Mike Gilchrist, aka "Gil", is the regional admin for the Metro East (St. Louis), Illinois region, which now has over 520 users and 27 court locations. This region covers several towns on the Illinois side of St. Louis metro area, including O'Fallon, Belleville, Edwardsville, and Columbia. Mike's passion for pickleball and thoughtfulness for his fellow players comes through in his admin alerts and messages. We asked him a few questions about his experience.

How long have you been playing pickleball and where did you learn to play?

I started playing at our local indoor tennis center at the invitation of a next door neighbor in March of 2016. I was reluctant at first, thinking it was some variation of Padel/ Paddle/ Platform tennis, which I had played in Colorado and didn't like. Needless to say, having played competitive tennis, squash, and racquetball previously, I was addicted to the sport immediately.

When did you first join PlayTime Scheduler as a regional admin?
Shortly after I started playing pickleball, I volunteered to be a USAPA Ambassador for our region and created the Pickled Dinkers of Hesse Park Goggle Group.  It was our primary means of group communication, using the cumbersome, frustrating, and inefficient email trail method of arranging play dates. One our group members brought back PTS from vacation in July of 2021 and, after setting up my account, I quickly realized it was the solution to our scheduling arrangement problem. I immediately became a local administrator upon realizing that adding a court location was reserved for that position. And away we went.

How would you describe your local pickleball community?
They are a mixed bag in all respects. We have 12 to 78 year olds, skill levels from 2.0 to a traveling PPA pro, playtime from 0700 to 2000, indoor (not dedicated, unfortunately) and outdoor courts, dedicated tournament players and social addicts. You can count on one or more games being scheduled most every day.

What advice would you give to a new region considering setting up a PlayTime Scheduler?

1. Get a batch of your business cards and carry them in your wallet and pickleball bag.
2. Add PTS as a shortcut on your phone so you can demonstrate it immediately to a newbie.
3. Stress that it's a web page and not an app or software, free and you don't need a password, a scheduler not a reservation system, and lastly not only for the USA but global.  We had a visitor from the Madrid area in Spain.  After she had set up her account, she found several courts in the Madrid area that she was unaware of. An easy convert!!