News > 12/21/2021 > Community Hero: Chuck Black, Regional Admin
Community Hero

Community Hero: Chuck Black, Regional Admin

When Chuck first introduced PlayTime Scheduler to his group of local players in 2019, it wasn't yet well known, but he recognized the value the tool could bring to his community. We are so glad he did, because Crossville, TN, has become one of our most thriving regions with an average of 60 sessions posted a week. I asked Chuck a few questions about his experience over the years.

How long have you been playing pickleball and where did you learn to play?
I have been playing pickleball for about 6 years. I had never heard of pickleball before we made a trip to Florida in 2015. We saw pickleball being played and it looked like a lot of fun. When we went back to California we searched for a place to play and learned to play in Oceanside at Melba Bishop Park.

When did you first join PlayTime Scheduler as a regional admin?
I became a PlayTime Scheduler admin in July of 2019. A new resident to our community said they had used PlayTime Scheduler where he had moved from and suggested we try it. So, after looking at it for a while, I introduced it to our pickleball community in July of 2019. Using the cards provided by PlayTime Scheduler the registrations took off almost immediately and we have used PlayTime Scheduler virtually 100% of the time since then.

What do you think is the most rewarding part of being a regional admin?

I think the most rewarding part of being an admin is seeing the huge growth in the number of players and the increased opportunity for competitive play between players of similar ratings. In 2.5 years we have grown to over 650 people registered in our region that live within a 50 mile radius and over 200 others who have played here while on vacation.  

What’s the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge for us is to get the word out to visiting players that we use PlayTime Scheduler almost exclusively for scheduling sessions of pickleball. Many people are not familiar with PlayTime Scheduler, so it takes some time to get them plugged into the system. We live in a resort community called Fairfield Glade in Crossville, Tennessee and we get a lot of people visiting the area.  

What advice would you give to a new region considering setting up PlayTime Scheduler?
I would say what are you waiting for? Adding Playtime Scheduler has been a huge boost for our pickleball community and our players and team leaders love it. It is so easy to use and eliminates most of those annoying strings of group texts and multiple emails trying to set up a game.

I think this Facebook post from John Mark Stroud who discovered pickleball in our area this year sums it up perfectly. John Mark was a full time RV’er and has played pickleball in many communities. Here is what he said:

"This area has the largest and most active number of players of any place I have visited. The players here span a wide range of skill levels and ages. In most of the areas where I have played there is an almost constant conflict between the social and competitive players. Often the 'open play' times elsewhere end up with many players unhappy, feeling unwelcome, frustrated or disenfranchised.

Because of the almost exclusive use of PlayTime Scheduler (PTS) by the local community, this type of conflict is almost non-existent here. PTS allows for such easy scheduling and communication by skill level that it makes finding play easy and simple. I have never experienced another community that uses PTS or any other app with the same success as it is used here. This makes for much better play opportunities by skill and preference level. I hope many other PB communities adopt PTS and discover its benefits." – John Mark Stroud