I met Charlie and Maria several years ago when they were visiting my home courts in Citrus Heights, California. They were some of the first people who encouraged me to expand my vision of PlayTime Scheduler beyond just a local website. Eventually, when the site launched internationally, Charlie became one of our first regional admins for his home base of Denver, Colorado. I asked him a few questions about his experience.

How long have you been playing pickleball and where did you learn to play?
We started playing in the spring of 2015. We signed up for an introductory series at a local tennis club and immediately fell for the game hook, line and sinker. Since then in our travels, we have always carried (or flown with) paddle and balls. We have now played in over 75 different venues in the US and Canada. AND at one time held memberships in clubs in MN, NE, CO and CA. Can you spell ADDICTED!!!

When did you first join PlayTime Scheduler?
We came across Playtime Scheduler (PTS) at Rusch Park in Citrus Heights, CA. We had the good fortune of meeting and getting to know the originator. That led to us introducing it to our Denver community about five years ago. Since then original Denver Front range has divided into three separate regions. 

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

For me personally, I have enjoyed the satisfaction of watching the sport grow. 2 years ago we had a little over 500 participants on the Denver Front Region. Today in spite of two regions splitting off, we now have three times that number signed up.

What’s the biggest challenge?
The ongoing challenge has been to verify suggestions of new locations. Some parks have more than one name or access point. Google maps and Google Earth have been a great asset in discerning and verifying the information … or writing to the person suggesting the location while asking for more info or a clarification.

What advice would you give to a new region considering setting up PlayTime?
Hang in there. Word of mouth is the name of the game with the PTS. Encouraging folks to sing up and THEN TO USE it will help its growth.