Stop Saving Fun for When the To-Do List Is Done: How Pickleball Makes You a Better Leader and Better at Everything Else with Colleen Riddle
Dinks On Tap: The Happy Hour Pickleball PodcastShow Notes
Making friends as an adult can be surprisingly hard, but the pickleball community has a way of bringing people together fast.
In this episode, we sit down with pickleball coach and author Colleen Riddle, whose book Came for the Game, Stayed for the People explores the pickleball friendships, fresh starts, and unexpected connections that can grow from simply stepping onto the court.
We talk about why learning something new together makes connection easier, how to keep pickleball fun as you improve, and why finding community as an adult sometimes starts with simply showing up.
You'll learn:
Why pickleball open play naturally creates opportunities to meet and connect with new people.
What pickleball can teach us about making friends as an adult, even when putting yourself out there feels uncomfortable.
Why women's pickleball can become a powerful space for friendship, support, and shared experiences.
Some of the less obvious benefits of pickleball that have very little to do with winning games or improving your rating.
What helps turn a group of players into a genuine community where people feel seen and included.
Why Colleen decided to turn real stories of connection into one of the more personal pickleball books about the game.
What learning pickleball as a beginner can teach you about confidence, vulnerability, and trying something new.
This conversation goes far beyond pickleball. It is about belonging, courage, friendship, and paying attention to the small opportunities that might be pointing you toward something you need.
Pour something cold and press play.
Cheers,
Casie and Lauren
Dinks on Tap
Let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with us:
Instagram: @dinksontap
Facebook: @DinksonTap
Website: dinksontap.com
Connect with Colleen:
Free Reader Discussion Guide: https://landing.colleenriddle.com/landing/discussionguide
Women's Rally, Renew & Reconnect Retreat: https://colleenriddle.com/retreats/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenRiddle/
IG: @wellnesswithcolleen
IG:@thefitpickleballer
Website: www.ColleenRiddle.com
More from Dinks On Tap: The Happy Hour Pickleball Podcast
How did a game three grown men made up on a badminton court, because a 13-year-old was bored, turn into the thing your group text runs on? We found the kid who complained, and he still can’t believe it either. In this episode, we get into our summer vault, full of conversations, stories, and a little pickleball drama we never got around to airing. We sat down with Frank Pritchard, the bored kid himself, who can answer “When was pickleball invented?” because he was there when his dad, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum made up the game on Bainbridge Island. We also cover Picklr’s Chapter 11 filing and the “is pickleball dying” headlines that followed, Genie Bouchard’s paddle-tap walkout and what it says about pickleball etiquette, and why the drinks after play keep the pickleball community together. You’ll learn: Why it's called pickleball, and the Pritchard family member who came up with the name A firsthand account of who invented pickleball, from the teenager whose complaining started it What the original pickleball paddle was made of, and which founder designed it The pickleball history most players don’t know, including how scoring and serving used to work Why Frank took a 30-year break from the game, and what brought him back What Picklr’s Chapter 11 filing means for your local club, according to the general manager of the Picklr in DFW How the pickleball business can struggle while the number of people playing keeps growing Why Genie Bouchard skipped the paddle tap, and whether we think she was justified How we won a tournament this summer by giving a screaming team a taste of its own medicine
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