Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto

This is my pickleball story, from when I first started playing as an 18 year old college tennis player back in 1974 through today!

On this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guest was Kurtis Campbell. Kurtis was in the studio with Steve while Don Stanley called in and they discussed changes they'd like to see in pickleball and shared their opinions/ideas on improving rules, equipment, tournament format and ratings.

On this episode, Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto was on the popular pickleball podcast, Eddie and Webby, then afterwards, Eddie and Webby were on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto! Eddie and Webby are podcasters who passionate about Videography, Pickleball, Craft Beer, Technology and fun which, except for technology, are the same passions that Steve shares.

On this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guests were three top Onix Professional Players: Matt Wright, Lucy Kovalova and Steve Cole! Matt and Steve are two of the best men's doubles players and Lucy is one of the best women's singles and doubles player. Steve is also one of the top senior player and instructor. These three are certainly luminaries in our pickleball world and beyond!

On this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guest was 7-time USAPA National Champion, 9-time US Open Champion and winner of 106 Gold medals, Dave Weinbach. Dave seems to always make it to the finals of our big Pickleball tournaments. He has a definite style of play that has changed how the sport is taught.

In this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, Steve gathered a few of our friends and paid tribute to and shared fond memories of our beloved friend and fellow pickleball enthusiast, June Crabb. June has made lasting contributions to this sport in our pickleball community. In the studio were Randy Bither, Sheila Schoonover, Paul Haertel, and Jim Cessna.

In this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guest was Dr. Graham Erickson! Dr. Erickson is an optometrist whose specialty is Vision Care for the Enhancement of Sports Performance. We discussed not only how to improve your game by enhancing your vision but saving your eyes as well.

In this episode that aired May 16, 2019 on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guest was Enrique “El Condor” Ruiz! Enrique has not only won National Championships in Singles, Men’s and Mixed Doubles but has won the Men’s Open Doubles Championships with 3 different partners! He was also the first player to successfully play pickleball at the highest levels using both his right and left hands. Enrique also happens to be the best lobber of the game. He has conducted many free clinics in our neck of the woods and has given back to our sport in many ways.

On this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guest was Dayne Gingrich! Dayne is a Mental Performance coach and a 5.5 Selkirk-sponsored pickleball player. He joined the show and discussed the power of mindset - how we can perform at our peak during the most stressful moments.

In this episode, we had Scott Golden reporting to us from the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, FL! Yes, the Golden Boy himself got us up-to-date on the competition there and made predictions along with my co-host Kurtis Campbell. Kurtis is another top player from my neck of the woods, Hillsboro, OR. Listen in and check the accuracy of their predictions! 

Steve Dawson, along with his beautiful wife Jennifer, own and operate The Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club in Encinitas, CA. Previously, this club was all about tennis but has now embraced pickleball and has transformed into a booming pickleball and tennis club. Both Steve and Jennifer are not only top senior tennis players but have also become a giant force on the pickleball circuit.

Steve Wong has been involved in almost every aspect of pickleball: he has won several National titles, is a top pickleball instructor and is also a very successful businessman in the pickleball world. Steve also had a near death experience on a pickleball court not very long ago. We are lucky to have Steve Wong join the show for this episode.

Most in the pickleball community don't realize that there are many clothing optional resorts where pickleball is becoming very popular. In this episode my guest, Michael Sullivan shares his experiences about being an active senior pickleball player and of being a member of the Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Kissimmee, Florida! This episode garnered the most comments when the promo for the show was first shared.

Kaitlyn is the only current professional pickleball player who is also a current professional tennis player. This year, Kaitlyn made it to the 3rd round of the Australian Open, the 3rd round at Indian Wells and the finals in Dubai. She is also currently ranked in the top 5 of all women's singles players in the world of pickleball.

We had representatives from the top outdoor ball manufacturers, Onix, Dura and Engage join the show in this episode. We had Glen Peterson representing the Dura ball, Byron Freso for the Onix ball and Rob Elliott for the Engage ball. These representatives talked about the balls that they make and why you should use their ball. My co-host this evening was Tony Tollenaar. The Franklin rep was unable to join us.

Wes Gabrielsen is the nicest guy in pickleball! He has proven that nice guys can finish 1st by winning multiple National championships. Wes serves with his right hand and quickly shifts to using his left hand for most of his other shots, one of the few truly ambidextrous players in our sport. He also has a wicked slice return of serve. Wes was in my studio in this episode along with Randy Bither who was my co-host guest.

In episode 8 on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, we had Simone Jardim! Simone is not only the number one ranked female singles and doubles player in the world, but also the top rated player of all other professional players in the world of pickleball. This is because of her unbelievable winning percentage.  She is one of the most exciting players to watch in person and also a great instructor.

In this episode on Pickleball Talks with Steve Paranto, our guest was Tyson McGuffin, who was recently awarded by the World Pickleball Federation as the 2018 #1 male singles player in the world! We talked about what it takes to be the number one singles player in the world plus what the average player can learn from attending one of his pickleball camps.We also had in the studio, my guest co-host, Jesse Compton! 

Mike Hoxie is the founder of Pickleball Is Great, a tournament management company. Mike loves pickleball and playing in tournaments and saw the need for an efficient way to run tournaments. So he quit his day job and now travels all over the country rendering his tournament management services.Jason Santerre is a co-founder of Pickleball Island out of Grand Island, NY and is the largest dedicated indoor pickleball facility in all of New York State. Pickleball Island offers lessons, clinics, league play, tournaments...everything you need to play including a pro shop! 

Tony is a top senior pro and IPTPA instructor, and he’s also a very good friend of mine and he was actually be in my studio for this show.  In this episode, learn how to be the partner everyone wants to pair up with and what should you look for in an instructor.

Timothy Nelson was the first young player to dominate the scene in the modern era of Pickleball.  I’m referring to those early Nationals in Buckeye, Arizona at Festival.Tim learned his game from the top players from the Seattle area and at the time these were the dominant  players in the world. Tim has definitely brought his own brand of pickleball to our sport. The last few years, Tim has been occupied with Law school but has returned to actively playing in pickleball tournaments again.

My guests in this episode is one of my favorite Pickleball couples.  Shonda is one of my Pickleball grand babies (you will learn more about that later in this podcast). Rob is a great player that honed his skills in my neck of the woods, the Pacific NW. Rob is also a top instructor along with Shonda.  Rob created the very successful Level UP Pickleball camps. Rob has some new irons in the fire as well. 

Seymour Rifkind was my very first guest.Seymour has accomplished more for the sport of Pickleball in a very short period of time than anyone I can think of.Founded the IPTPA: International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association.Developed the IPTPA rating programInstrumental in forming the Pickleball Hall of Fame.In this episode, Seymour announces to all the Pickleball Talks listeners his latest Pickleball endeavor.