The Future Of Pickleball Might Belong To The Amateurs, And This Episode Explains Why
Dinks On Tap: The Happy Hour Pickleball PodcastShow Notes
What happens when a Dallas pickleball duo suddenly finds themselves wearing St. Louis Shock colors?
This week, we’re unpacking how we became part of the St. Louis Shock's Minor League Pickleball program while still serving as Dallas Flash ambassadors.
What starts as a “how did we get here?” story quickly turns into something bigger: a look at why pickleball’s next chapter may depend less on superstar pros and more on the amateurs who want a reason to care, a team to cheer for, and a place inside the sport as it grows.
We also recap our first Major League Pickleball weekend in Dallas, where we played our first Minor League Pickleball event, from rally scoring and Dream Breakers to the surprising realization that your teammates' points can feel just as important as your own.
We’re joined by St. Louis Shock owner Rich Chaffetz, who shares why investing in pickleball means paying attention to the amateur player, and COO Andrew Haines, who walks us through how the Shock is building a nationwide “family” and a player experience that feels bigger than one tournament bracket. We also talk with pro Anna Bright about switching between Professional Pickleball Association play and team-based MLP, plus 13-year-old phenom Elsie Hendershot, the youngest player in MLP, on confidence, competition, and what it’s like to play at that level before most people have mastered parallel parking.
We talk about:
The real-world differences between PPA, MLP, and MiLP
How MILP gives amateur players a way to belong to something bigger than one tournament bracket
What made the St. Louis Shock’s onboarding, communication, and team culture stand out right away
Why the Shock care less about having a 5.0 DUPR and more about bringing a “5.0 attitude” to the team
The growing tension between elite competition, young players, and keeping pickleball fun
Casie’s new pet peeve involving excessive screaming after ordinary points
Between the matches, interviews, and sideline conversations, this episode reveals why connection and belonging remain at the heart of pickleball, even as the sport becomes bigger, faster, and more professional.
Whether you're trying to make sense of the acronyms or curious about where pickleball is headed next, this conversation offers a front-row seat to the people and ideas shaping the sport's future.
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
For those wanting to fortify their mental game on the court, check out Lauren’s Mental Caddie offerings on her website or book a Chemistry Call.
Save 20% Off Honeylove by going to honeylove.com/ONTAP #honeylovepod
Get 15% off OneSkin with the code DINKS at https://www.oneskin.co/DINKS
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Interested in joining MiLP? Check out The Shock MiLP opportunity here: https://shockmilp.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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