Welcome, Book, And Big Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, I'm Shelly Bauer. 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.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Before we get started, we have something really exciting to share. Our book, Life Lessons from Pickleball, is now available on Amazon, and a portion of every sale is donated to Operation PaddleLift. Your purchase helps deliver paddles, nets, and resources to underserved communities around the world. Thank you for being a part of Growing the Game We All Love. Now let's jump into today's episode. Welcome everyone to Life Lessons from Pickleball. Oh my gosh, today we are so excited to welcome Kyle Case. He's the CEO of the Huntsman World Senior Games, which is the largest annual multi-sport event in the world for athletes aged 50 and older.

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For more than 25 years, Kyle has helped lead world-class competitions that bring together tens of thousands of athletes from around the globe, all with a shared message that active aging is powerful, possible, and worth celebrating.

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Hallelujah. Under Kyle's leadership, the Huntsman World Senior Games be welcomes more than 12,000 athletes to St. George, Utah every October to compete in over 40 sports, including pickleball.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Kyle is also a speaker, teacher, and the host of Huntsman's World Senior Games Active Life Podcast, where he has inspiring conversations about health, purpose, longevity, and what it really means to keep living life as we go, as we age.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

As we go and as we age, yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

As we go and as we age.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Kyle, really, it's so nice to have you with us today. And you've spent years championing active aging and seeing firsthand what sport can do in people's lives.

Kyle’s Path Into Sports Events

SPEAKER_00 2:06

So take us back what first drew you to this work?

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Well, I first of all thank you for letting me be a part of this amazing podcast, uh, Shelly and Cher. It's fun to be with you today. And I'll just I'll go right back to the beginning. I had the opportunity to be introduced to the concept of amateur sports as well as event management when I was a college student at Southern Utah University. Uh it's uh in Cedar City, Utah. It's just about an hour north of where I live right now. And I was just going through my degree. It was a communication degree. I was trying to get through as quickly as I could. I started a little bit later than most. I already had, I was married, I already had a kid, and I was trying to just get through as quickly as I could. And while I was there, I got introduced to an event that was called the Utah Summer Games. And it just intrigued me. The thought and the idea of it was just very interesting to me. And I happened to have a friend who was doing an internship, an unpaid free internship for the Utah Summer Games. And I thought, I whether he wants me to or not, I want to help out with that. And so Brad and I we got together, we did a few things together. We obviously talked to the director at the time, and uh I just really fell in love with the concept: event management, sports, active aging, um, competition outside of high school, which is what I was familiar with. I knew that you could play sports in high school. Obviously, uh collegiate sports were available as well, but that so few people get to do that. But this idea of letting people continue to play sports and live out their dreams and have fun and enjoy themselves, you know, well into their into their later years was just a concept that I just fell in love with. And so after the internship ended, I just said, hey, once again, whether you want me to or not, I'm gonna stick around and help out as much as I could. And so I volunteered, I did some part-time work, and then eventually had the opportunity to apply to be the director of the Utah Summer Games, and with some smoke and some mirrors and a little bit of misdirection, I tricked him into hiring me and I'll never look back. I had a wonderful four-year, tenure as the director of the Utah Summer Games, and then moved down here to the Huntsman World Senior Games, and uh it's just been a wonderful, wonderful way to make a living.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Are the Summer Games still going?

SPEAKER_02 4:30

They are indeed. Yep, they are. In fact, this year they're celebrating their 40th year. And uh I might get into this a little bit later, but just a few weeks ago, I was up and uh wrestled in the wrestling tournament. They're still going strong.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

So for our listeners that may not know, what are the Huntsman World Senior Games?

What The Senior Games Really Are

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Yeah, that's a great question. And you you kind of touched on the highlights in the introduction. It it's a multi-sport event, so think of the Olympics as the best example that I can think of. Uh, we offer way more variety of different sports than the Olympics do. Uh, but we're actually, as far as the number of athletes are concerned, we're bigger than the summer Olympic Games. They'll host about 10,000, 10,500 athletes every four years. And we get to host about 12,000 athletes every single year. So I've been telling people for the last few years who watch the Paris Olympics and are anticipating the LA Games that are coming up here pretty soon. Yeah. I tell people that we're gonna host 50,000 athletes to their 10,000. And uh so, you know, because of the every year thing, we get to really be impactful and be a meaningful part of people's lives, you know, every single year instead of having to wait until every four year rolls around.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

That is so impressive. Where, in fact, is do you have enough land and facility to accommodate so many?

SPEAKER_02 6:03

You know, the great thing about this event is that it's always been in the same location. I mentioned the Olympics, that event bounces around as we well know. And many events of our type do bounce around, but we've always been right here in St. George, Utah. And so as we have grown as a community, the games has also grown right along with it. And as we've needed new sporting venues for different sports, it seems like the community has needed those same venues at about the same time. And so we've just been able to grow together. Uh, in 1987, which was the first year of the Huntsman World Senior Games, there were about 15,000 people that lived in St. George, Utah. And over the past almost four decades, the community has grown to well over a hundred thousand people, and our event has grown as well. And uh, it's just been this partnership, uh, not just with the city, which is a great partner, but the county as well, the school district, the university. We've all just grown together. And as we've as we've needed to add new things, we've been able to do so. As we needed new hotels, we've added new hotels. As we've added, you know, different events, we've been able to do so at the same time. And it's been just a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

So, do you have to qualify to be in the senior games?

SPEAKER_02 7:19

The Huntsman World Senior Games is actually an open event. So the only requirement is your birth date. And you do have to be uh over the age of 50 or turning 50 the year that you compete, but you do not have to qualify. We'll we'll accept beginners, but we also accept very high level and world-class athletes. We like to say with 40 different sports and a variety of different age groups as well as skill levels, we like to say that there's something for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Go ahead. You break them down in the age, like for pickleball. Do you break the age groups down, or how does that work?

SPEAKER_02 7:53

We do. We have five-year age groups, and so from 50 to 54, 55 to 59, and then pickleball is one of those examples where we can divide it up even further, and we do skill levels as well. So within your age group, we try to create a skill level opportunity where it's possible. Not every sport allows that, but pickleball is one of those where we can, you know, put you in a 50 to 55, 3.5, and there is no guarantee for a medal. Let me just be clear: there's there's going to be competition, there's no guarantee for a medal, but we try to create a scenario that gives you the best possible chance at having some success.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

And a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

A lot of fun along the way, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

So is registration still open for your October games?

SPEAKER_02 8:39

It is. We open registration on the first of March, and registration technically stays open until the 1st of September or until the sport fills. And I will say we're getting very close to filling up pickleball. We we've got about a thousand athletes that are registered right now, specifically for pickleball. We think that we can take about 12, 13, 1,400, depending on the configuration. So it's getting close. But if there are listeners out there that have ever thought about or have been and want to come back, now is the time to get registered. And you can do that very easily at seniorgames.net.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

SeniorGames.net. We're going to ask that at the end of the show too, and we'll put it up on the screen. And and not just and maybe one of the hosts of this podcast would be interested in joining the senior games this October, Shelley. I'm really thinking about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

We would love to have you come and get a firsthand look at it. We think you'll enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

I'll come cheer you on. That is exciting.

How Sport Changes Aging

SPEAKER_00 9:39

So, Kyle, I really love now. How old are you? Do you mind me asking?

SPEAKER_02 9:43

I don't mind at all. I'm 52. I've already competed in the games twice. I've got two games under my belt, and I've already registered for this coming games as well.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Well, I love, Kyle, that you at such a young age started imagining how aging can be a wonderful thing and keep people healthy and all. Did you have people in your life who were older that inspired that imagination or what?

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Well, I've really just been so blessed and lucky to be able to have a front row seat to the phenomenon that you are talking about. I I feel like when I was a college student, I probably didn't have the full vision of what it was, but I knew that without events like the Utah Summer Games, that there just weren't as many amazing opportunities out there to compete. And there, you know, every scenario is different, every person has different opportunities. There are city leagues and there's a lot of ways to stay engaged, and we encourage everybody to take full advantage of them. But to be a part of it and to watch it take place, and then especially when I moved down here to be a part of the Huntsman World Senior Games, I was I was 30 years old, so I was a long ways away from competing myself. But I have been able to just watch year after year after year inspiring individuals who have just said, hey, you know what? I'm gonna do the things that I love to do, and I'm gonna be involved in it no matter what. I've just been inspired by that my whole professional career. And so when I turned 50, I knew there was no, it wasn't it, it wasn't a question, it wasn't a doubt. I knew that what I wanted to do, I knew that it was possible. I had watched people do it, and so I, you know, I had that example to show and to shine for me. And I just again, I feel so blessed and lucky to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Do you play pickleball?

SPEAKER_02 11:32

So, you know, I I am not unfamiliar with the sport. I am not very good at it. I'm not very good at it. Let me just be clear. Um, but there are so many things that I love about pickleball, both as a very recreational player, but also as an event organizer. And uh there are so many great things about the sport. Uh one of them is the accessibility of it. The barrier to entry for pickleball is lower than so many other sports. And that includes similar sports like tennis or racquetball. If if you want to play tennis, you're not gonna walk on that tennis court and just play. It just is a different sport. It takes lessons, it takes time, it takes patience. I always tell this story when I uh when we first moved to St. George, we were looking for things to do, and my kids were in grade school, and they were really good at playing we tennis, the video game we tennis with an Nintendo Wii. And so for one family night, we decided we'd go out and play real tennis. And about 10 minutes into it, everybody was crying, including me. I love tennis, it's a great sport, it really is. Um, you know, so much bet so many benefits and the the social aspect, the physical aspect of it, but it is not the kind of sport that you can just walk out on the court and serve that ball without it flying over the fence. It takes time and practice. And the more you play pickleball, the better you get at it. But it is the type of sport with the underhand serve where you can walk out on the court and within just a few minutes you're playing the game. And I love that about pickleball. It's one of its strongest selling points. And uh, if anybody's ever wondering about it, I I always tout that. You you just need to be marginally coordinated. You can walk out on the court, you can play the game. Now, again, I mentioned the more you play, the better you get. Right. And if you're just a beginner, you're not gonna hang with those people who have been playing and have the experience. But if you're just wanting to walk onto a field of competition, a court in this case, and play a game, pickleball, it's hard to beat.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

And I bet you've really seen it grow over the years.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

I'm gonna mention that because I wanted to touch on that. I I mentioned having a front row seat earlier. I have really been just once again blessed to have a front row seat to watch the growth of pickleball and not only to watch it, but to be very actively involved in it. When I when I started at the Utah Summer Games and I became the director, that was one of the sports that I introduced as a new sport when I was up there. And then when I moved down here, pickleball was already a part of the Huntsman World Senior Games, but it was very nascent. It was at the very beginning. And everywhere that we went, I had to explain what pickleball was. Nobody knew what it was, other than the you know, the players that were already playing. But you just talk to the general population, or you go to a basketball game or a volleyball game, and you're explaining what it is that you do, and they pull up the website and they look through the list of sports, and pickleball shows up. Nobody knew what pickleball was at that time. And we were very, very early adapters. The the um the Florida senior games and the Huntsman World Senior Games added pickleball at the same time. And uh, so over those years, we've been really instrumental and influential and and uh just excited to be a part of watching this grow. And and I mentioned earlier the city of St. George and our surrounding community uh uh as well, they were very early adapters too. We we built courts here um ahead of many, many, many communities. And so people, as this sport started to grow and people became more and more familiar with it, and we we uh you know, you can now now you can watch it on ESPN, you can watch it on television, there's a professional league, all of that is available, and consequently, it's a very popular and familiar sport to people. But to be able to be a part of driving the growth and driving the popularity of it is something that we're very proud of here at the Huntsman World Senior Games and uh have loved being a part of the legacy of what really is an amazing sport.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Yeah, and you're ahead of the Olympics.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's it's on its way, it's on its way for sure, but uh we we adapted it long before the Olympics. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Yes, you did, and we're very grateful to you for helping to spread it. You are a host of a really amazing podcast.

Comeback Stories And Community Support

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Let's see if I get it right. Huntsman World Senior Games, Active Life. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

We just call it the Active Life for Sure, but uh yeah, as the host of this of the uh of the podcast, we call it the officially uh part of the U band, but it we just call it the Active Life for sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

You have really amazing people on, and their stories are so touching and inspiring. Um can you share one or two stories that have kind of stayed with you?

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Well, there are so, so many, and we've been doing it for quite a while. So we've had the the opportunity to visit with uh just some incredible people. Um a couple of shows that stand out to me. I mentioned earlier that I wrestled at the Utah Summer Games.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Thank you. I'm probably reaching kind of the end of my uh wrestling career for sure. But uh but as a wrestler and a former wrestler and uh a current part-time uh assistant wrestling coach, to be able to visit with Rulin Gardner was a real treat for me. Uh we had him on the show a couple of years back, and uh, you know, as an Olympic medalist, Olympic gold medalist, multi-time Olympian, to be able to visit with him and talk about the sport was a real treat and just enjoyed doing that. Um, just recently, we've had the opportunity to talk to a couple of people who are pickleball players and who love the sport and have you know been able to kind of battle back from injuries as well as health conditions and to use pickleball as that motivation has also been really fun for me as well.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

We saw the episode with Pono. Yeah, pancreatic cancer and survived.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

You know, there are you do not usually use those two phrases together, pancreatic cancer and survivor. Right. Uh he is definitely beating the odds. Uh, but his story is so special because of the people around him, and that's what makes this event so great as well. His his story is unique and special to him, but it's very typical of the Huntsman World Senior Games that people just help each other, they buoy each other up, they support each other. And he was a softball player, and uh his team and his family and his competitors just really just really rallied around him. And uh that's one of my favorites as well, recent faith books at least. And uh his story is really special.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Really special.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

I'm imagining what are the so how old of athletes do you have? What is the oldest age group?

SPEAKER_02 18:42

So we we have had multiple centenarians, hundred-year-old plus athletes that have competed in the game. Multiple years, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

What sports?

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Well, a variety of different sports, but uh uh a couple of years ago we had four athletes that were over a hundred year old, hundred years old. Two of them were track and field, and uh it was really fun because one of them kind of specialized in the throwing events and the other one specialized in the running events, but they did overlap for a 50-meter race, and so we called it the race of the centuries, where we had two 100-year-old athletes competing against each other, trying to get across that finish line in the 50-meter dash. That was very inspiring. That same year, we had a hundred-year-old swimmer and we had a hundred-year-old that competed in bowling as well as shuffleboards, so she was a multi-sport athlete, uh, over 100 years old. And that was that was a little bit of a unique year, but it is not uncommon that we will have people in their high 90s and even over a hundred years old that will compete.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

I wonder if Joyce Jones has been in one of your competitors.

SPEAKER_02 19:57

Joyce is one of our longtime supporters and competitors. We love Joyce, the oldest, the Guinness World Record, oldest competitive pickleball player. She's a perfect example of everything that is great about this event and the people that are involved.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

And she brings flip.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

I don't want to say it's nothing. If you're 80 years old and still competing, that's worth celebrating. We we love that, but it is not that uncommon to have 80s, 85, 90-year-olds that are competing.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

So inspiring. It is very and there aren't many opportunities for the older of those of us who are older like this to play with others who are our own age or even older than we. And these games give this opportunity. The pickleball in in and of itself is very accommodating to all the different ages, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:57

It really is. And you know, this show is about pickleball, so you know, I don't I don't want to, you know, get distracted by other sports, but but yeah, pickleball is one of those sports that you can truly consider a lifetime sport. I I mentioned maybe wrestling is on the ver on the edge of the fringes of what that might be. My wife will say I should have quit a long, long time ago, and maybe she's right. But pickleball is a sport that you can get out there and really enjoy at any age. And and again, you know, the more you play and the more you stay active, the better you can be. But we have 90 plus year old players all the time that are competing in pickleball. And the the beauty of it is at our event, at least, that you get to play against people in your same age group. And we do have people at those ages that get to play against each other. It's just you mentioned it before, so inspiring.

Why Being Remembered Matters

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Um, I'll mention one other thing about this event that we do not take for granted and that we think is so special. But we regularly make people's obituaries. Now, I say that, and you know, we We chuck a little bit about it, but if you think about what goes into an obituary, you've got your your family. Um, you know, if if you were active in your church, you'll you'll probably mention that. Uh if you really loved your alma mater, you might mention that. And then if you were one of the rare people who worked the same job for many, many, many years, you know, you might throw that in there. But there's just a handful of things that make an obituary, and we regularly do. It means so much to people to be able to compete and be a part of an active aging community so late into their life that when we when we make that obituary, it means the world to us. We, you know, we're we're so grateful to be a part of people's lives in that way and uh proud to be a part of people's lives in a way that's memorable and means something to them, especially as they age.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

That is really neat that you're mentioned in the obituary. When you say made the obituary, you weren't designing them. They you are mentioned and acknowledged and honored. That's very cool. Very, very cool. I can see that.

SPEAKER_02 23:00

But to be mentioned as something that was impactful and meaningful in people's lives, we don't take it for granted. We we want to always be able to provide an event and a venue and a location and an experience that people want to be a part of.

SPEAKER_00 23:16

When the players come to compete in October, are the pickleball players in one section, the baseball players in another? How does that work?

SPEAKER_02 23:25

Yeah, great question. With 40 different sports that take place over a two-week period, there's a lot of overlap. And so um uh pickleball happens to be in the second week of our event. Okay. Uh, tennis happens in the first week, so there's a little bit of an offset there. But there's a lot of events that happen at the same time. And I know a lot of athletes would like to do multiple things, but can't because they happen at the same time. Um but it's it's it's um it's like the Olympics. So if you watch the Olympic Games, you know that you know the swimming takes place and then you know, swimming ends, and soccer takes place and then soccer ends. And we do the same thing. So many of our sports will come in for three or four or five days, and then they'll finish, and then a new group of athletes will come in for different sports. Um, for our very big sports, uh, a lot of times what happens is people will come in and they'll finish their age group, and then a new age group comes in. So softball is our biggest sport. We have about uh well, almost 5,000 athletes that compete in softball. And so we have a lot of uh different age groups that will come in and then leave, and then a new group will come in and then leave. But softball happens during the full two weeks, and then pickleball happens on the second week from Monday all the way through Saturday. And same thing, you know, we'll have age group competitions, we'll have skill level competitions, we'll have doubles, we'll have mixed doubles, we'll have singles, and all of that happens over a week's time. And you mentioned that it's just fun, it's

Don’t Stop, And Start Anyway

SPEAKER_02 24:53

just fun.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

It's just fun in just wow, with this amazing career that you've had, and it doesn't have to be pickleball related, but what life lessons have you gleaned?

SPEAKER_02 25:06

Well, I think the biggest thing, and and it it encompasses all the sports, including pickleball, and that is that you don't have to stop. If there is something that you want to do, regardless of your age, regardless of your physical abilities, or you know, whether you're getting back into something or it's something that you've done your whole entire life, you don't have to stop. Our theme this year for the games is don't stop. And I think if there's anything that I have learned, it's that um it's it's available to you. If you want to do it, find a way and make it happen. But you do not have to stop. We we have uh an event that we call our concert and celebration. We have an opening ceremony, we have the concert and celebration, and we're gonna bring in a journey tribute act. And so that whole idea of don't stop, don't stop believing is very, very relevant. And uh and that's really honestly the biggest lesson that I feel like I have learned out of being involved and being a part of this amazing event. You don't have to stop. And the second lesson that I would say that is very related to it is that it's never too late to start. And we see that year after year after year. Many of our athletes played a sport in high school, and then, you know, for whatever reason, they they they didn't get a chance to play in college, and then they get into their careers and they're raising families, and uh they set it aside for a little while. But many of our athletes get to come back to that sport of their youth that they loved. But just as many people just want to try something new, and they've never tried it before, and for whatever reason, they didn't get a chance to play earlier, and they, you know, they reach retirement age where they have a little bit more time and a little bit more disposable income, possibly, and they decide they want to try something brand new. And so, related to that, don't stop, is it's never too late to start something new. You don't have to be stuck in the same rut that you've been in. You can try something new and pick up a new sport or a new activity. It can be theater, it might be a new language, it might be technology, whatever it is, it's never too late to pick up something new as well. Those are the two big lessons that I have seen played out over and over and over in my involvement.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

You are such an inspiration, Kyle, and you're a great um ambassador for these games and just an ambassador for aging well and with joy and a smile.

unknown 27:38

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Thank you. I hope that that is the case. I I and it's sincere, you know. It's not just what I do for for a paycheck, even though I'm I'm I'm blessed to be able to love what I do to support my family. That's a real blessing in my life. But I really do believe in it. I and I hope that you feel the sincerity in my voice when I say I've been so inspired by so many people, and I just I just want the word to get out there that it's available. It's available.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

Well, thank you. And we know that this episode is going to get shared worldwide, and Shelly's gonna get on the I'm gonna help her get on the computer right after this to sign up for the World Games. Um, but how can people find you and your your podcast and the World Games? What should they do?

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Yeah, the very best thing to do is to get familiar with our website, and that website is once again seniorgames.net. All one word, senior games.net. And there you can find all the sports that are available, including pickleball and the 39 other sports that we offer. So you can find the rules, the you know, the information that you need to be informed about which sport you want to compete in. Uh, all of that is available at seniorgames.net. And you mentioned the podcast, that's the best place to find it as well. We have all of our podcasts there on the website. Um, but if you sub if you have um an app that you're familiar with that you really like to listen to podcasts on, we're probably on that as well. We're across the gamut, everything uh everything that um is podcast uh centric, we're uh we're probably on that as well.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Very cool. Wow, thank you. You you've got to be so busy getting ready for the October games, and we really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us today. This was really fun.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

Thank you for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

Thank you. And thank you all. Hey, senior games in October. Sign up. We'll see you there. I'll be rooting Shelley on. Thank you all for tuning in, and we look forward to a new conversation next week. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Bye-bye. 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.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

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.