Welcome And Book Announcement

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Hi, I'm Shelly Mauer. 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.

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Thanks for joining us. Before we get started, we have something really exciting to share.

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Our book, Life Lessons from Pickleball, is now available on Amazon, and a portion of every sale is donated to Operation Paddle Lift.

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Your purchase helps deliver paddles, nets, and resources to underserved communities around the world.

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Thank you for being a part of Growing the Game We All Love. Now let's jump into today's episode. Welcome to Life Lessons from Pickleball, everyone. Today we are thrilled to have with us Tony Schneider. Tony, you are the president of the U.S. Senior Pickleball, and you bring such a wonderful mix of leadership, service, and passion for the game.

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After a long career as an executive with the FAA, you retired in 2023 and are now helping seniors have fun, make new friends, and stay active through pickleball.

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And we just love that your vision is about so much more than competition. It's about community, fitness, and helping people enjoy life more fully, which feels like such a beautiful fit for the pickleball world.

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We are so excited to talk with you today. So

Tony’s First Pickleball Hook

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take us back. When did pickleball first come into your life and what was going on for you at the time?

SPEAKER_04 1:35

Thanks, Shelly. Um, for me, uh, it's all started back uh in 2020 before the pandemic. Um I was on a family vacation down in Myrtle Beach and literally living the dream in Myrtle Beach. And uh my brother-in-law said, Hey, would you like to play pickleball? And I was like, Well, I'm I have no idea what you're talking about. And he says, I guarantee in 20 minutes you'll be having the time of your life, and you'll probably spend the rest of your life trying to figure out this game. And so we literally went to some courts, it was an old um like uh roller skating rink that they had refashioned as a pickleball court in North Myrtle Beach. And um, and no kidding, within about 20 minutes, I am I am not an athletic kind of person. I am having the time of my life. And so uh about two months later, I get a call from my brother-in-law, and a friend of ours um was going through uh some medical thing things, and so they the family needed a you know, the they needed some donations and things like that. And so he was organizing a pickleball tournament. And I was like, I didn't know there was such a thing. And he says, come on down. Um in fact, if you have a pickleball tournament in North Carolina, you've got to have barbecue. That's that's what really sells in North Carolina, and they they raised a sizable amount of money and uh just had a fabulous time playing pickleball. And and I learned something very important that day. Um, you don't have to be the most talented athlete, you don't have to be athletic at all. But if you can bring the best out of your partner, you can win a tournament. And so I had figured out pretty quickly that I played with some people that were far, far better than I was on the pickleball court. But I also played with some people that were far worse than I was. And the the format was you rotated. So every game you had a different partner, which was a fun uh thing to do. It was a great way to meet people, but I was able to lift people up and help them uh feel better about their game. And so I actually, my first pickleball tournament, I walked away with a medal. Now it wasn't the gold medal, so but I walked away with a medal, and and I mean, I had been playing for three months, maybe. I in fact, I was still calling it a racket, and my brother-in-law was like, no, no, don't use that. That's a paddle. You know, and and so uh it was a great experience, and um, I've been playing ever since.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Congratulations on meddling in your very first tournament three months into

Bringing Out Your Partner’s Best

SPEAKER_02 4:10

your game. That is wild. And so, how did you bring out the best of your partner? I just love that that concept.

SPEAKER_04 4:18

Yeah, I I think one of one of my um strengths is be able to um recognize you know good performance or things that go well in any pickleball game, you're gonna have shots that are great, and then you're gonna have shots that are not so great. And so you can be half full or half empty. And and so I chose to be half full during the tournament, and you would be surprised, you know, you compliment somebody on a shot that um you know that and and sometimes it's probably more luck than skill, at least at the level I was playing at at the time. And so um you say, Man, that was an incredible shot. When we get done here, you're gonna have to show me how to do that. And they said, Well, uh, I didn't see it. I was just like, it was awesome, you know, keep keep that up. And so um, you know, just lifting people up and making them feel, you know, they hit it into the net. You just say, ah, that was just unlucky. Keep swinging, you're you're looking good, you know, let's let's keep playing. And and so you, you know, you can eke out a few more points of somebody, and they'll actually try harder, you know, if if you're going positive with them. And so uh, and then it's contagious, right? Then they start, you know, lifting you up, and so you you kind of have this camaraderie that occurs during the game.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

So cool. So cool.

What U.S. Senior Pickleball Does

SPEAKER_01 5:38

So, Tony, tell us for the people that don't know, what is U.S. Senior Pickleball?

SPEAKER_04 5:44

Yeah, uh, U.S. Senior Pickleball is a um, it's a very interesting organization. It was built by seniors for seniors, and so it's really geared for folks that are 50 and above. Um, the founders of the organization, you know, pickleball was relatively new and there wasn't a lot of things out there for seniors, at least around competitive play. And so they started to organize tournaments. And um, one of the things the founders were very keen on was if you invest $20 with U.S. senior pickleball, you get 10fold back. And so people would come out to a U.S. senior pickleball tournament, pay their tournament registration, and U.S. senior pickleball would give them $10 back. Well, what we found is some people would play five tournaments a year. They they'd get $50 back and they only spend $20. And so that that went on for some period of time, and then it um they decided to do a points program that if you played in these tournaments, you accrued points. And at that point, the organization had gotten relatively large, and so they gave back $20,000 in prizes to those people that played tournaments, and so you don't have to win the tournament, you just have to finish in the top four and you get points for that tournament. And so um people would play singles, mixed, and doubles. They might medd in one of those, but they might finish in the top four in the other two, and so at the end of the year, um they got this year. I think the winners got like a $200 gift certificate to uh pick a ball central. In other years, you know, we get sent out swag and different things, and so um it's about $20,000 in prizes that the organization sends out. And then um a few years ago, we partnered with Humana and started what we called was the grassroots program, which is for the non-competitive player. So these are folks that um don't necessarily want to play tournaments, but they're looking for indoor facilities at low cost or no cost. And so we started um the grassroots effort program, and we do intro to pickleball, we do um little uh round robins, um little little sometimes leagues. Uh we do all sorts of things um all over the country, and um uh that program continues to grow. I think at the end of the day, our goal at U.S. Senior Pickleball is to help seniors get off the couch and get some exercise in. And then while they're getting that exercise, hopefully they're having fun, and most importantly, they're making some new friends. So our big um push is fun, friendship, and fitness.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Beautiful, beautiful. So where are you based? Where is this organization based?

SPEAKER_04 8:52

That's a great question. Um, so we are currently based out of Texas, right? We're incorporated in Texas. Um, we're going to ask our membership to change that to Nevada, which it's more for um logistical reasons, but organizationally um uh we'd be the same. But we have volunteers in probably 10 different states. Um two weeks ago I was living in uh Washington, D.C. Now I live in North Carolina, and so as you can see, I'm smiling more because my taxes have gone down considerably, and all of my fees have gone down, and uh even my internet's cheaper in um North Carolina. So it has been a pleasure to move here and um love the people up in Washington, D.C. in Virginia. Um, but the people in North Carolina, I mean, they sure know how to make some barbecue and make you feel welcome.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Oh. How long have you been associated with USSP?

SPEAKER_04 9:56

I have been the president for about a year and a half, and that actually is a funny story. Um, I was um just learning to play pickleball and uh, you know, getting my feet on the ground, and uh um I started training with a gentleman that was a really good pickleball in Virginia, and we played in a North Virginia Senior Olympics, and we won the gold medal. I I couldn't believe we won. It really was my partner. I mean, basically, I I think he just said, stand over here, I'll take care of everything, right? And so um it was amazing. We we we won the we won the gold medal, and then um I kind of got a call out of the blue um from somebody because they were talking, I was talking to a guy at the the tournament and talking about, you know, love pickleball, you know, would love to get more involved and and doing things.

A Vision For Longer Healthier Lives

SPEAKER_04 10:48

And so the conversation was around vision, right? I think at the time U.S. senior pickleball rolled up uh 10,000 members, they were at 10,000 members, which was quite an accomplishment. And um they said, you know, if if you were part of the organization, you know, what should it look like? You know, what what would that look like? And I said, so I did a little research, and um most people don't know this, but there's about 1.5 million seniors that play pickleball in the United States. Wow. And the other little known fact is that uh 60% of the seniors, 55 and above, hold 70% of the wealth of this country. Let that sink in for a minute. Say it again that 60% of the United States of America, right, are seen the that those seniors hold 70% of the wealth of this country. Wow. That's pretty significant. That is, and so the one thing, and this is the part that I don't I don't you ladies don't look that old. Do you guys remember the Dukesa Hazard?

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Oh yes, oh yes.

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So in the Dukesah Hazard, there was a guy named Boss Hogg. I don't remember if he was a big thing. Boss Hogg, oh yes, very typical, right? Overweight, smoked cigars, always had a drink in his hand, drove this big, or he was driven in this big white Cadillac, right? That was the thing of the day. That's not what rich people do today, right? They exercise, they don't smoke, they cut and back, or in most cases, in some cases, they've stopped drinking, uh, and they've switched to small electric cars. I'm not sure what's up with that, but that's the change, right? People have want they want to live longer and and they want to do do more with their life, they want to live more quality years. Yes, and so my my vision for US senior pickleball was this engagement. If you can help in and and um if if I could help one person live an extra seven to ten years, quality years, right? Yeah, not connected to a machine, not connected to a feeder tube, but to go out and have fun, make some new friends. Yes, the way to do that is just a little bit of fitness. And I was so that was kind of my my thinking. And so um I got invited to go to their national championship in 2025 in Casa Grande, which is a wonderful pickleball location. If you haven't been, we're doing our national championship this year. You should high highly recommend it. Beautiful community, beautiful um place to play.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

When is that, by the way?

SPEAKER_04 13:43

Just it's the last week in November. So the last week in November, um, and uh kind of the first week of December, we'll be there for six days. It'll be an incredible tournament. But when I was out there, I said, hey, we need to do this. We we need to help seniors live longer. We we need to give them, I call it the pickleball experience, right? The fun, the friendship, and the fitness. And so we're partnering with companies, we're partnering with um uh health companies, we're partnering with uh companies that have uh launched uh pickleball, indoor pickleball facilities, and we're trying to help seniors get off the couch and onto the pickleball court. And I can, I will promise you in 20 minutes, you're going to be, you'll understand and be playing the game, and then you will spend the rest of your life having just this incredible experience. I can vouch for that. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

It's addictive. It it is addictive, yes. It is and like you said, just the joy that it brings in your life and the community, the fitness is really the most important, but it's really just the bonus because you're having so much fun and meeting such amazing people. To reach the the seniors, I'm assuming the clinics, ambassadors, and community events are very important.

SPEAKER_04 15:05

Oh, yes. All of those things. I think the most important thing is word of mouth. Uh I think you know, see seniors uh trust other seniors. And and and I'll give you a great example.

Nationals Rain Chaos Done Right

SPEAKER_04 15:17

We did a tournament um at Nationals down at Pictona, another great place down at Daytona Beach uh last December. Um we had three days of rain. Uh we had a thousand people. Uh we had 41 tournaments, we had 41 courts reserved, and we got all the games in on 13 indoor courts. The team that was down there, they worked lights out to make that happen. And what was amazing is everybody said they had a wonderful experience, even though some of the start times were kind of crappy. In fact, I was joking with the tournament coordinator, the bracket I'm in, and I'm the president of the organization. It started at 12:30 at night. I mean, I'm playing at 12:30 at night. Wow, I don't think I could even do that. I don't think I could do that. I hadn't been up to 1230 since I was probably about 24, you know, so I'm up, you know, but I'm all excited. You know, I'm out on the court, and um, there were people sitting in the stands watching at 12:30 at night, and uh we just had an incredible time. Uh in fact, we we went out for breakfast after the game was over. I was like, I feel like it's you know, this is like my college years, you know, a hard night of drinking, and you're going out, you know, having you know the waffle house in the morning, you know. So uh we we felt like little school kids, but we had just such an incredible time.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

So, how does somebody like we're in the Seattle area? How would we find out about who's here with the US senior pickleball?

Finding Events Ambassadors And Instructors

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Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Well, is there someone here?

SPEAKER_04 16:50

Yes, there there is. We we have an uh ambassador, a couple of ambassadors in Seattle, and uh in fact, our our marketing uh director uh lives there in Seattle, and so um there's two ways you can get connected. One is to go to our website and and see what's available in Seattle. Um, if you were looking for a tournament, all of our tournaments are on pickleball.com, and so you could search that. In fact, we've got a um regional championship coming up there in Seattle uh in just a couple of weeks, and so uh you could play in that. Um, our tournaments are more amateur type tournaments, we don't have professionals uh in the tournament. Um, typically we'll have um maybe a bracket of four. We'd well we definitely have four. I've never seen a 5.0 bracket over the last year. If we had a bunch of players that were 5.0, we would do that. Um also if you were looking for maybe some more recreational, like you wanted to play indoors or um maybe attend one of our social type of events, you could find that also on our website. If you become a member, you can actually search for other members in the Seattle area. And you could also search for instructors. So if you were looking for an instructor in the Seattle area, um, you could find them on our website. And then also uh your ambassador, the ambassador that's in the Seattle area, uh, would also um get your information and you could reach out to them and they could reach out to you, and so you can get connected. We find that most seniors, um I think there's several types of people in the world. One is extroverted and introverted is the easy way to break it. The extroverts have no problem. The introverts kind of need a little prodding and and and pushing to get out there, and so we're hoping um uh we call it uh there's it's basically we have a 60% email open rate. We'll send you emails and things uh to to let you know what's going on. And so we we're hoping that that will get you from the the couch into the um uh pickleball place. And then um we're also hoping that maybe you have a friend that you could bring with, or you might already know that's a USSP member, and um they would they would welcome you in with open arms.

DUPR Reality Checks And A Teen Opponent

SPEAKER_02 19:17

What's the lowest duper you start with in your tournaments?

SPEAKER_04 19:21

You know, that's a real that's a this is kind of embarrassing. I was the lowest duper, I was a 288 when I played my first tournament. In fact, the the the tournament director says, You're the lowest we've ever had, and you're the president of the organization. And I'm like, well, I'm I'm sorry, right? And in fact, what was funny is um we kind of played as a team before, you know, the USSP board. They were body bagging me. I finally had to say the next one that body bags me has to kick $500 out into the organization as a donation. We're just I'm just putting that out there. There's no more body bagging going on here.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

Or that's a good fundraiser technique.

SPEAKER_04 20:06

Yeah, it was amazing. But I will tell you a funny thing. Um, you know, I started out, I was again not very athletic. Um, in fact, they they joked, I think my first paddle was made out of wood. You know, they said the founders played with wood paddles, no one plays with wood paddles anymore. And I was like, well, they were really inexpensive on Amazon, and I got two of them in case one breaks. I have a second one. And they were like, dude, use this paddle. And so um, the good news is um I'm a three, nine, eight or something like that now.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

And that's been a year and a half.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

That's really impressive because my duper just keeps going down with tournaments.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

So I think that's because you're playing with such high-level people, Shell. That's yeah, you that's a thing.

SPEAKER_04 20:56

Very impressive. Yeah, I'm I I I don't really pay much attention to it. I think the the the part that surprises me sometimes is um when you register, you know, you can't register for 3-0 if you're a 398, and and so the you you end up in higher. But um I've played some non-USSP tournaments where um my duper took a beating. Uh, I played one. Um, I won't name the name of the organization, but I signed up for 60 to 65 4.0 men's singles, thinking, you know, hey, I'm looking pretty good in you know, singles. I think I can win this thing. My first opponent was like 17 years old.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

And I was like, not a chance.

SPEAKER_04 21:39

I was I was I I thought I hit a winner and he's standing there waiting for the ball. And so um after the game, uh he said, you know, you're really good for an old guy. And I said, Well, thank you. You know, I'm just learning this singles thing, you know, I'm not very good at it, and uh, but um, you know, I'm working hard on it, and uh he joked, he said. Well, don't tell my mom how you old you are. I said, You came here with your mom. He says, Yeah, I don't have my driver's license yet. And I'm like, that is just so wrong. That is just wrong on so many levels.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

The range was not 60 to 65, it was 16 to 65.

SPEAKER_04 22:16

Yeah. And in the tournament director's defense, there weren't enough people to kind of put together a bracket. So they combined up all the men into a single bracket. And then um there was all the four, I guess there were all 4.0s, and there were there was a gentleman that was a 4.5 who was magical on the pickleball card. He I mean he was doing stuff, and I was just like, I didn't even know people could move like that. And so um it was a lot of fun. I I I try to be more focused on the fun and not so much on the duper rating. Nice. Um, because that duper thing will make you crazy. Yes, it will. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:58

Well named.

SPEAKER_04 22:59

Yes, it's well named.

Growing Membership With Low-Cost Play

SPEAKER_01 23:03

So uh what are your goals for USSP in the next five years? Yeah, I that's a great question.

SPEAKER_04 23:09

Uh, I think for me, that one is to expand the organization to get to more seniors, right? To help more seniors get off the couch and um spend more time on the court. Uh we're working with a company called 150 Plus Health. Uh they're very interesting. Um, they have research that shows that uh if a senior gets at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, they'll live about another seven to ten years longer. And quality years. Again, not feeding tube years, but quality years. And so I'm I'm I'm really pushing for that. I I think USSP should be able to get to at least 1% of the senior market by 20, what are we, by 2030. By 2030, they should have at least 100,000 members. Um easy.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

How are you expanding it? How what what are you doing to expand it?

SPEAKER_04 24:10

Yeah, I I think uh we're we're working with um one, we're keeping our membership fee the same it was when we started. $20. Oh wow we're not increasing the fee. Um second, if you if you do register for or you join for a longer period of time, the rate is cheaper. Like if you if you buy the three-year membership, I think it's $16 a year. If you buy the lifetime membership, and and this is this is typical seniors, they're doing the math. I'm 80, I'm gonna live another 20 years. Okay, I'll get my money's worth on the lifetime membership. Yeah, but the 90-year-olds, they're only going with the five-year membership because they don't think they're gonna make it past 95, right? And so um, one is keep keep the cost down. Um second, off see offer seniors more, no cost or very low cost indoor pickleball. We're partnering with um, I guess I can use their name, Deal Dinkers and a variety of other companies that are starting these indoor pickleball facilities. And we pay for the courts. We we we're purchasing time on the courts, and we bring both USSP members in. And if you're not a USSP member, we welcome you also. And so we're bringing non-USSP seniors in to play and get them off the couch. And then I think um, you know, we'll continue to do our tournaments and continue to make them um very high quality, very low cost, uh, keep those going. And

Assisted Living Courts And 80+ Brackets

SPEAKER_04 25:48

then um, we have a couple of other things in the works about um getting to communities that don't have pickleball. Uh, we're working with um uh a retirement facility. I guess it's a uh they call it an assisted living facility, where um they've created kind of a smaller pickleball court inside their building. Uh I talked to them last year about um just building it maybe 20 by 14, so it's 14 in length and 20 uh feet across. And so the the distance they have to travel is far less. Um lobs are outlawed. If you lob, you lost the point. And then um just getting them to move, you know, to move more. And so I think there's a lot of um room for that. In fact, um, after a year, the people that are playing the game, um, their move mobility has increased a hundred percent. They said it's the most amazing thing. They have people now waiting in line to get out onto their pickleball courts because it's been so effective. Um, I think there's some room for us to do some education there around athletic stance, shuffling, how do you shuffle? Um, I know, especially as once you get in your uh late 80s and over um sometimes it could be challenging. Yeah. Um I have a new friend. Uh in fact, she's she I think she's been on here. Allison Tim. Um she challenged me uh last year to at Pictona to create an 80 to 85 bracket. And so uh we did that. We we have an 80 to 580, you know, and and I told her, as long as we get six people that are 80 to 85, we'll we'll put we'll keep the bracket and we'll let them play. They'll play a you know a double round robin. Um, I think I saw on the podcast, and she's already pinged me if she wants 85 to 90 next year. And I told Ellison, I will do that for you. If you can get me six 85 to 90 year olds, I will make sure we have a bracket just for them.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Um has Joyce Jones not been after you yet for the 95 and older?

SPEAKER_04 28:04

Well, see, I would love to do that. I I think um, you know, I think we're all aging, and and my dream is to beat Joyce Jones record by a year. So I hope she gets to 100. So I I wanna I wanna keep doing it till I'm 101.

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Oh, that's hilarious. I wouldn't be surprised if she were 105 before she finally says, Yeah, I'm gonna put put up my paddle.

SPEAKER_04 28:30

I really hope she can do it. I I I'm full of her yeah, and Alison Tim is no, I didn't know that much about Allison until I saw your podcast, and she's she's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 28:43

She called you out in that show, too.

SPEAKER_04 28:47

You should have seen her down in Daytona. She had me pinned, you know, kind of in the corner, and she goes, 8085, or you might not go home. And I was like, okay, you got it.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Oh, that is hilarious. Oh man. Tony, what fun to learn about US senior pickleball, and your vision just feels so resonant to everything that we're about. And what is it? Fun, friend, fun, friends, and fitness?

SPEAKER_04 29:18

Fun, fun friendship and fitness.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Friendship and fitness. That is so cool. Um, so you've had an amazing life before pickleball and now with pickleball.

Purpose Service And Joy Through Pickleball

SPEAKER_02 29:29

What are some life lessons that you've gleaned?

SPEAKER_04 29:34

Yeah, that's a great, great question. I wrote something the other day I was gonna read to you all because I I I it tears me up a little bit. I I've I I've always struggled. I I started out kind of a rocky beginning. I was um I played in a rock and roll band when I was a kid. Um, I started working when I was 12. Um in the state I lived at, you could start driving a car when you were 12 years old. So imagine me being crazy driving a car at 12 years old, um, because of farm vehicles and things like that. And so um uh when I turned uh actually before I turned 17 or before I turned 18, my dad convinced me I needed to join the military. The military was gonna, and they did, they saved me, they put me on the right path, taught me how to be a man, uh, taught me, I didn't even have a checkbook at the time, you know. What is a checkbook and write, you know, just keep writing checks. I don't know who's paying these, but you just keep writing them. This is the best thing ever. You know, so they helped you with that, you know, on how to how to do all that. Um, but I've always wondered why I was put here on this earth. I I've really struggled with this question. Um and and I found um surely God created me for something more than playing pickleball or to tend to a house in North Carolina. I I believe He really created me to serve and help others. Well, that sounds you know really noble and righteous. Um I have a lot of room for um improvement, uh, especially in that area. But I I find I'm happy when I can bring joy to others. You know, when I watch a child or or watch um a senior playing pickleball on the court and you see that smile, right? You know, that shot where they snuck one over the net, you know, and it went by. They get that, you know, the little crook of their mouth, you know, they get that smile, and um, you tell them, hey, that was a good shot, and they go, Yeah, I know. And you know, they saunter back to the the line. And um for me, pickleball is a vehicle for bringing joy to the hearts of others. Uh, even the the use of the word pickle is kind of silly, and and for me, it I put a smile on my face every time I say my sister says, I'm going to play pickle, you know, and I'm like, really? Is that what you're gonna do? And um and and I I had an opportunity to meet a gentleman, he built a new indoor pickleball facility. In fact, he's building quite a few of them, and he's spending millions of dollars uh on this thing, and and and I thought about that for a while, and and the one thing I would want to tell him and all of the other people that are doing that is to say thank you. The courage to invest in building um a place to bring joy to the hearts of others is probably the most noble cause. Um, that is definitely noble and a righteous person. If more of us were more noble, can you imagine what a great world this would be?

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

Beautiful, Tony. Thank you for that. Very touching. Very touching. Yes, you are definitely fulfilling your calling, my friend.

How To Volunteer And Get Involved

SPEAKER_02 33:04

So, what is your website where people can find you?

SPEAKER_04 33:08

Yes, uh, www.usseniorpickleball.org.org.

SPEAKER_02 33:16

Very good. And can people volunteer for you to kind of help spread around the country?

SPEAKER_04 33:23

Absolutely. If you're interested in being an ambassador, you can email me directly. I'm Tony at USSeniorpickleball.com. Um be glad. Also on the website, uh, if you become a member, there's a button you can click to become an ambassador. Um, we we empower our ambassadors to do all sorts of things. So if you have some ideas or thoughts on something that you would like to do, I mean, we had a gentleman um who has Parkinson's disease, he's doing clinics for folks that have Parkinson's disease. We pay for the courts and um they didn't have paddles, so we we've um uh acquired, let's just say that we've acquired quite a few paddles that we've sent them and the uh sleeves of balls, and uh they're out there um playing pickleball. And uh they said um there's something therapeutic about whacking that little yellow ball. I can testify that uh yes, it there is something therapeutic about it.

SPEAKER_02 34:21

Very therapeutic. We can all testify to that. And thank you, Tony, for fulfilling your calling, following your calling, and for making a difference in the world among all of us who are seniors and for the seniors' friends and families. I mean, what a gift it is to every generation when our older generations, we and the older generations, are having fun and staying fit and have friends. I mean, wow, can't do much better than that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 34:51

It's my pleasure, but I will tell you, I just do so very little. I am surrounded by just an incredible team of volunteers and staff that do all the heavy lifting. Um, I'm still working on my pinkball game. I I that's that's really where I'm focusing my attention. And um and again, um trying to put a smile on a few more folks' faces.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

Brilliant, brilliant. Well, you've put smiles on ours for sure, and I know our audience feels the same way. Thank you. And thank you all. My gosh, thank you for tuning in. Check out us seniorpickleball.org and see become a member, become an ambassador, help spread this amazing gift around the country and maybe eventually around the world when it becomes international senior pickleball. Don't know if you already exist or not, but that seems like a cool thing, too. Well, thank you all, and we look forward to a new conversation next time. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Bye-bye.

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SPEAKER_00 35:50

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_02 36:03

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.