Life Lessons from Pickleball™

E14: Jeannine Ewing: Empowering Women Through Pickleball and Lifelong Fitness

Shelley Maurer and Sher Emerick Episode 14

Discover how embracing a new sport can reignite your passion for fitness and competition in our latest episode with Jeannine Ewing, a former high school teacher and multi-sport athlete.  This episode delves into the importance of functional exercises and the critical role of protein for muscle building and retention, especially for women. We also reflect on the meaningful connections formed in the classroom and on the pickleball court.

Ryan Bond
Instagram:  bond.strength
e-mail: bondstrength2023@gmail.com

Music gifted to us by Ian Pedersen: @ianpedersen

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SPEAKER_00:

Hi, I'm Shelley Maurer. And I'm Cher Emmerich. Welcome to Life Lessons from Pickleball, where we engage with pickleball players from around the world about life on and off the court. Thanks for joining us. Welcome, everyone. We're so happy to have with us today Janine Ewing. Janine, in addition to being a teacher for 32 years at Redmond High School here in the Seattle area, you played competitive national level softball and college basketball, and you were head coach for softball and basketball for 10 years each. Correct.

UNKNOWN:

Correct.

SPEAKER_00:

You read your stuff, Cher. That's true. And after hearing that, now I know why you're such amazing on the pickleball course. Well, thank you. You're such an athlete. A little overstated, but thank you. No, it's not overstated at all. Janine is also an avid hiker, long-distance runner, and a weightlifter. And now you're a pickleball enthusiast. Yes, I am. I don't run distances anymore, but was at one point a long distance runner, but definitely now a pickleball enthusiast. To the max. To the max. Actually, we were supposed to have this broadcast at three o'clock today and I canceled on you because a pickleball match came up, to be honest. Oh, you have your priorities straight, girl. I know. Here we are now at seven o'clock at night and I'm to blame. There you go. I hope it was a lot of fun. We support you. It was fun to hang share. That's good to be supported. So with all those interests, tell us how you You got into pickleball. Well, you know, ironically, we taught it in physical education at Redmond High School. I wasn't particularly endeared to it because it was a lot of kids at the same time hitting pickleballs all over the gym. And at that point in time, it was a little noisier. And I was always really looking forward to the badminton unit, actually. So that was my introduction to pickleball. But I didn't really get into pickleball until I was with my then partner in Silverthorne down near Breckenridge. and she said let's go play I've gotten into this pickleball and it was all pretty new that was maybe three winters ago and I went down and I just kind of got bit by the bug and I didn't really think much about it because I think we were it was so early kind of at the inception point anyway for a lot of us that it was like sure I'll go play and And I just had a blast right from the start. Yeah. And then I came up here after playing down there. And I think it's maybe two and a half years. I went to Woodinville High School. I called Jane Meadows. I don't know if you know who Jane is. Great athlete. I knew she would know where people were playing. She goes, go to Woodinville. They play at this time. And that's where I met Madeline and Julie Billet and that crew. And we started to grow our game there. So, yeah.

UNKNOWN:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

I got bit pretty hard initially. Once you weren't teaching it anymore. So we talked with another teacher who taught it in elementary school and he never played the game until after he retired. Did you play the game while you were teaching? No, never. Isn't that fascinating? I never played, never participated. It wasn't something we were doing. I actually picked up golf pretty seriously pre-retirement. Because I thought I'd be doing a lot more of that. And I did. But I often think about them. All the money I've saved playing pickleball instead of golfing. Very silly. And the time you saved. Yeah. Everest Park is a lot cheaper than Bellevue Muni. So there you go. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, but it was never really in my wheelhouse. And so it's still so interesting to me how, you know, Gina said, let's go play that. And I went. So I'm thankful.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, you were definitely prepared athletically to be on the court. When we think about, Shelley and I were looking over all the things that you've done in your life, we cannot believe it. For one thing, we are very impressed with your tenacity because you have stuck with all these different activities, even with all the surgeries you've had to repair some of the damage from these activities. Yes. You say you're a bionic woman. Totally. I know. I have. I am kind of interested. Well, I'm interested in hearing about everything, actually. But I'm interested in hearing about your hiking, all the places you've been and what you've done. Talk a little bit about that. You know, I would not consider myself to be an avid outdoors person. And I haven't really been until maybe the last three years. Took an interest in it. And... I didn't think that it would be something that would move me that way, but really what I found was it was a big challenge. And I also found that, oddly enough, and I haven't had it tested, so don't, I mean, I'm going to put it out there, but for some reason or other, I just ended up being a really strong hiker, cardiovascularly, and from a VO2 max point of view. And I kind of think some of that is innate. I do think that VO2 max is not developed sometimes. But I do think sometimes we're born with a blessed VO2 max. And I do think that perhaps I have one. What's VO2? Well, it is your ability to take in oxygen and how we use it and to... not, in layman's terms, not be incredibly winded when you get into altitudes and situations that require a lot of, it's how your body efficiently uses your oxygen, your intake, et cetera. So not a scientific explanation there, but yes. No, but that's fascinating. And Nepal, Scotland, Iceland, come on. All these countries? Yes, all of those. I have done those. And much of that has been since retirement and a few pre. But I think probably Scotland was as beautiful as anywhere I've ever been. But probably the most challenging hike for sure was the Nepal hike that we took. It's been two Octobers ago now where we were at 18,000 feet. And it was probably, I think it was 21 days, 22 days. And it was pretty epic. Nepal is not flat. And we were basically in the Himalayas every day, hiking anywhere from eight to, I don't know, maybe somewhere in the eight to 12, 13 mile range of hills. And it was, yeah. And there was no running water. There was running water usually, but it would freeze at night. We, there was no heat. There was, um, very limited. We ate, we ate well, but there was no protein and definitely no alcohol at those altitudes. So we were well taken care of by our guides, but it was really something else. We went over two major passes and, and, uh, yeah. And it was, um, kind of hard to believe really at night when you were sleeping at 16,000 on your second night and you knew your blood was, your blood was pretty thin and your brain could be a little thin too. I know. noticed. Was it the Annapurna trek or another one? We did the Montessou trail and which is quite, I'm not going to call it primitive because I don't really know what it looked like before, but you have to have a guide. And then we started and did that. And then we finished and did half the Annapurna and did some at the, God, I can't remember if that was throw along or the larky i can't remember which pass was which on which place and so that's what we did yeah it was something we were at two base camps basically and slept in container boxes and we had superior jackets and sleeping bags so that was pretty epic and then um yeah just a second just a second you slept in what Well, at one of the base camps, it was the last one we were at off the Annapurna, basically sleeping arrangements. I will not go into any detail about the restroom arrangements. No one wants to hear it. But the sleeping arrangements were, I'll send you a picture. We were basically sleeping on rocks with a sleeping bag down and it was container boxes we were in. Oh my gosh. What time of year was this? It was October there. So we missed most of the monsoon season, but we were definitely in some tricky positions. Let's put it this way. My family was not happy I was there. But I did not know exactly what we were getting into. It was fabulous. Yeah. Because it had a happy ending. Oh, it was really, really exhausting. And I say rather stupid at times. Yeah. There you have it. That's right. But that's where your VO2 became really handy. Well, I think that I noticed it with my ex when we were in Breck and I'd be there a lot. And Breckenridge sits at 95, I think. And I seem to not have a problem upon arrival and then hiking there. And I didn't really notice it there. But, of course, she noticed it there because she comes and goes. And hers is pretty good, too. But, you know, when you bring people, you see those places. So, yeah, hiking has been a great addition to my life. It really has been. And, you know, I also have Gina to thank for that. But, you know, my daughter and I are leaving this month. And we're headed to Bend, Oregon. And we're going to do some hiking. Yeah. It's just hard to find fools to do this with you. It really is. It's hard to find people, unlike Pickleball, that want to go do. And I'm finding that challenging, particularly for my age. And my partner is younger. But I think that with respect to that, it gives you a purpose and it makes you get out and train. And the training that we did that summer leading into Nepal, I never really even thought about Nepal. It was just getting through a lot of those hikes, but it was incredible. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. There you have it. Well, we're totally impressed. And Shelly wanted to talk to you about. Oh, I would. Oh, the weightlifting. Yeah. Well, you had sent. Janine sent some videos of her weightlifting heavyweights. I've been a weightlifter. I've done a lot of weightlifting, but I've never done heavyweights like I saw. I'm just really intrigued to hear what you have to say about why it's good for us. Well, I... You know, I'm not trained in that area. And so everybody should understand that. But I kind of think that I'm working with a trainer. His name is Ryan Bond. And he's a young guy. He's an expert in diet and exercise. And he's actually a teacher in the Lake Washington School District. And I've always weight trained. But I decided just to turn it up a notch. And with his guidance, I've been able to do that. And yeah, I'll be honest with you. I'm doing things that I never thought I was going to be able to do for sure. And yeah. from a lifting point of view. And I really think some of the things in the video that look like they may not be good for you, like the dead lifting and the bent rows and having weight on your back. But if you'll notice when I have the weight on my back, he has me just touching rear end on a bench. I'm not going all the way down and he's there to guide. I have to tell you, I've only been doing this training with him for, I think it's been eight months now. And my legs have never felt better. My back has never hurts after pickleball anymore. And it's made a big difference. Yeah. And we're also doing, and there was a Facebook post that I did for friends. It's kind of just a, I don't know if there's a better term for it, and I'm probably stealing this from somebody, but aging in place expression where we stop doing things like jumping. We stop jumping on one leg. He has me doing jumping types of activities, coming down off a bench with one leg, just doing things that you might have to do off a bus or if somebody shoves you from behind, et cetera. Yeah. Yeah, he has made it. It's been a life changer, and it's super exhilarating and fun. And it's just him and I, and we're in his garage. There's nothing sexy about where we are, but we just get after it in there. And so I train with him an hour a week, and then I train on my own. Yes. So it's been amazing. I really would recommend some sort of weight training for sure for all of us gals as we get older. I know we've been told that. Yeah, but especially when we're moving on the pickleball court, right? Oh, yeah. To help for injury prevention. Yeah. Yeah. His dietary changes that really helped me too were, you know, I wasn't, I was a health teacher, and we know what we're supposed to do sometimes. That doesn't mean we're going to do it, but I think he really increased my protein levels, and that was helpful for me and how to do that. So smarter eating. Talk to me about that. And heavier lifting. Yeah, the nutrition program that he put in place for me was really simple, and what he really did was he had me almost– Well, I probably went from eating about 50 to 60 grams of protein a day. And I've always liked protein. And I probably, he started me at about, maybe at about 110, 120 were preferred. Now I struggled with that. I really could not do it. So, but I improved on it. And it made a big difference because A, I was never hungry. And B, it's better for building muscle that way. It is a lot better for building muscle and retaining muscle as we get older. So we lose so much muscle every year. So tell me a day's worth of protein intake, just so I can grasp on this. Well, that's a good question. And he basically had a program for me. And so here's what I know for sure. Three eggs is roughly 18 grams of protein. He would, you know, a can of tuna is roughly, I don't know. 200 maybe, uh, Kansas at 200, you know, with respect, not grams of protein, 22 grams of protein. I think there was those fair life drinks. I'm not big on the protein drinks, but the chocolate ones are really good. And I think they're 20. So a lot of yogurt, um, a lot of the, um, the cereal they sell at Costco there that is, um, protein based. So just things like that and, and eating it. And he, he really got me eating more throughout the day. Um, so that was, um, Very helpful. Yeah. Well, maybe we can put his name and number on there, too. We can promote his business that is growing. And, yeah, I continue to follow that diet. It's been helpful. Yeah. Well, I've read that we're supposed to do increased protein as we age. Yes. But I haven't. No. I have two and I hadn't done it and it was easier said than done, but I noticed pretty instantaneous changes in my body that were helpful and definitely helped me with my workouts and my routines, including pickleball. So, yeah. So is the increased protein because you are exercising or even if you weren't, you would... increase the protein? That's a really good question. And I believe that regardless of our fitness levels or regardless of what we're doing for a workout, we should probably all as women be increasing our protein levels. Yes. To maintain muscle, muscle mass is super, super important. So yeah. And even if small changes are made, You know, even if you go from 60 to 85 grams, that's better than, you know, that's probably where I was. But I've always really loved protein. But it was still a challenge for me. I mean, he'd have me eating and I'd have this yogurt in front of me and I go, I cannot eat this. So I put it in the fridge and then I'd go back and try to get after it later. But after a while, it got easier. I know it sounds awful, but it's not. I never got into the protein. I did do the Fairlife protein chocolate drinks, but I never got into the protein powder. Just couldn't do it. That stuff you put in, something, not my thing. Weightlifting has been also a big addition and something I've always done throughout my life, but My body has taken its lumps. I mean, through, I'm 65, and so I had a knee replaced because I blew a knee out in college when I was 55, I think.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

So I had that replaced, and then they said you can't run anymore, so I had to find other things to do. And then when I was, right before I retired, I was in a hot yoga class, and I looked at my arms in the mirror, and I thought, well, that arm doesn't look like it wants to go that way. So I went in and they go, we have severe arthritis. So then I had my shoulder replaced before I retired. Ouch. So that one was on the Lake Washington school district. And then, uh, last, I want to say this because I think this is really important because we're talking about pickleball last, um, not this April, but the April before last April 4th, I was at Everest park playing pickleball and I fell down and broke my wrist.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh,

SPEAKER_00:

yeah. I broke it. Good. And I knew it before I even, it's kind of gross, but I knew it before I even got up. I slipped. I didn't even go all the way down on my knee, but my racket and my arm absorbed the force of it. So I was playing with a friend of mine, two people I didn't know. I just stood up and it was instantaneous. And I looked at it, not to be gross, but I knew. So I said, I have to go now. And I gathered my things. I gathered my things and I walked home. And I've been through some of these surgeries. So I sat on the couch for a minute. I said, you have to have a plan. Because in this day and age, with respect to having a surgery or getting it. And I had a trip planned to Croatia. and Slovenia and I was supposed to leave in three weeks and I said to myself I'm going so we got to figure this out so I had surgery within four days whoa and Dr. Beck here at ProLiance I might as well give him a shout out they got me in really fast and I could not believe it he said it'll be a year before it's normal but I think within six months it was pretty good yeah Was it your pickleball? It was the pickleball wrist, Shelly. Oh, my God. Riding wrist. And it was a very important hand and it did not behave for a while. You know, I go to pick up like a teacup or a coffee cup or grab something. And yeah, so it's really fortunate, though. I mean, I feel like I'm the luckiest person on the earth to be able to go in and have a body that can respond like it is to things I still love to do after all those things happening. And none of these things that I've gone through have been life-threatening. None of them have been totally unpredicted or scary or irregular cell-like. So I'm not trying to make it sound that way, but I think modern medicine is pretty incredible. It is. And the fact that you've stayed so fit and strong and healthy, that... helps your recovery really fast too. Good on you. Yeah, it does. And so off I went to, um, On this trip with this brace on, and the doctor said, you can't pull a suit in case you can't do it. He told me all the things I couldn't do. I think the fifth day I was there, we were on some plank, and we were out somewhere, one of the national parks, and I fell through a big pothole. And I went down like four or five feet, and this guy, this huge man that was behind me, basically grabbed me, pulled me up and out of the doldrums. It scared me. Anyway, traveling with a broken wrist. So there you have it. There you have it. Yeah. Yes, it was good. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. I would like to hear more about all your years of working with kids and teaching. Oh, yes. Yeah. Thanks for asking, you know, because I think that it's a funny thing about education. Everybody, you can say to people, yeah, I was a teacher and everything. A lot of people say thank you, you know. And it is a service-oriented job in many ways. And I got started when I was maybe 25 or 26. And they actually hired me because I coached softball there for a year and was successful. But I think working with high school kids for me was the perfect job for me. I have to tell you, for whatever reason, they were just my people. I tried junior high. I student taught at the junior high level and I just went, nope, they are not. I have friends that are doing junior high teaching and they are amazing. But I used to like, There was zero adult conversation all day long and I couldn't do it, at least with high school kids. You're having conversation with young adults. But I taught my last 11 years. I taught a lot of different things there. And I say, but I think my last 11 years were my favorite years in education because I taught 11th and 12th grade health. So I had the big kids. And basically the entire program was designed around what's your life going to look like when you leave your family home. So life after high school. I mean, some of them were leaving next year. So what is this going to look like for you? It was a very comprehensive health education. I'm very proud of it. Yeah, it was pretty out there. Let's put it this way. If you can hold a 12th grader's attention, And for six months talking about how life's going to be after you get out of here, then it was pretty interesting. Yeah. It's pretty remarkable. It was fun. Kids were receptive, and kids are fun. I mean, they're incredible. And you'll notice my daughter was helping me with some computer stuff tonight. I mean, I started teaching when there was no computers on our desk. We were still writing down attendance. I'm dating myself. That's okay. I've already mentioned my age. We were still writing down attendance and putting it on the outside of the door, you know? And it was amazing. And so my daughter's a teacher now, and she goes, Mom, you used to have to compute grades. And I go, yeah. We had to individually put every grade in the grade book. It was incredible. Yeah. So it was fulfilling. It was fun. There's a lot of laughter. Kids are intelligent and bright. They helped me with computer stuff. I mean, really, for the most part, it was It was a fulfilling career. I loved it. I did. And I, I, I, um, I will never, I don't miss, I don't miss teaching. I did it for long enough, but I miss that age group because so I have my daughter's 30 now and I have my nieces and nephews in their thirties and forties. And a lot of them have children, smaller children, but there's no going to be no window in my world until those grandkids grow up. And I don't really know, but there's no, not a window in your world very often where you have the presence of 15 through 18 year olds around you all day. And they're kind of early adopters to everything. I mean, to style, to nutrition, to what's at a movie theater, to music. I mean, they are left no stone, they don't leave any stone unturned. I learned a lot from them on a daily basis. Yeah. Yes. And a compliment was, you're not boring, Miss Ewing. And I'm like, thanks. Oh, that's cute. That's the ultimate compliment. Yes, we had a lot of fun. I do miss that age group. I want you to tell the story about the baseball cards. Which, oh, oh, that story. That's so, I love that story. Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna mention his name. His name is Mark Deming. And I found these cards the other day. Again, I was reminded he was, this is probably my first or second year teaching. And at graduation, he was just the nicest kid. He came up and he goes, I know you don't have any children yet, but when you have children, I want you to hang on to this and appreciate it as time goes on. And he gave me a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card and a couple other cards but the note that he enclosed in it was as a young teacher it was super impactful for me yes isn't that dear so now I'm looking for him and I can't find him on Facebook um I don't know that that age group will be listening to this pickleball podcast. But if you know where Mark Deming is, I wonder if he has children because wouldn't it be fun to give them back to him? Oh, yes. Yes. I know. So how do you spell his last name? We'll try to get the word out. I think it's D-E-M-M-I-N-G. I mean, seriously, I was 27 when I had him. 28 when I had him. He was just a baby. And so was I now looking back. Yeah. It's been a long time. I know. Kids were really... think that regardless of what you hear about teenagers i think our world is in a really good place yes i think so too that generation's gonna save us i think so too and i um yeah and they were um intellectually amazing and just fun and there was big changes at redmond high school in the time i was there you know when i started teaching there we were We were a pretty high percentage, you know, with respect to free and reduced. And we were, you know, primarily all white school for the most part with very little, you know, ethnic diversity. And things really changed by the time I left Redmond High School. And that was really, I think, exciting and fun to watch that, too. The changes in our community and the changes in the teaching staff and the teachers and the kids and the directors. with kids were being, you know, edge to go and, you know, yeah, pretty fascinating. Yeah. hiking, weightlifting, all in pickleball in that side of your world. And then there's teaching and learning from the students on the other side of the world. What would you say were some of the life lessons that either you've learned on the pickleball court that you take into your life or some of the life lessons that you learned off the court that you're taking into pickleball? Well, I think one of the life lessons I've learned, um, off the court that I took into pickleball was, yeah, I'm going to go play. This looks fun. You know, let's make it fun and let's go have fun. And I think that's really important. I never even gave it a second thought. I also think that I'm seeing some of my friends like Shelly met Shelly Baker the other day. He was just getting started playing. You played with her at Julie's house. Yes. Yes. And yes. And I think one of the things I was talking to Shelly about, who was also a teacher, and she said, you know, at 60 years old and all of a sudden I'm regaining this childlike innocence that's bringing me back to when I was a kid out playing. And that's a beautiful thing, too. I was at Everest Park with my then partner maybe two years ago, and we were up at Everest, and we were playing, and the sun was going down, and nobody was leaving. It was just like you used to stay outside until somebody said, come in now. And we were going, we should probably go. We can't see the ball anymore. Yeah. I mean, the, the, I think the, in short, I believe that, and I hope pickleball doesn't go too far this other direction. I, I believe as a country and as, as particularly for kids, because everything's so organized for kids now, athletically, that they don't have to do anything. They don't have to call a neighbor. They don't have to put together a flag football game. You know, they really don't have to do anything. I think that this pickleball, at least the beginning of pickleball, has brought back a lot of play and I think play-minded fun for all of us. I mean, to have the ability to grab a paddle, walk somewhere, put it down, and play a game. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of incredible, actually.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And I'm not surprised that it's taken off. I do think it's already changed quite a bit in the first three years. And I don't think that's bad, but with any, any, any activity or anything that takes off as quickly as this pickleball has already gotten pretty big. You know, all the people that just want to play, you know, sometimes I'm concerned that, you know, you, that I'm hoping all the beginners are welcomed on courts and, And I'll be the first one to admit there's times when I just want to play with my people and I don't want to play with other people, particularly if you have a set amount of time. But, you know, now that my friends are beginners and learning, if I don't participate with them, can I swear? Yeah. If I don't go play with my friends that are learning to play this game and joining this world, I mean, I'm an asshole. So we go play and it's been really fun. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. And I saw you playing in a tournament the other day, young lady. Yes, I got silver. It was so fun to see you there. She got silver. Janine got silver. Yeah. Yes. Okay. And so how many games did you win? Oh, I probably shouldn't be interviewing you. Okay. That's awesome. I'm so glad to see you there. Tell me about getting, how was that? Was that your first tournament? No, my ninth. I love to play tournaments. So do you, why do you love it so much? I think because I didn't play competitive softball or basketball. I didn't when I was younger. And so now I'm doing my competitive play. See, I think that's really important. I'm glad you brought that up because I think that's another thing too. A lot of people never had that outlet. Right. Yeah. And I know you're a player. I'm a player. Yeah. Shelly's been helping me. I'm a solid 2.5. No, I'm having a blast. Having a blast. Have you played in some tournaments too? No, no. Okay. Tournaments typically start at 3.0. Okay. You're right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, congratulations to playing in tournaments. It's great. We're all playing. Your tournament, right? I'm not a big tournament person, actually. And I was talking, I think it's been a combination of things for me. And because I like to do a lot of things. And I think tournament prep is fun and purposeful. And it gives us meaning. And I think playing like that, I don't know why I really haven't been. entered into that. I feel like, you know, I coached really competitively and I played really competitively and maybe I'm just kind of over that part of my life. Yeah. Yeah. Or maybe it's because nobody asked me to play in tournaments. Maybe it's that. Well, we'll test that out. I think, I think now that we've met, you've mentioned it. Yeah. So, but I think that all these little tournaments are really great for people. They're fun. Yeah. I know like at Woodville the other day, wasn't that exciting? Yeah. So exciting. I was there to watch. Well, I watched you and I watched a couple other friends play that were participating. And then I was there with Shelly Stockman, who's a very good player, who who her wife was there playing with Shelly Baker. And those two. had really, well, I think Melissa had played before, but I think Shelly just took it up. I mean, literally, but they're both good athletes and they, you know, I don't know, but they just like all of a sudden started getting in these tournaments. And I said, well, what other tournaments are you planning? And they go, well, we're going to play in Seattle Metro. And I go, wow, good on you. Yeah. They're going for it.

SPEAKER_01:

Fantastic. It's pretty exciting.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah. It is exciting.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And congratulations on silver. Thank you. Was that your first medal? No. Second.

UNKNOWN:

Oh,

SPEAKER_00:

It was. I have one gold and two silvers. Where'd you get your gold? It was one of the first tournaments we did at Gorin. Good for you. Yeah. So fun. Yep. I don't know. Just crazy that she is so good and so athletic and didn't have that. And we're finding other people who... were either too hesitant to get involved in sports or just whatever. And now they are just having this second wind and it's so fun to watch Shelly too. I just, she's so good. Isn't that exciting? I wish we could just keep talking forever. We are so close to the half hour mark. Now we just first want to say thank you. I mean, this was incredible that you took the time. You are so busy and we are really appreciative. And thank you to Jesse, your daughter, for helping us tonight. And Shelly, did you have any final thoughts or. I think we covered everything that I had. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Janine, you are, you're a delight and you're an inspiration with all that you've done in your life. And we just have such a heart for teachers. Shelly's a teacher and my son's a teacher and have such a heart. And thank you for all the years that you have given to the children of this world. And like you said, they are going to help this planet heal. I would agree. I would agree with you. Absolutely. And we believe pickleball will do the same. I do too. Well, this was a wonderful inspiration for a podcast. I've never been on one. It was fun. Thank you, Cher. And thank you, Shelly. Yes. And I will see you now. The other day, I didn't know who Cher was. And so we were running through the court and I was with Shelly Baker. And she goes, I said, I think Cher's here somewhere, but I don't know who she is. And Shelly goes, Cher, and started yelling your name. Randomly. Oh, there she is. There she is. We found her. Well, thanks for having me, you guys. Oh, yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you. And we want to thank everyone who's been listening and watching. We know that you're as inspired as we are. And thank you so much for watching. And we look forward to our conversation next week. Bye-bye, everyone. Bye. Thank you. If you love our podcast, we'd be so grateful if you'd take a few seconds to follow or subscribe to Life Lessons from Pickleball. This ensures you'll never miss an episode and helps us continue these wonderful conversations. On Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen, go to the show page and tap the follow button in the top right corner. And on YouTube, click the subscribe button under any of the episodes. Thanks so much. Hope to see you on the court.

UNKNOWN:

you