Episode 84: Pickleball Court Gossip, Drama & Things Players Really Talk About | Mike Goes Solo

[00:00:00] Thank you for joining in. I'm Mike. I'm Kaze and we're the Pickleballers Next Door. Want a pro-level pickleball court without pouring concrete? Discover rollout courts from Pickleball Management Group. They offer quick setup. The standard rollout court uses five textured polyvinyl rolls seamed together to make a 30x60 court, customizable. Or choose Pickle Deck, interlocking panels for any surface. Perfect for backyards, schools, events.

[00:00:25] The complete Pickle Deck system install in under two hours and saves big versus concrete or asphalt. Pickleball Management Group is an official sponsor of USA Pickleball, Pickleball Canada. The APP Tour and the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships. Learn more at PickleballManagement.com. Hey, Pickleballers Next Door, it's Mike. It's been a while since I've been on the air and I don't think

[00:00:55] I've ever done a solo show. Christana, as you know, we do own some other businesses. And sometimes being an entrepreneur is not always the funnest thing in the world. I always love when people talk to me and say, oh, I want to own my own business because I'm going to golf. I'm going to play a lot more pickleball. I'm going to travel. I'm going to make all this great money. Well, all you entrepreneurs out there that are entrepreneurs understand that that is exactly not the way it happens.

[00:01:23] You work longer hours, you reinvest in your company, and you are always hoping for the best. So anyway, I wish Christana could be here tonight with me, but she's not. What I'd like to talk about tonight is pickleball court gossip. What's happening out on your courts? You know, kind of some funny stuff out there that's going on. You know, there's a big controversy on indoor-outdoors facilities.

[00:01:51] You know, are they building too many of them? I mean, I'm hearing both sides of this. We've opened up many, many clubs, over 20 clubs here just in Colorado. And, you know, I kind of wonder myself. But I also play in other states that, you know, Colorado has a lot of courts. We have a lot of big facilities here. We have a lot of outside facilities here too. You know, so we're going to see. But I have a daughter that lives in, you've heard me talk about, I go to Branson, Missouri,

[00:02:22] Table Rock, which I love. Gorgeous, beautiful. Plus, I get to see my daughter and granddaughter. But at the end of the day there, you go there, and it's like pickleball is just starting there. Everything's outside. The few indoor courts that they do have are not like the ones we're building here. They're not million-dollar facilities. But I think they're coming there. You know, I know they're coming there. But, you know, that's the debate here is what's going on out there. You know what I mean?

[00:02:51] And, you know, it's hard for people that started in this back in COVID or before COVID. You know, it was free. You went out and you just bought a paddle and you got some balls and some friends and you hit it. Now, I'm going to stick up for the facilities because these cost millions of dollars, some of these facilities, to open. So they have to charge. I mean, if you can think that you can spend, you know, these companies spend anywhere from a million to two million dollars to put up these facilities

[00:03:20] and they can have them for free, I'd like to see that. I mean, you know, as a business owner myself, they have to make money. And I think they've done some good jobs. I think some of the ones that are doing the, you know, you have a monthly, like, gym membership. I think those are great. If you're a player and you're real consistent and you want to play consistently with a lot of the same people and have lots of options, there's great facilities for there. There's other options out there that just, you know, you'd pay anywhere from $35 to $50 a court.

[00:03:50] And then there's, you know, and those are facilities that people are pickleball players. Then you have, you know, the more entertaining facilities that have food and drinks and music and, you know, you can just go there to have some fun. Anyway, that's, you know, I think everybody that's on the top of our mind of what's going on there. You know, one of the other things that I, that, you know, out there is the young players versus the older players.

[00:04:17] You know, different styles, different expectations, and sometimes there's different etiquette, you know. And, you know, it's very hard, you know, when I play a lot and sometimes I play later. You know, I'll go on a Saturday and play at 6 o'clock at night. And you don't find a lot of people that are, I'm close to, I'm 50, 58 years old. And I've been playing for the last four years. I play a four plus level and I play well. I have my good days and bad days.

[00:04:46] But, you know, just like, you know, I go on the court and if some young players are there and it's an open play, you see right away that they get kind of a little attitude that like, oh, here's grandpa here to play pickleball. Now, I don't look at, now the other way I look at it is like, I'm going to have to work a little harder because these guys are a little bit younger. They're younger and they can move and they're a little faster on the court. But if I put my, I put my due diligence in, they shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

[00:05:14] I play many of players that are 60 years old and older that will just clean your, clean your clock. So anyway, you know, those are things that I think we've all experienced. You know, I've been out there too where I played with somebody that was 15 years old and I did judge, you know, it's like, oh, this is going to be an easy game. Wow. I got my, I got my, I got my, you know, my stuff handed to me, you know.

[00:05:38] Well, so anyway, I mean, this is another thing that, you know, is going on out there and I'm sure you guys have had, you know, this happen to you. Um, you know, there it's, it's just, you know, and we're still, we're still having this thing with the noise battle, you know, these, these, and again, you know, I have to say, cause I'm a pickleball player.

[00:05:59] I don't hear the noise unless I go to an, you know, even these new indoor facilities, they've done a lot to like silence the ceilings and put in barriers on the walls. So that the, it's not that loud to me. And when I'm outside, you know, I hate to be that. I'm, I'm not the person living next to the pickleball facilities outside, but I just don't see the little noise. I think it could probably be annoying noise. The click, click, bang, bang, click, click, bang, bang.

[00:06:27] Um, I think there was some incidents when this was, people were really playing a lot of pickleball. Some of the younger generation were bringing radios and drinks and older, I shouldn't say that here. Look at me, listen to me. I just said, you know, other people were, you know, I've seen people bring coolers and have some beers and drinks too, but it doesn't have to be just the younger people. But I know that can be a possibility too. So, you know, I, the noise thing I'm struggling with because the courts I play at, the houses are not next to these homes.

[00:06:57] I mean, to hear that noise, I hear planes that are going over. I hear traffic that's way closer and louder than, than pickleball is. So, another thing I'm sure you guys are, you know, we're all, we're all thinking and wondering and they've closed down courts. There's places in other states that they've actually banned pickleball in, in not very many places, but we've talked about it on some other shows. They actually banned pickleball in their city. No pickleball, which is just crazy to me.

[00:07:25] So, but, you know, I, I, these are just things that are, you know, we're all thinking about and talking about a little bit, you know? And I think sometimes we're, you know, we're, we're wondering what's going on. You know, this is one that I'm kind of sad with and I play a lot of places. And one of the things that I worry that, you know, the beginners that are coming in, you know, not, are not being welcomed as much. You know, now I'm a coach. I also teach.

[00:07:55] I also help people. I do this for free. I don't charge anybody. I just do this for free because I want to have people more, the more people I can teach pickleball, the better pickleball is. But I, it is starting to be, you know, some of the facilities in places, these new players that are becoming new are not fine, are having a hard time coming in and playing. I know we all want a great game, but it doesn't take long. Think how fast. I can teach somebody how to play pickleball in 15 to 20 minutes.

[00:08:23] Now, some are more athletic than others and some aren't, you know? But that doesn't mean that they shouldn't, you shouldn't help them, you know? So, if you do not want to play in open plays and if they're kind of open, now most of them are doing pretty good with, like, I played on one this weekend at Third Shot. And it had advanced, intermediate, and beginners. But I still will drop down. I play in the advance, but I'll still drop down just to play with some of the other players so they get experience.

[00:08:52] So they get some, you get to help them. So, I mean, if we're doing our good due diligence and you're out there and you're a good player, don't be afraid to step into the court with some people that don't know how to play. Help them because they're going to eventually, you had to start somewhere too. So sometimes it bothers me that we are turning this into a sport that we're, you know, pre-Madonna's and we can't, you know, we forget that we started somewhere at one time.

[00:09:18] You know, another thing I'm seeing out there and I play in some groups is this paddle stacking drama. And this is coming back to, again, you know, we all want to play the perfect game. We want to play the two hours of perfect play with the good best games. Come on, you know, just put your paddle there. Who comes in next? You know, and again, if you play a game and that happened, you won the game and you won with that person that wasn't as good.

[00:09:48] Most of the time, these places that I play at, we all switch every time. We never stay with it unless we have a challenge court and we want to, you know, two people want to stay on that keep winning and you get to challenge them. But at the end of the day, you know, there's a lot of people that are coming off the court. They're moving the people's paddle. There's a reason for paddle stack. Stack don't just put your paddle when it's your turn to go up, go up, you know.

[00:10:12] So, again, you know, that's just, you know, it should just be, you know, common courtesy in anything. But I get it. We all want to. I know that pickleball makes you crazy. It makes you nuts and you can't wait to play. I know when I show up early because I want to be the first in to play. I mean, I'm crazy. I can't wait to get down that court. But at the same time, I'm not going to jump in front of somebody or move the paddle or stay on the court. I mean, rotate.

[00:10:42] Get off. You know, you played a game and if there's a lot of people, they're waiting too. Maybe they didn't get there when you got there at 6 in the morning or when you were the first one there. But, you know, it means we have to share. So, and I know, you know, I'm sure, you know, I don't think we're saying anything either. You know, I think that the thing is out there, we're just playing. We want to play pickleball and we do our stuff.

[00:11:06] So, I guess the other thing that I'm hearing out there and this kind of worries me and is the paddles that are being made. You know, are we making paddles that are just too fast, too hard, so much control that we are changing the game of pickleball? I mean, pickleball started with basically some paddles that were made from wood that were ping pong paddles, basically, is how I, you know, so many stories out there.

[00:11:36] But basically, if you look at the beginning paddles of this, they were wood paddles. There was nothing to them and it's a wiffle ball. We hit it, you know. And I mean, I have to admit, too, I mean, I play with a, you know, I play with a foam paddle and this thing's a monster. It scares me sometimes. I hit that ball, but that ball is coming hard and fast. I mean, I'm telling you this and I'm going to say this and I will keep saying this.

[00:12:03] I, the other day, was playing and you better be wearing glasses. You know, back in the day, I mean, yes, you could get hit in the eye and you could get hit hard and there was people that were, you know, the bangers. As we said, there's the bangers. Almost everybody's a banger anymore. I don't think anybody's not. I just think there's some people that hit it just a little softer, but we're all hitting it really hard. But at the end of the day, I'm going to just always say this and I'm going to shout this out there. Wear your glasses. Because I got hit in the face the other day on my glasses.

[00:12:33] It actually cut my face. My glasses got hit so hard that they cut my face. And if that would have been my eye, I might not be, it might be without an eye. I mean, this ball and the speed of these paddles are just incredible. So, that's my, you know, that's my old guy. The dad and me, you know, is to wear glasses. Wear the right attire, you know, stretch, hydrate.

[00:13:00] You know, we are getting known as the pickleball, the most injuries in the world. Well, that's because we're doing a lot of dumb things. And it's a sport that's easy to do dumb things. Other sports, it's, yes, you can get hurt in other sports, but it takes a lot longer for you to get hurt. It's usually overplaying. It's, you know, doing something that you did something, you know, out of whack. Pickleball, you can be playing. As I said, in 15, 20 minutes, you're playing pickleball.

[00:13:29] And some people have never played a sport like this or played any sports. So, you know, do your due diligence. We all have a computer. We all have a phone. Look up things that can help you to stretch, make your game better, and make you have a long longevity of pickleball. So, anyway, those are some of my crazy things. Sorry I got off on a tangent, but the glasses and safety is really important. And taking care of yourself.

[00:13:55] I've got some injuries, you know, my knee went out on me, and it's terrible. When you miss weeks and you love pickleball, I play every day. I almost play every day. If not, if I can play twice a day some days. And some of us aren't crazy like that, but that makes it more for me to have injuries. But also the person that plays rec, that only plays once or twice, they really need to get in and, you know, do some stretching and make sure they have some water.

[00:14:24] And make sure they, you know, they do their due diligence and wear the right equipment, wear the shoes, wear the eyeglasses, stretch a little bit. Take care of that. Sorry. It's the dad in me. It gets me going. So, you know, what they, this is another one that kind of drives me crazy, and it's not so much gossip, but everybody's a pickleball coach now, right? Everybody knows the way to play. You know what? You're going there to play. And I, it drives me crazy.

[00:14:52] You know, people, you know, we all play a little different. You know, today when I learned pickleball, it was get to the line, right? Well, yes, that is still true. But today you better have a little strategy. Sometimes you've got to take, depending who you're playing, you don't hit the line right away. You might hit the line. You might, you know, you might get into, you know, they'll just smash the ball at you as you're moving. So, anyway, don't be a pickleball coach unless somebody asks you.

[00:15:19] Now, somebody asks me and says, Mike, can you, you know, but I still, you usually will just say, hey, you know, let's just play. Let's have fun. Because once you start telling somebody how to play or then they start to try to fix things, your game usually goes worse. So, you're telling them how to play is not helping the game. So, but that one is, that one kind of, you know, drives me crazy.

[00:15:42] The, you know, do we think pickle, you know, is pickleball getting too expensive? I mean, it's only expensive to who, it's like any sport. You can buy some Amazon paddles for $30 at balls and you can spend $500 on paddles and balls. And it depends how much you want to play. I think it's all a preference of where you want, what you want to get out of pickleball.

[00:16:10] You know, I think most of us, I know my bag with a couple paddles and balls and shoes are a couple thousand dollars. So, all right, everybody. Anyway, we're still talking about some gossip and things on the court that, you know, drive everybody crazy. And we don't always talk about it. So, I'm talking about them and I'm going to bring up some of these things. And, you know, I'd like to, you know, hear from you guys on our Instagram and stuff. And, you know, let us know what things that bother you or gossip things that happen. You know what I mean?

[00:16:39] You know, this is another one that 3.5, who thinks they're a 4.5. 4.5, again, that just tells me when I hear that, when I see or hear that or whatever, if you're so great and you're that good or if you're playing with somebody that is a 4.5 and you shouldn't be playing there, then, you know, somebody should either talk to you or help you because that can get really sticky, you know.

[00:17:08] And, again, 4.5s, I'm telling you right now, 3.0 to 4.0, those are the people that are going to play together. When you hit 4 plus, you start to hit 4.2, 4.5, 5.0, those people, you won't find a lot of them playing at the rec places. You won't find them at a lot of open plays of lessors and advanced courts. You're just not going to see it. You're just not going to see it.

[00:17:33] So, most of the time, it doesn't matter, you're going to be playing with 3 to 4.0s and that's where you're going to play. And if you find a place that has a lot of lower players, then there's a lot of other places to play. So, you know, so anyway, those are some of my crazy things. You know, people are getting mad with people hitting the ball harder. Well, I, you know, you ought to go play at the C level.

[00:18:00] Now, we play at, you know, we're here in the Rocky Mountains and Mile High. So, when you hit a ball here, that ball flies. When you go down and play at, you know, Las Vegas, you play in California or you play in Branson. Oh, my gosh. You hit that ball, you can hit it almost as hard as you want. I mean, again, you, again, what, what, what level of player, that changes everything, too. You can't just hit a flat ball and hit it as hard as you want. It's going to hit out anywhere.

[00:18:26] But if you can, you can put topspin and you can serve as hard as you want and that ball stays in. It's crazy. When you play other places, you think this is fast when you're in, when you go up to, when you go up to our level or to, you know, you're up at, you're not at C level. Oh, my gosh. It's a whole other game. So, anyway, I don't, I don't think they're, you know, it's funny. I mean, we all joke now if somebody starts dinking.

[00:18:52] Now, when you get to the upper level, there is a lot more dinking, you know. So, as I move up in the ranks myself, you know, the dinking comes back. So, you are going to dink. But now they can speed up a lot. They do speed up a lot faster. When I started, now this is probably four years ago when I started, everything was a dink. Like it was dink, dink, dink, dink, dink. And then some speed ups, you know. Now it's dink, dink, speed up, dink, dink, speed up, dink, lob. So, I mean, it has changed a lot.

[00:19:22] So, this is another one that I'm sure we're all, you've been it or you've done it and it's not on purpose. Targeting the weak player. I just don't think, you know, there's been always a controversy. There was a study done that ladies that play, you know, couples that play, you know, when you do co-ed and play. The funny part is, is that the lady gets targeted. And they did a study showing that she gets 70% of the balls.

[00:19:52] Excuse me. That's crazy. Just because she's a lady and you're a guy, it's just that. And they said it's not that we're doing it unintentional or on purpose. It's just happening. But it does happen when there is a weaker player. I don't, I mean, I don't know why. I don't mean to do it either. But it's like that player hits the ball to you and you're like, oh, well, hello. I'm going to hit that ball back to you. You know, so I don't think we do it on purpose.

[00:20:23] I don't think people intentionally want to. Now, I take that back a little bit though. Now, when you play really, really good players, you start, you play 4-0s and 5-0s. Now, they will pick at you as a weaker player because they know that that other player, if there's a strong, strong player, and even the other one's a strong player, but he's a little weaker. I'm telling you, you're going to get, you're going to, they're going to come at you.

[00:20:47] And now, now good players can direct and place the ball and move the ball and do what they want with the ball. When you're playing at 3-0 to 4-0, you're still just kind of hitting the ball. You're still just kind of moving around the court and hitting. You're just excited because it went over. When you get past the 4-0 and you start to go up, you start to be intentional what you're doing with the ball. So, it happens. I mean, it happens the upper level, but it just happens. And again, I don't do it anyway, you know?

[00:21:20] So, I don't see this as much, but my, as you know, Greg was my other partner and I love Greg. If you ever, if you ever, if you know him, he's an incredible man, plays really well, big man. And he is known for body bagging. He will body bag you. And, you know, you just don't see it as much. But it happens. I mean, I do it accidentally. I just think it's, you know, don't, don't, you can, I mean, you can do it.

[00:21:48] I mean, you do aim to aim at the body. You don't aim at the face, you know? You try to, you're aiming at the, you're trying to get them to, you know, basically, you're trying to get them to where it's hard to get their paddle, you know, set their paddle to get another hit in. So, you're really not targeting them. You're just really directing the ball so it's hard for them to replace the ball. But it happens and I do it too. But I think, again, it's just when I hit anybody with a ball, I have etiquette and I just feel bad. I always say sorry.

[00:22:17] I never do it intentional. You know, there's a lot of power, you know, like I really feel bad when I hit somebody in the leg. You know, you get one of those real, somebody pops the ball up. Woo! You're coming. It's coming hard. So, and you're going to win that point and you come down and you think you're, you know, you got a good aim on it, but it hits off your paddle funny and it hits the poor person in the leg or something. I feel bad. You don't do it on purpose, you know?

[00:22:43] So, but, you know, those are some of the crazy things I wanted to talk about. You know what I mean? I don't know. This is another one out there that I, and I have a hard time, you know, but the other people do is alcohol and pickleball. I think everything, every sport has, you can have a little social, it depends what you're doing and where you're doing. If you're playing in a tournament, I don't think that would be a great thing to do. So, anyway, everybody, pickleball is next door.

[00:23:13] I can't wait to keep talking to you. Hopefully we'll get Chris Anna back here. Great. Have a great evening and talk to you next week. Denver! Feel that energy? Professional Pickleball is here. Your hometown heroes, the Denver Iconics, are serving up nonstop thrilling action. We're more than a team. We're a community. Be part of the movement sweeping the Mile High City.

[00:23:42] Get the latest news, grab your gear, and join the Iconics family. The action starts at denvericonics.com. That's denvericonics.com.