On June 24th, 2023, the first ever TPL took place. It featured 4 teams comprised of 16 of the area's best pickleballers, battling to be crowed the first ever TPL Champions. Immediately upon the conclusion of season 1's event, the elite pickleballers of Minnesota were clamoring for more. Ideas to improve and grow the league were set into motion, new players came knocking at the door (or did we have to beg them to join?), and Season 2 was ready to begin.
The TPL, always looking to push the limits of what's possible, immediately took the leftover momentum from Season 1 and expanded the league from four teams to six for Season 2. The new season also brought new captains, as we saw our first female led teams this season. On August 14th, six highly regarded pickleball leaders met up at the Ultimate Sports bar to choose their teams. Emily, Jen, Nicole, Darrin, Jason (a last minute fill in for Mitch), and myself. Each of us filled with enthusiasm, hope, and confidence that we could craft that special team to be named Season 2 champions.
The magic was really what occurred between draft day and September 23rd (the big day). Many practice sessions were had, team names were born, banners were made (thanks Nicole!), and jerseys were designed. We also saw our first substitute player needed. With 11 days to go, I got a phone call from teammate Beth Trout, saying she was called down to Florida to help with a Red Cross mission. I was on my boat fishing at the time, and all in a matter of a few hours while slaying northern pike I was able to discuss options with our squad, get approval from other captains, and confirm our new team member. Emily Schadow was up to the task of filling the shoes of Season 1 champion Beth. She quickly made herself at home amongst our squad, helping craft our team name, and never missing a practice session. Thank you Emily for filling in on such short notice and becoming an integral part of The Kinda Big Dills.
September 23rd, TPL Season 2
After months of hype, it was finally time for the big day. 24 highly talented and highly motivated pickleballers gathered at our favorite indoor venue, Sta Fit, to battle for the opportunity to forever be engraved a TPL Champion. And boy oh boy, did the competition ever live up to the hype! Dare I say it even exceeded it!
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| Acting important by fake reading something off my clipboard |
Round 1
The competition started off even hotter than the teams looked in their well coordinated uniforms, as round one saw multiple intense battles. Team Dink'Em, dressed in all black, came out hot against the 4 P's in a Pickle, hopping out to a 2-0 lead after the gendered doubles games. But team Portz's + Prince came roaring back with a commanding mixed doubles win, before falling in the final mixed game 22-20. The Idalski led Dink'Em also featured two new TPL participants. Kyle "Net Cord" Jordre, and the winner for longest commute after flying across the country to join us, Dany Brunsch. The 4P's were also the first time a team featured 3 (3!!) family members on the same team, as Darrin just couldn't stop drafting Portz's to his squad. It was wonderful to see the family squad go to battle, and to welcome Lexi to her first TPL event. It is my sincere hope that she chooses to return for more TLP action.
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| 4 P's in a Pickle |
On a neighboring court, The Swifty Cats, dressed in a few shades of blue and led by team captain Jason Krueger, won their opening match against team Drop'Em, led by captain Jen Markling and dressed in Red, White, and Blue. It was 1-1 after gendered doubles with Jenny/Max taking the win over Jen/Karen, before the Krueger led squad was able to secure both mixed games to come out victorious.
Amongst these two teams we welcomed 5 new competitors to the TPL! Jenny J, Max, John, Karen, and Manny all made their debuts, and shall never leave us again!
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| The Swifty Cats themselves |
Round 1 also featured what would turn out to be the eventual championship game preview. The Pink Flamingos, looking flashy in their pink shirts that Scott spent hours finding at the local Walmart, took on The Kinda Big Dills. And even more impressive than both team's jerseys was the play on the court. It was 1-1 after genered doubles, with the Flamingo's women and the Dills dudes coming out victorious. In mixed, Christopher Mavetz and Lake Johnson beat Adam Couzens and Emily Schadow, leaving it up to team Spaniol to try to force Season 2's first dreambreaker. In an intense back and forth battle, Alissa and Tom were able to sneak out the victory over Scott Thome and Emily Gerads, 22-20. The Dills got the choice in the Dreambreaker, and sent the women out first to race to 11. The women's portion did not disappoint, as they left the court with The Flamingos up 11-10 at the switch. After a hard fought second half battle by the men, the Kinda Big Dills came out on top 21-18 to secure the round 1 match win.
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| The Dills in their dill shirts |
Round 2
Round 2 featured three different 3-1 match victories.
-The Kinda Big Dills took the match over 4P's in a Pickle.
-The Pink Flamingos beat Drop'Em, with the lone win in that match for Drop'Em being a 26-24 victory from the boys in red white and blue, Manny and John. The highest scoring game of the day!
-Team Dink'Em continued their hot start as they were "Back in Black," winning both gendered games for the second match in a row before splitting the mixed, and earning the victory over the Swifty Cats.
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| Team Dink'Em featured the only squad to have siblings |
The final round of pool play was another intense round of pickleball by everyone involved. The Flamingos found their stride and earned the first 4-0 sweep of the day over Dink'Em, but only doing so with narrow 2 point victories in both mens and women's doubles.
The Kinda Big Dills were looking to finish pool play undefeated and came up against a firey Drop'Em squad looking to avoid going 0-3. Both gendered doubles were close, with the Dills earning a 3 point victory in womens, and a tight 2 point victory in mens over John and Manny, handing them their only mens double's loss of the day! After splitting mixed, the Dills secured the match win and wrapped up the number 1 seed heading into the playoffs.
In the best match of round 3, we all got to witness the day's second dreambreaker between the Swifty Cats and the 4P's. After a hot opening start with the 4P's winning both gendered doubles, the Swifty Cats came purring back with mixed wins of 21-10 and 21-15, setting up what would be a great dreambreaker. The women went first, and the mother/daughter duo of Kris and Lexi started the 4P's off hot and gave their squad a lead heading into the mens half. Father Jay and adopted member of the family Darrin never looked back and held on for a 21-17 victory.
The win ended up bring crucial for seeding purposes, as math was needed to determine the seeds for the first time in TPL history. Final pool play standings were as follows:
#1 Kinda Big Dills, 3-0
#2 Pink Flamingos, 2-1
#3 Dink'Em, 2-1
#4 Swifty Cats, 1-2
#5 4P's, 1-2
#6 Drop'Em, 0-3
It all game down to "games net" to determine seeds 2/3 and 4/5, with the Pink Flamingos having the edge here +6 to Dink'Em +0, and the Swifty Cats (-1) over 4P's (-3).
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| Dink'Em strategizing before a match |
Quarterfinals
The first quarterfinal match featured a rematch of round 3 between the Swifty Cats and the 4P's. And just like round 3, they found themselves in yet another dreambreaker! They arrived there in a different fashion this time, splitting the gendered doubles, and splitting the mixed. The "win or go home" dreambreaker did not disappoint, as it went extra innings, before seeing the Swifty Cats men Jason and Matt finish it off 22-20. The Portz's then indeed did go home, but not out of frustration, they left to setup what would become the greatest championship/afterparty event the TPL has ever seen. More on that later.
The second quarterfinal game featured the mighty 3 seed Dink'Em against the winless Drop'Em. But they must have just been punking us all during pool play, as the 6 seed came out hot and got a clean sweep to earn their first match win, and a spot in the semifials. Both gendered doubles games were incredibly close, 22-20 and 21-19, before the team dressed for America came out on top 21-14 in the first mixed game to seal the victory.
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| The team of TPL newcomers found their stride right on time |
The TPL was once again blessed by the pickleball Gods with two tremendous semifinal matchups. In the first match the #1 seeded Dills took on the Spicy Cats, who were feeling "rich" coming off their recent dreambreaker victory. The Dills hopped out to an early 2-0 lead after winning both gendered doubles games. Being the away team, they had to declare their mixed team first. While initially the thought was to put out team Spaniol, the Wonda from Down Unda Adam Couzens said, "I would like a shot to finish this off." And who was I to argue with a determined man on a mission? Adam and Emily took the court against team 3 J's (Jenny Johnson and Jason), and gave us what I personally determined the best game I watched all day (I may be a bit biased.)
Facing multiple game points down 20-18, with both teams "frozen" and only able to now score on their serve, the Dills just would not go away. It almost felt like we got a whole second game once the score reached this point, as it became a defense battle with neither team being able to budge. But then we saw the Australian surge just as the waves do off the coast, as he penetrated (17) the defense and the Dills came roaring back. Lefty "The Shadow" Emily was a rock over on that right side, and the Dills prevailed 23-21 in one of the finest games The TPL has ever seen, and secured them a birth in the championship game.
While that game may have been one of the finest, semifinal #2 provided one of the best matches of the day. Team Drop'Em came out of the gates on fire, as Karen and Jen handed Emily and Lake their first and only women's doubles loss on the day, 22-20. John and Manny followed that up with a two point victory of their own over Chris and Scott, as the Pink Flamingos found themselves in an 0-2 hole.
They showed no signs of panic however, and came back with two extremely tight mixed doubles wins, with Chris/Emily topping Manny/Karen, and Scott/Lake beating Jen/John to force another playoff dreambreaker! The men went first, and Chris/Scott hopped out to a commanding 11-5 lead, handing it off to Emily/Lake who were able to seal the victory and send The Flamingos to the championship match.
TPL Season 2 Championship
At the conclusion of the semifinals, I was able to utter the sweetest line of the day, "To the Portz's we go!" That's right, for the first time in TPL history, we would have our own private championship court to feature the title game. The atmosphere, the crowd, the vibe, and the game, would not disappoint.
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| The Drive to the championship |
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| Capacity crowd of pickleball enthusiasts |
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| Gorgeous championship court setting |
The women started things off with Lake and Emily giving the Flamingos a 1-0 lead in a great opening women's game, 21-18. Needing to get on the board, the male Dills kept their undefeated run going in a game where it seemed like everything was going their way as they cruised to a 21-9 victory to tie the match at one a piece.
The first mixed matchup featured Emily Gerads and Christopher Mavetz against Alissa and Tom Spaniol. If you would've been at Friday's practice sessions where these two teams played, you would've though the Flamingos had this one in the bag easily, but it turned out to be a heck of an opening mixed game. It was a back and forth game that the Flamingos held the lead for most of the contest, but in the end the Spaniol's found a way to make a run and come out on top 21-19. Again interjecting my personal opinion into this writeup, I must say that was my favorite game of the day, and I am very proud of how Alissa and I played in such a big moment in front of the near capacity crowd. What a thrill to be a Dill.
With the Dills up 2-1, the second mixed pairings took the court. Adam Couzens and Emily Schadow were going against the undefeated mixed partnership of Lake Johnson and Scott Thome, who were battling to keep their team alive and send this match to a dreambreaker. After yet another incredible back and forth game, they did just that, securing a 21-18 victory and sending these two teams to their second dreambreaker of the day!
The women kicked off the breaker and the Flamingos came out hot as they flew away to an 11-6 lead. With the men taking the court, it looked like it could be anyones game still after the Dills had a commanding win in the mens doubles game just minutes before. But the Flamingos had other plans, as they got the first three points and the Dills found themselves in a 14-6 hole. The gap stayed the same as the Flamingos inched closer to victory, finding themselves up 19-11. But the Dills had one last fight in them, as they started to make a run. Everyone in the stadium could feel the momentum starting to shift toward the Dills, and baby cucumbers everywhere started pickling. Could this be the most insane comeback The TPL has ever seen, in the biggest spot The TPL has ever seen!? It looked to be headed that way, as the Dills all of a sudden found themselves down 18-20 with the serve on their paddle.
Then, just as quickly as the run had started, it ended when Spaniol missed a 3rd into the net and Christopher Mavetz, always the strategist, spoke sweet whispers into Thome's ear telling him to switch up a pattern they were stuck in. Chris's idea, and Scott's execution, ended up being the final blow as Scott sent a beauty down the line uncontested as all I could do is sit there and wonder what sport I was playing, where I was, and what my purpose in life is. The ball landed in by 5 feet, and The Pink Flamingos were crowned The TPL Season 2 Champions.
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| The Champs and their trophy |
Top Performing Gendered Doubles Teams:
- Emily Gerads and Lake Johnson: 4-1
- Manny Obregon and John Michaud: 4-1
- Adam Couzens and Tom Spaniol: 5-0
- Adam Couzens and Emily Schadow: 3-1
- Chris Mavetz and Emily Gerads: 3-1
- Lake Johnson and Scott Thome: 4-0
- Adam Couzens: 8-2
- Tom Spaniol: 8-1
- Lake Johnson: 9-1
- (each of those three also went 1-1 in dreambreakers)
- New Players: 11!! Max Thome, Jenny Johnson, Lexi Portz, Dany Brunsch, Kyle Jordre, Manny Obregon, John Michaud, Karen Johnson, Lake Johnson, Scott Thome, Emily Schadow. You best all be back for the next one!
- Returning Players: 13
- Returning Scorekeeper: 1. Thank you once again Kelli!!
- Players to get their name on the trophy twice: 1. Christopher Mavetz
- Draft Tidbit: The team with the #1 overall pick has won each season (although the player chosen was different each time)
- Full group photos taken: 0
- Fans: 22
- Tacos Eaten: 53
- Times "Penetration" was said by Adam- 16
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| Kelli the Scorekeeper Extraordinaire in action |
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| Competitors on the court, friends off the court |
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| Fellowship and food |
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| Karen pumped for her first TPL |
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| Kyle showing the proper 2 handed backhand followthrough |
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| Scott had no fun at all, all day |
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| The next generation of The TPL!? |
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| The Man, The Myth, The Manny |
