Zane Navratil - Our biggest guest yet!!! The accountant turned pickleball pro, known for the chainsaw serve and podcasting success. We discuss Zane's journey from spreadsheets to MLP, his experiences at the Melbourne PPA, and his impressions of the Australian pickleball scene. Zane shares insights into his competitive experiences, views on MLP rule changes, and the financial intricacies of pickleball leagues. We discuss the irony of transitioning from tennis to pickleball and Zane reads a Picklers Parchment article your go to for entertaining fake pickleball news. Zane recommends the best Barbecue in Austin and even has time to give Adam and Colin some tips to take them from a 4.5 to 5 DUPR (hopefully!).

00:00 Intro: Zane Navratil

00:33 How we met and first Impressions

02:42 Pickleball in Australia: A New Experience

05:53 Joey Wild's Journey to Pickleball and a clinic with Zane

08:58 Proton Bankruptcy and the stolen flaming flamingo

14:43 MLP Rule Changes

25:34 PWR League and Player Payments

29:16 The Pickle Pod: Evolution and Insights

32:23 Discovering Austin's Best Barbecue

34:39 Pickleball Training and Improvement

43:18 Pickler Parchment Fake News

49:00 Concluding Thoughts and Future Plans

In this episode Adam dives one on one into an inspiring conversation with Aaron Blitz, a pioneer of Australian pickleball. Aaron shares his journey from founding the Southeast Melbourne Pickleball Club to becoming the captain of the Melbourne Mavericks in Major League Pickleball Australia. Despite facing significant health challenges, including a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma, Aaron's resilience and dedication have made him a leading figure in the sport. The episode covers his early days in pickleball, the growth of the sport in Victoria and his experiences as a pickleball ambassador. Aaron's story is one of resilience, leadership, pain and triumph over adversity.

What's up in Aus Pickleball in January?

Well besides the NPL and MLP Drafts we've got big news about a new group who has formed and will be kicking off with 5 events in 2025 to promote a league format exclusive to the 40, 50 and 60 year old demographic.

In an exciting movement this group will also be guaranteeing round robin format instead of an elimination draw so more Pickleball for all!

We also chat about some other stuff involving DUPR's and an Aussie's tilt recently at The Masters in the US.