40+ strangers became friends this weekend

Hey 👋,

Last weekend, I cried for the first time in a long time.

Not out of frustration or pain, but out of pure gratitude.

It hit me as I stood up to speak at dinner during our first-ever ThatPickleballSchool Annual Retreat in Phoenix, looking out at a room filled with 40 of the most thoughtful, passionate, all-in pickleballers you could imagine.

These people really flew in just to hang with our team and spend a weekend doing pickleball-related activities?! Is this real life??

Turns out, it was — and it kinda blew my mind.

We ran a clinic.

We hosted breakout sessions where we dove deep into the nuances of pickleball strategy.

We had real conversations about confidence, mindset, and how to show up better — on and off the court.

Then, on Sunday morning, we wrapped it all up with a full-on tournament.

Huge shoutout to my guy Marcus Synegal for keeping everything running smoothly (and for all his behind-the-scenes magic throughout the weekend).

And the coolest part? This was just the beginning.

What we’re building with ThatPickleballSchool isn’t just a place to learn strategy and technique (though I think we do a pretty solid job of that). It’s a space where people who love this game can connect, grow, and go on a journey together.

A place where becoming a better player overlaps with becoming a more confident, more joyful human.

That’s the vision.

I plan to play professionally for as long as I can. And I’m committed to pushing the boundaries of what pickleball education can be, both here and around the world.

So if you’ve supported me or our team in any way. . .

If you’ve come to a clinic, sent a message, watched a video, or even just opened an email like this one. . .

Thank you.

Truly.

I’m fired up for what’s next.

-Kyle

P.S. If you wanna see what all the hype is about inside ThatPickleballSchool and do cool things like meet people from all over the world who love pickleball as much as you do, start a 7-day free trial!