes. I mean, when we started four years ago, you were getting lots of trophies.

[00:51:43] And if you were playing, you get no money. Oh, no money. But I was getting like metal. Metal. It's OK. All these metals hanging. You can get paid now. Really? I mean, and that's the thing, too, is like when you see all these these good players. Oh, yeah. Like, man, like I mean, because like when you go. The biggest thing for me was when I went to my first pro tournament, I didn't play. I just watch. Oh, yeah. And I that right there. I was like, I'm hooked. Well, these are athletes. Well, they're athletes are athletes. They make it look like they're dancing. Yeah.

[00:52:10] I mean, they're at the line moving. I mean, they just hit things and they speed things up when you just would think I'm not going to speed that up. They're down at the bottom of the net. Exactly. Rolling something over. Exactly. It's like crazy. Exactly. Especially with the high level of pickleball there is now. Man, there's a flick that you can go from the bottom of the freaking net and flick it. And that thing is like up at your face. Oh, yes. And it's like, wow. And it's going to stay in. It's going to roll back in. Exactly. That's exactly. They put so much spin on it that it's like even if it's here, that thing is going to land in.

[00:52:40] Let me tell her. Do you want me to get the whiteboard out? Yes. Could you? What's going on? Sorry. I got a shovel in the car. Sorry. No, you need to dig it. And I got some guys that might help me. They seem like they could actually dig that hole pretty big for you. We'll get your number after this. Yeah. Thank you. You know, it's a pleasure having you guys on and watching and being part of this with you.

[00:53:10] Yeah. And also, Marcus, I mean, Austin, I mean, just I still need to come see you. I know. We love you now. Yeah. This man, he doesn't only he doesn't only play pickleball, but he fixes people that play pickleball. That's what's cool. I appreciate you. No, I will say he is the best. Like I had I had a I had a back issue like what, a month ago? Yeah. Yeah. And man, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't I couldn't do anything. And then I was just like, I didn't know what it was. I was eating it. I was doing everything I could. And I texted Mark Lamarcus at like eight o'clock, 8 p.m.

[00:53:38] And I was like, hey, I can't I can't do this. I need to see you. And he was like, well, you know what? I just got done eating. You know what? I'll get you over there. So he goes to he goes back to his spot and he's like and he fixed it. He knows exactly what it was. And he was like, oh, you just got a little rib out of place. And I was like, oh, he fixed me up. And then I haven't had a problem since. That's awesome. And I mean, it's absolutely amazing. And I really appreciate him for doing that because there was I was it was like two or three weeks. I was like that. And I didn't know what was going on. And I kept doing PT and it just kept I just kept like doing some manipulation and manipulation.

[00:54:07] It's just it wasn't fixing the problem. It was just like, you know, oh, it'd be good for a couple of days. And then boom, it's back to it. Out of place. Yeah. You got to put it back in place. And I would definitely recommend going to Mark. I mean, it's good. But it's good playing with him because I know for a fact he can fix me. Right. After he hurt you. Yeah, exactly. You know, running into you and stuff. He'll fix you. But everybody that goes to you loves you. Yes. I mean, they have nothing but great things. And we love your story with where you're from and what you're doing with it. I mean, you're not just there to pop some people. You take them from start to finish. Yes, sir. And that's pretty awesome.

[00:54:37] Yes, sir. And I love that. You know your stuff, man. It just makes me so happy to be on that side of things because I knew where I was like a while back. Yeah. Because I had a couple of disc herniations a long time ago. But it was one of those things that I knew where I was in that. I used to I was crying every day. Like I wanted to get back out there and run. I, you know, would see my little cousins out there and they would be like, Mark, you want to go play basketball? I can't. I'm hurt. Like it was one of those things. And I'm a big family and community person like him. And he used to just kill me.

[00:55:04] And then I met I met a chiropractor that did the exact same thing I did. And I was like, oh, this is more than just an adjustment. You you you really doing doing a lot. And I was like, I want to be just like you. And I get over to you. You're saving people, bro. Yeah, really, really saving people. People in pain. Yeah. You know, if you live with that your whole life. I mean, that is. I guess the hard part is who fixes you? Yeah, I had to make a long drive. I had to make a drive all the way to Fort Collins for it. Really? Somebody that you trust that you work with.

[00:55:33] That's awesome. Because I was I was thinking about that. I'm like, for you, what do you do? Hey, buddy, here, push this here. Yeah. He's going to have to start teaching me some moves. Get him back. Exactly. Put your arm there. Adjust right there. A little left. What's what's the next one? What's the next one coming up for you? Tournament. To be honest with you, we're we're actually planning on going to play in the south a little bit. We're planning. We're planning on actually starting to go to PPA challengers and stuff. We're going to start.

[00:56:02] We're going to start practicing a good bit because it's the same. One thing about one thing about Colorado is a lot of people, a lot of us, we get away with hitting the ball hard. Yeah. And so it makes or break it when you get sea level because. Oh, yeah. Hit it hard and it's not going to travel fast. No. And you ain't go better to just finish certain points. So when we played, we tried to set up each other's shots because we know we know what's going to benefit us in the end.

[00:56:28] Like we may end up, you know, losing a game here because we can't just we go try to out hit people sometimes. But when we get down there, it's a completely different game. We have to drop it. We have to get to the net. We got to dig a little bit more like a couple of those lobs. They're going to land in Georgia. Like we had a lot. We got to do certain things like that. So we think we figuring out what we need to do down there and trying to bring it a little here.

[00:56:56] And every now and then you can see that we was like, OK, we don't want to lose. Let's let's let's let's hit hard. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's that. You can see that. You guys are like you like turn it on and you don't even say anything. But all of a sudden it's like it's just one of those things. Yeah. It's going. Yeah. And you guys are on. Oh, yeah. It's together. Yeah. Yeah. We dialed it in. Yeah. And one thing I'm starting to realize is no matter where we at, though, we got to adapt. We got to learn how to adapt. I like football. Yeah. It's like a different. Exactly. Exactly. Because you're going to be playing different defense. Exactly.

[00:57:24] And so you got to you have to you have to. And altitude. Exactly. And all that. Right. Exactly. Weather. Wind. All of a sudden. All of a sudden. It's so many things that come into it. I don't know what to say. All of a sudden. Yeah. And that's the biggest thing that I'm starting to realize with pickleball because I'll like on a side note, I went down to Georgia to play and I played against a friend that was a 5-2 in singles. Played on the first time. I got smoked. Then I learned like that the ball kind of. It doesn't doesn't have a travel. It doesn't travel.

[00:57:54] Yeah. It doesn't travel. So I'm like, oh, it's going to drop for me. So I look I look like a 5-5 out there playing like the next game. I beat up like 11-1. Like it was kind of it was kind of wild. So it made me realize that is different. Different levels go to different places. They do. Depending on how you play. And you get spoiled here. We have all these nice indoor courts. Yeah. Most of them. They don't have all these beautiful courts that we have here. They do not. It's outside. Yeah. So you're wearing with the wind. You're going with the sun, the humidity.

[00:58:24] Exactly. Oh, my gosh. But don't worry. I went right back downhill, though, the next game. I look like a 3-5 the next game. It was great that one game. And then the next game, I got smacked. So it was one of those. Well, there's a PPA here in Fort Collins in like two weeks. Yeah. We definitely. Yeah. We're definitely trying to be there as well, too. OK. We're going to be there. So we'll be. We'll kind of follow you guys. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That'd be awesome. That'd be really awesome. You know what? Real quick. You were saying you keep saying Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. Yeah. You know it's about Texas. Oh. That's where I'm from. Yeah.

[00:58:54] We Texas. You know, Texas is the big wall mecca. So I just want you to know. I mean, I just had to throw that in there. You kept saying, oh, you're in Georgia. I'm like, hey. Texas is where it's at. The heat there, though. The heat. Exactly. I mean, oh, my. The heat. Well, the wind, too. The wind and the heat. You can play there. You can play anywhere. Exactly. Did you see the Texas Open? Oh, yeah. Oh, my gosh. It was terrible. Like, the wind was like 25, 30 miles per hour. And they had to play in it. It was crazy. I mean, it was no matter what. They had to. And it was like very. I know I saw Ben Johns very frustrated. Oh, yeah.

[00:59:23] You know, there's a lot of players that are very frustrated. But it was just like, if you can play in these type of elements, you can play anywhere. You can play anywhere. Literally anywhere. And that's the biggest thing. I do. I do like the fact that you do talk about Texas. Texas, Florida, and what? Is it California and Arizona? No. Like, all in that area? Oh, you see. You didn't say Georgia in that. Or Mississippi. Hey, hey, we ain't going to talk about that. Hey, to all my Georgia people, I love y'all. That's funny. Well, we thank you guys.

[00:59:51] Is there any way we can follow you guys or people can follow you on Instagram or whatever? Yeah. I mean, especially you, Marcus. I mean, let people know where to come to get fixed, too. Yes, sir. So, I actually have two different Instagrams. First off, I am Dr. C, which is funny. I am Dr. C. And then my next Instagram is Pro Align Sports Chiropractic, which is my business. Yeah. So, you can follow both of those. And I'm in Highlands Ranch and I'm in Castle Rock. So, whoever needs to get fixed, whoever's trying to get a pickleball game or anything. And he'll fix you.

[01:00:21] I'm ready for all of the above. Yeah. You'll like it. Exactly. And I have my Instagram. You can follow me at Jared underscore Smith. I love it. Love it. Thank you guys for being on. A normal name. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Thank you guys for being on. It was a pleasure watching you. I'll send you some of the video stuff so you guys can use it. Yeah, for sure. Unless you're jumping over the little lake and make this look like it. We'll collaborate with you on post. Yeah, we'll collaborate with you guys. No, even better. Thank you all so much for having us. Thank you guys. Thank you. I appreciate you. Take care. Take care.

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