Claim OwnershipBlazing Paddles - A Pickleball Podcast
Subscribed: 8Played: 79
Subscribe
© 2025 Blazing Paddles - A Pickleball Podcast
Description
Join us, John and Karen, for a married couple's take on Pickleball. Avoid "Pickleball Divorce," saddle up and have a cocktail, have a laugh, and enjoy guests and influencers in this unbelievable explosion of a sport the likes of which we've never seen.
Let's talk about the impact pickleball is having on our culture. From Boomers to Zoomers, every generation is discovering a new passion. A game that wasn't on the map three years ago now has millionaires playing, billionaires jousting, and people scrambling for some piece of the pickleball pie.
Put your ears on and have a listen, you'll be glad you did.
81 Episodes
Reverse
Ever wondered how two childhood friends could turn their love for tennis into building the world's largest pickleball community? Meet Aaron Reznick and Matt Slowinsky, the force behind the "Pickleball Clinic," a thriving online community and academy that's playing a significant role in the rise of pickleball in New Jersey and beyond. Their dedication to the sport is cemented not only in their successful tennis and pickleball academies but also in their mission to serve players of all levels a...
After four seasons and 60 episodes, Elvis is leaving the building. HR Hardball has been a passion project from the time my first blog post, "First Pitch," posted on July 15, 2012 - you're currently reading post #367, so that passion burned for quite a while. It would be eight years before transitioning to a podcast format, allowing me to have interesting conversations with interesting people throughout the "people" industry, whether that was an entrepreneur, an author, a consultant, or even m...
We officially live in a day & age when "pickleball celebrity" is becoming a real thing. Who woulda thunk it? Three years ago you couldn't draw attention to a pickleball match if you set it on fire, but now???? Now in addition to the professional players and coaches, you have pickleball influencers - which now includes our new friends and current guests, Lori & Missy of the Pissed & Pickled podcast. They come to this place honestly after their friends suggested they take their bran...
One of the nice things about having interesting people on your podcast is that you find products, concepts and/or key learnings of which you may have been unaware. But sometimes it works in reverse - you stumble upon a great product or service and decide "this is too good not to share." We have had previous episodes with entrepreneurs (Ootbox and Storyy for example!) we discovered as potential consumers prior to connecting for the sake of a good podcast episode. This episode with Hannah Mitre...
In today's episode we have a conversation with Janet Livingstone, founder and CEO of Culture is Key, a consultancy devoted to leadership development, executive coaching and team effectiveness. What makes her model different is the focus on hybrid, remote, geographically and culturally diverse teams trying to build culture in a virtual environment. As many of you have experienced the "black box" of teleconferencing, it can make a difficult process more challenging when you don't have the...
Few people better represent the incredible zeitgeist that is Pickleball. Three years ago Tim was a friendly face we would occasionally run into on the (then empty) public tennis courts that had been re-lined to include pickleball dimensions. Now, he's a local pickleball czar and founder of the Southlake Paddle Club which claims over 700 members. Join us for a conversation about the origins of pickleball (a Washington State native, Tim is one of the few people I know who actually played pickle...
Meet Jim Stroud, HR Influencer, podcaster, author, "Searchologist," techie, comic...this guy is one lute away from being a full blown Renaissance Man. In this episode of HR Hardball, we hear Jim's "origin story" (SPOLER Alert, there's a woman involved) into the crazy world of HR and his array of creative innovations over this 20+ year career. Starting as an "Internet Researcher" in 1997 for MCI, Jim found an avenue for his aspiring cinematic dreams within the world of sourcing, recruiti...
Sometimes an episode names itself. Meet Carol Bowser, J.D., owner and founder of Conflict Management Strategies. Carol, after practicing Employment Law for several years, decided that lawsuits don't often create the level of resolution and satisfaction for the participants. Not only do the employer and employee often become adversarial, the legal representation for both parties are often equally at odds. Working relationships are damaged, sometime irreparably, and the process becomes less abo...
Okay Hardballers, this pushed me to the ends of my editorial bandwidth, but with the help of our eldest son Jack, I think we have put together a fun end-of-year recap episode for your enjoyment. Fresh off the news that our little pod made the top 50% of all podcasts via Buzzsprout, we wanted to offer our current listeners a quick trip down memory lane. And for you future listeners, this should give you the overall vibe of the show. Two newsworthy items this year for HR Hardball: I added a new...
How many times do you get a notification on LinkedIn only to find yet another solicitation from a consultant? Annoying at times, it's fair to wonder "does this ever work?" Yep, sometimes it does. My apologies...it's because of these lapses in judgment that we're all forever doomed to this practice. But on this day, Deven Gillen of Storyy offered a glimpse at a product that can not only build your personal brand, it can also help your internal engagement and external credibility. Get all...
It can be a bad practice to judge a book by it's cover. No, I'm not talking about the actual book "Blooming; Finding Gifts in The Shit Of Life" , I'm talking about the book's dynamic author Carrington (Carrie) Smith Tabue. Professional, polished and photogenic (and a lawyer to boot!), you might think Carrie grew up in a life of privilege. That would be a huge mistake. In her book, Carrie dispels that theory in the opening paragraph of Chapter 1. The abuse and trauma discussed in this chapter ...
Yep, there's that "P word" again...I don't think any of us believe we have seen the complete fallout from two years of social isolation, lockdowns and mandates. Oh, and a novel coronavirus. The numbers aren't encouraging, friends. It's estimated that while 1 in every 4 people struggle with a diagnosable mental illness - only half of those seek help. Whether it's part of the illness, the stigma of asking for help or a lack of resources is inconsequential. The fact is millions of American worke...
Are you a Veteran Champion? In a hiring environment where "work reluctance" has taken hold, now would be the perfect time to explore our military branches for talented individuals seeking a transition to civilian life. Meet Lt. Col. Kathy Gallowitz (Ret.), creator and driving force behind Vanguard Veteran and author of "Beyond Thank You For Your Service." Kathy's passion for championing an underutilized talent resource is palpable, and she's ready to share her wisdom with you. Reach out to ...
It's been a minute, but we're back baby! Season 4 will kick-off on November 11th with a special Veteran's Day interview with retired Lt. Colonel Kathy Gallowitz. Thank you to all our listeners who reached out during our hiatus, sometimes life requires you to pivot your focus for a bit. #Hardballin #HR #podcast Looking for a fitness app specifically designed for Pickleheads? Download the Aim7 app today. Use our url to get a 25% discount and try the app for a free trial before committing. htt...
People will ask me occasionally, who is the audience for "HR Hardball, " is it just for HR professionals? You might be surprised to know that less than ⅓ of HRH subscribers define their role as an HR function. The rest are a mix of entrepreneurs, coaches, recent graduates, and (probably) people like me who are interested in interesting people regardless of their role. Which brings us to Allison Zofan, co-founder of a truly innovative company, OOTBox (www.getootbox.com). Allison has a hell of ...
Listening to podcasts can be entertaining, educational, informational or entertaining ~ sometimes they are all of the above. Meet Amy Lynn Durham, the creative force behind "Create Magic at Work," a comprehensive assessment, workbook and coaching principle with the goal of supporting leaders to nurture healthy workplaces. For this episode, you may want to keep a pen and pad handy, because Amy is dishing out wisdom bombs throughout the hour conversation. We discuss concepts that are tactical a...
In the 100 or so episodes we've recorded here at Hardball Central, we have a handful of repeat guests - one of them is my inspiring friend Julie Winkle-Giulioni, the evangelist of employee development. Some people talk it, some people aspire to it, and then there are people like Julie who live it. Take a listen as me and the redhead converse with Jules about bad bosses, Millennials, mentorship programs, the dimensions of career development and the importance of providing your employees the op...
In the world of Human Resources, there's no shortage of available content if you're studying the importance of the candidate experience, the onboarding process, and employee engagement. Find the right people, assimilate them quickly and effectively, and constantly seek opportunities to improve or enhance the employee experience. Add to that the "Great Reshuffle" phenomenon, and you have a hiring & retention focus like few times ever before. But...when was the last time you had a strategy ...
What makes a successful entrepreneur? Can you teach this skill set or is it innate in some people that to work for anyone else is a life unexplored. But what happens when the entrepreneurial unicorn has to expand his or her endeavors to include additional people? Can you truly explain the experience to a prospective hire, and if so can you accurately determine if said prospect possesses the qualities needed for your unique role? Heenle Turner is Vice President of Content and Curation for The ...
Here's a scenario: You're 26 years old, your (large) Irish family is a known quantity in the Buffalo area where you grew up, you even work in a family-owned Irish Bar. Life is good, time to punch the clock and continue with the script. Unless you're Molly McGrath, that is. Molly, at the tender age of 26 decided to take a one-year flyer and explore the potential for a different life in Denver, CO, a place she had never previously been. You know who makes decisions like that? Future entre...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States