PicklePod

PicklePod

On “PicklePod”, Thomas Shields and Zane Navratil deliver an entrée of updates from around the Pickleball World. Some would say it’s a “Picklers” dream podcast with the duo’s loud and unfiltered insights commentating on the good, the bad, and even the ugly sides of the sport as Pickleball undeniably rockets towards mainstream adoption. Weekly rotating topics, guests, tournament recaps, Pickleball pop-culture, player strategies, and more. No comment or topic can breach the PicklePod Non-Valley Zone, everything is in play. It’s on the PicklePod or it didn’t happen. Thomas Shields is the Founder Of “The Dink Pickleball” Media company and Zane Navratil is atop ranked pickleball pro who has won championships on the PPA Tour, APP Tour, and Major League Pickleball. RSSVERIFY

Episodes

The heated exchange between Anna Leigh Waters & Hayden Patriquin

May 2, 2025 • 94 mins
The MLP season is officially underway and we've got a lot to cover after an exciting opening weekend. Orlando Squeeze owner Ryan DeVos provides a behind-the-scenes look at the new standard for MLP events. Christian Alshon was the center of attention again as new serve rules were challenged throughout the weekend. Alshon weighs in on the switch from rally to traditional scoring and hopes that we don't see any more orange courts i...
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Zane Uncovers Never Before Seen Serve Rules w/ Samin Odhwani

April 24, 2025 • 73 mins
Major League Pickleball Commissioner Samin Odhwani is the special guest on a new PicklePod. Commish previews the opening of the 2025 season, explains the updates behind expanded distribution and owner-hosted events. Next, Brooklyn Pickleball Team GM, Josh Gartman, breaks down the name swap between the Brooklyn and the DC team. Gartman recaps his offseason moves and the reunion of some of his championship players. Finally, Zane di...
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UPSETS AND SCANDALS: Legacy Park FRAUD, the Alleged Origins of Pickleball, and NC Open Recap

April 11, 2025 • 61 mins
Zane Navratil and Thomas Shields talk about the fraud allegations leveled against Legacy Park in Mesa, AZ, by the SEC and DOJ. Legacy Park was supposed to be a utopia for the sport-obsessed. It had hosted multiple APP Tour, PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball events. Thomas then shares information he found in a book that claims that the Pritchard family were not the inventors of Pickleball. Instead, they took and modified the id...
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A Gold Medal Podcast plus A New Replay System w/ Christian Alshon, Tyra Black, Parris Todd, and Jason Aspes

March 23, 2025 • 86 mins
Zane Navratil and Thomas Shields talk to Christian Alshon, Tyra Black, and Paris Todd about their most recent gold medal wins at the PPA Texas Open, Ben Johns’ calling out of yelling during matches, their goals for the coming year, and much more.  Christian Alshon is one of the fastest-rising stars in the world of Pickleball. His gold medal win at the PPA CIBC Texas Open was his second in a row. Overall he has 12 PPA medals and is...
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Carrying Ben Johns to Gold and Addressing Rumors of Fraud w/ Zane Ford, Andrei Daescu and Pran Kohli

March 18, 2025 • 97 mins
Zane Ford is quickly burning his way through the pro ranks. With his flashy style and unique accessories, he is catching attention (and some ricochets) from the competition. Andrei Daescu is one of the older players on the PPA Tour but he's had a resurgence unlike any other. After dominating on the APP Tour, he's moved to the PPA and won three straight men's doubles titles. We dig in on the secrets to his success. Finally, rumor...
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Hot Girl Summer w/ Travis Rettenmaier

March 11, 2025 • 82 mins
The first paddle challenge of 2025 revealed some major flaws in the system. Travis Rettenmaier challenged three paddles at PPA Mesa and despite winning the challenge, received no retribution. JOOLA Chief Experience Officer Gordon Kaye weighs in on the situation and explains how the world of professional table tennis handles paddle testing differently. Finally Erik Tice drops in to cover the MLP Draft winners and losers. Plus Zane...
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Controversial Calls, Targeting Rule Suspension, and Disrespect w/ World's No.1 Federico Staksrud

March 4, 2025 • 67 mins
The king is in the building. Pickleball's No. 1 ranked singles and doubles player Federico Staksrud joins the pod. We cover Fed's controversial semifinal loss to Hunter Johnson at the PPA Mesa Cup. Next we talk targeting and Fed explains how the rule was immediately suspended after the failed call on Hayden Patriquin. Finally, the guys question if Fed receives the respect he deserves considering his No.1 ranking or he is stuck in...
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How to Judge if a Player is a Cheater

February 21, 2025 • 161 mins
It's a full house on the PicklePod this week as we hear from four special guests. First up is Erik Tice who breaks down the Max Freeman contract situation and the surprising results of the MLP keep/drop exchange. Then Zane goes off on how he judges if a player is a bad line caller or flat-out cheater. Next up, John Kew gives us the update on the Ronbus Ripple listing and subsequent de-listing that had paddle fans scratching their...
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"Can you stop body bagging Australians?" | Zane shocked by the state of pickleball in Australia

February 11, 2025 • 62 mins
Zane went down under to compete in the first-ever PPA Australia Open. While on-site he sat down with PPA Tour CEO Connor Pardoe, and Australian pickleballers Joey Wild, Roos Van Reek, and Brendan Lee. Listen to the leaders of the Australian pickleball movement explain how the game is rapidly growing in the country. Joey Wild explains how the tennis Australian Open has embraced pickleball despite most tennis tournaments resisting...
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Zane holds nothing back. Debating new pickleball policies with UPA exec.

February 3, 2025 • 68 mins
Samin Odhwani is the newly appointed Chief Strategy Officer at the United Pickleball Association. Heading into his first year in the role Samin and the team at UPA gave Major League Pickleball a major overhaul. Zane and Thomas run through the changes that include a switch from rally to side-out scoring, an addition of 2 players to each premier level roster, and exclusive contracts that require planned be signed to UPA in order to ...
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The Paddle Problem That isn't Going Away w/ John Kew

January 24, 2025 • 65 mins
John Kew is at the forefront of pickleball paddle technology. He is setting up a top-in-class testing facility in his basement in Colorado including a PBCoR testing setup. Zane and John cover the ongoing power struggle between paddle companies and UPA-A's emergence as a governing body in the sport. Zane weighs in on the Quang Duong paddle situation from the PPA Masters. John gives his top paddle recommendations for amateur player...
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Collin Johns addresses split with Ben, why they called it quits despite being #1 pickleball duo

January 17, 2025 • 71 mins
Fresh off a gold medal at the PPA Masters, Collin Johns joins the PicklePod. He shares the details behind the Johns Brothers' breakup and why Gabe Tardio was the right partner choice to strengthen the team and eliminate the competition. Zane and Collin debate a violation of the unwritten rules of pro pickleball that led to a shocking bodybag attempt on Quang Duong. Quang also made headlines for a mid-match paddle switch and droppi...
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The Johns Bros' Fallout and Nike Dink Awards Predictions w/ Jim Kloss

January 9, 2025 • 68 mins
Jim Kloss is known for hot takes in the world of pickleball. He provides his 25 predictions for 2025 and his analysis on the Johns Bros split. Later in the episode, Zane and Jim cast their votes for the Nike Dink Awards. Vote along with Zane and Jim at https://dinkawards.com/. All voters are automatically entered into a giveaway to win one of 10 Project 007 paddles from Selkirk along with a full performance outfit. Watch the bigg...
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From 48-seed to CHAMPION in one year

December 19, 2024 • 74 mins
No one was hotter than hotter than Hunter Johnson at the end of the 2024 season. He won three PPA titles in the second half of the year including a win at the PPA Finals. Hear Hunter explained the mindset change that helped him reach the top and his take on the state of paddles and where he hopes to land as one of the few top players without a paddle sponsor. Meet Mitopure® the only clinically validated, highly pure Urolithin A s...
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The Tour Wars Go International w/ Armaan Bhatia

December 10, 2024 • 69 mins
If you ask Chat GPT who the number 1 player in India is, it will tell you the triple crown champion Armaan Bhatia. He is leading the pickleball revolution in India and will influence how the game develops as factions compete in the newest version of tour wars. Meet Mitopure® the only clinically validated, highly pure Urolithin A supplement. Use code DINK at checkout for 10% off your order. https://www.timeline.com/dink Use code D...
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WORLDS GAUNTLET Pt. 2 w/ Pardoe, Rettenmaier, Blatt, and Goldin

December 2, 2024 • 73 mins
The podcast Gaunlet at the World Championships in Dallas gave us more guests than we could squeeze into one episode. Part two is out now and features: - Connor Pardoe sharing battle stories from inside of the Tour Wars - Grayson Godin and Hanna Blatt talk about breaking through in pro pickleball in 2024 and playing mixed doubles with a significant other - Travis Rettenmaier explaining his journey to becoming MLP’s Jackie Moon and ...
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He Had a 1% Chance of Winning w/ Michael Loyd

November 21, 2024 • 76 mins
Michael Loyd took out some of the biggest names in the game on the World Championship stage. The 21-seed topped Ben Johns, JW Johnson, and Quang Duong in three consecutive days. Based on DUPR, he had a 1% chance to escape the round of 16. We talked about how he devised a winning strategy and how an attitude change has let him be himself on the court. Meet Mitopure® the only clinically validated, highly pure Urolithin A supplement...
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WORLDS GAUNTLET Pt. 1 w/ KOTC, Dow, Manasse, and Blackwood

November 15, 2024 • 62 mins
It was a reunion at the UPA World Championships. Zane and Thomas caught up with some of the biggest personalities in the game including ‘Coach to the Stars’ Matt Manasse, Kamryn Blackwood, Tyler Loong, Jimmy Miller, and Greg Dow. Together they cover how paddles are providing an unfair boost to some players, a review of the MLP season, and predict what the future of the game is going to look like. If you’re ready to elevate your g...
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98% of Matches Won Have THIS in Common w/ Dave Fleming

November 4, 2024 • 91 mins
Dave Fleming has been dubbed 'The Voice of Pickleball' and we put that name to the test by trying out some new catchphrases. We dissect new stats that reveal what you should be choosing at the coin toss and why getting out to an early lead is more important than ever. Meet Mitopure® the only clinically validated, highly pure Urolithin A supplement. Use code DINK at checkout for 10% off your order. https://www.timeline.com/dink Wa...
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Competition Breeds Excellence w/ Christian Alshon

October 23, 2024 • 68 mins
Christian Alshon is the special guest on a new PicklePod. We dive into Alshon's Twitter battle with James Blake, Nick Kyrgios, and the rest of the tennis world. Alshon shares why tensions have been high between him and the Johns bros at recent PPA events. He also explains his plans for creating content while competing at the highest level. Want to own a piece of the pickleball growth? The Pickleball Club is now accepting investo...
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