By: Don Zuker / Photos by Don Zuker
As a player, a fan, and co-owner of the Coachella Valley Scorpions, there is something to be said about the excitement of a live draft reveal. The weeks if not months of scouting top talent, constantly thinking of who to draft, and who the other teams decide to draft, comes down to one weekend. If it’s this exciting for me, I can only imagine how exciting it is for the prospective players. The draft reveal showcased how much hard work and thought was put into shaping a dynamic team for the upcoming inaugural Scorpions 2024 season.
Saturday morning, we walked around to view Old Naples on 5th Ave. I was amazed at how beautiful Naples was. The weather was perfect, and everyone was very welcoming. As we were exploring Old Naples, we saw a few of the other owners and had a great time catching up, discussing the draft and the growth and future of NPL.
Later that day we drove to check out the US Open Pickleball Championships. As we walked around the venue, I noticed a few celebrities in the pickleball world, Megan Fudge and Ryler Deheart. Fortunately, Kim and Ryan knew them personally and went over to say hello. If someone were to ask me how I would describe the Minto US Open, I would tell them that there is no shortage of pickleball courts and no need for paddle stacking. We were fortunate enough to walk in and check out the Zing Zang Championship Court too. The seating around the court made it seem very personal, as there does not seem to be a bad seat in the house.
I woke up on Sunday full of anticipation for the draft reveal! We went back to the US Open to support Rick Witsken, Mark Milner, and Ryler DeHeart playing singles. After we watched a few matches and had lunch, Kim, Rob, Ryan and I walked to the beach to film a welcome video for the team. While it took a few takes (we laughed a little too much while filming), we were happy with the result.
When I walked into the NPL draft reveal, I could feel the anticipation of the players. They were surrounded by their families and friends. It was so humbling to see all of the support and the faces of some of the world's best Champion pickleball professionals all gathered to celebrate. As one of the new expansion teams, we had the opportunity to announce our team first. Kim took the lead and announced our 2024 draft picks. When each player was called, they walked up and were greeted with handshakes and hugs from Rob, Kim, and myself along with the NPL founders; Michael Chen, Beth Bellamy, Rick Witsken and NPL CEO, Paul Bamundo. Each drafted player that was in attendance was given a welcome Adidas bag with our Scorpion logo stitched on the front. The bags were filled with a team shirt and other Scorpion swag. The draft reveal took a few hours and ended with the 2023 Championship Team, the Indy Drivers announcing their team. Post reveal, we had the opportunity to have dinner with a few of our players, share some stories and get to know each other.
It was a great night except for my mother-in-law's disappointment that we did not draft Danny Wuerffel, as she has been a fan long before we became family. She has an autographed University of Florida, Gators mini-football helmet and if there is one thing I’ve learned over the past 25 years, it's hard to disappoint my MIL!
