By Adam Forziati for The Kitchen, January 2025

In 2016, Reine Steel realized she had a pickleball problem. Not a pickleball addiction problem—she was happily embracing the sport like thousands of others. Her issue was finding games that fit her schedule without facing a logistical nightmare.

Like so many fellow pickleball players, Reine found herself caught in cumbersome email chains and incessant group texts that seemed to buzz at the worst possible moments.

As a web developer with decades of experience in process improvement, she knew there had to be a better way. So, she created one.

What started as a simple website for her local pickleball community in Sacramento has since exploded into PlayTime Scheduler, a global platform that connects over 381,000 players in 57 countries to games at over 13,000 venues.

To date, over 1.6 million play sessions have been created by its users. With the recent release of their mobile app, PlayTime Scheduler is poised for their biggest year yet.

It’s the story of a grassroots innovation that reshaped how players interact, meet, and, most importantly, play the fastest-growing sport in the U.S.

Today, PlayTime Scheduler is the undisputed hub of local pickleball action, offering free, user-friendly access for players of all levels to find matches and organize play sessions without the hassle of endless emails or texts.

But how did this simple tool become a global go-to? The answer lies in a combination of Reine’s passion for pickleball and the platform’s dedication to community-driven growth.

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