Photos by John Reidy

Pickleball is evolving quickly—paddle technology, strategy, athleticism, skill, and even court culture are changing by the second. So many of the changes are exciting, but as the sport becomes increasingly competitive with more money and professional opportunities, I worry about trends in sportsmanship at amateur and professional levels. As a former attorney, I’ve been privy to cultures that lose their commitment to civility. It ain’t pretty, and it’s an incredibly hard ship to right once a win-at-all-costs culture lays down tracks. I’ve wondered of late, is there a way to course correct and preserve the spirit and collegiality of the game as our beloved sport grows?

Enter stage left Kim Jagd and Ryan Wills. While I’ve been ruminating, they have been in the pickleball lab concocting a formula for marrying fierce competition with integrity, mutual respect, and community-mindedness at the highest levels of competitive play. Kim and Ryan, the masterminds behind the Scorp Squad’s debut year, made the bold decision to prioritize character and teamwork skills along with physical talent in their drafting decisions. They studied not only what players could do on the court, but who they were as people and teammates.

If the Scorp Squad’s regular season was the testing ground for their drafting strategy, Championship weekend was the linchpin evidence of its success. Despite being plagued by injuries up and down the line over the course of the season, the team’s strong performance in regular season and throughout Championship weekend is a testament to Kim and Ryan’s belief that a powerhouse team doesn’t have to come at the expense of character.

Character isn’t tested when things are going your way; character is revealed under stress. Here’s what my beloved team showcased in the biggest moments over Championship weekend:

• Up and down the line, partners showed one another mutual respect and encouragement. There simply weren’t eye rolls, sagged shoulders, or blaming body language of any kind on the Scorpion courts.
• Line calls were uniformly clean.
• Our managers made roster decisions in line with BOTH the letter and spirit of the rules.
• The team supported each other with as much love during the tough losses as the epic wins.
• There wasn’t a bone of quit in sight, even after nail-biting losses dropped the team into the consolation bracket.
• The team showed unrivaled grit, resilience, and heart in the face of injuries and setbacks to win each team battle in the consolation bracket and secure fifth place (the highest place available in the back draw).

While the podium eluded the Scorpions this time around, from hours of spectating over the season, there isn’t a team in the league I could be prouder to call my own. Each Scorpion brought unique talent, personality, and soul to the team, which somehow coalesced into an unbreakable, fierce unit.

Wrapping up the season feels like saying goodbye to fast-made friends at summer camp, whose bonds were forged away from the comforts and security of home. I’ll miss each and every one of our quirky squad:

• Maggie, our documentarian, juggler, aspiring ventriloquist, team mom, and living proof that Canadians are simply better people;
• Brenda TW Tilford, our mighty mini powerhouse with more fight and grit than should reasonably fit into such a small frame;
• Julene, our quiet but lethal, ranch-loving, Spry-gum-chewing game closer;
• Chrishawn, our team’s heart with the only voice louder than Dayne’s who could rally the dead with her team cheers and pep talks;
• Stacy, our rock, put-her-anywhere-with-anyone-and-she’ll-make-it-work player;
• Kim, our many-hat-wearing, all-in, ride-or-die teammate, owner, and manager;
• Lily, our fierce, pelvic-thrusting, scrappy lefty most likely to win in a bar fight;
• Joe, our fast-handed, quick-twitching lefty with a texting DUPR of at least 8.0;
• David, our salt of the earth, team-first-always, kind-hearted Midwesterner most likely to be mistaken for a pickleball superhero;
• Brian, our clutch-player, who would give Mary Poppins a run for her money on manners, positivity, and kindness.
• Reidy, our Spinja, who slyly evaded technical warnings by swearing only in German;
• Piet, our humble, self-effacing, quiet but wickedly funny tennis champion;
• Keith, our line-dancing, HR-loving, fact-checking quipster who definitely does NOT dye his hair;
• Johan, our secret weapon with more touch in one pinky finger than most of us could dream of developing in a lifetime, who will most definitely balk at being publicly complimented;
• Dayne, our team cactus, poky on the outside, all goo on the inside, with enough passion for player development and strategic chops for all the coaches and players at NPL;
• Don, our unpaid armchair psychologist, ice cream connoisseur, loyal cheerleader, and owner;
• Ryan, our data-crunching coach with off-the-charts EQ and incomparable middle-aged-pickleballer-wrangling skills;
• Andy, our OG coach always ready with just the right words to refocus the team;
• Rob Zwemmer, our passionate owner, CFO, and CEO who sees the endless opportunities pickleball offers to make the world a better place for at-risk youth;
• Vince Vaughn, our newest owner who surely recognizes that we not only can play pickleball but are all just AARP-commercial actors waiting to be discovered;
• Ruth Ann, our matriarch, owner, and always-encouraging cheerleader.

Scorp Squad: Until the next time you need a dynamic warm-up or a hug, keep proving to the world it’s possible to be the very best humans and pickleball players.

—Jill, your biggest fan