Pickleball Pros

Kristin Hickman, who resides in Columbia, SC, began playing pickleball in 2014 in Salt Lake City , UT. She was in the #1 position on her college tennis team for 4 years.

Kristin was the  #1 ranked Female Mixed Doubles Super Senior Pro and a Top 5 ranked Female Doubles Super Senior Pro in 2023  She has won multiple Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at Senior and Super Senior pro level, including: 

· 3 time Gold Medal winning Pickleball National Champion (Singles, Mixed Doubles)

·  2 time Silver Medal winning Pickleball National Champion Runner-up (Doubles, Mixed Doubles

Kristin is Co-captain of APP Masters Pro Team for the 2024 season.

Erica Love is an IPTPA Certified Pro and Director of Pickleball hailing out of the beautiful, sunny beaches of Florida. From the first moment the plastic ball hit her wooden paddle on the gym floors of a YMCA, she was completely hooked. Since then, Erica has become a 5.0 player, a US Open Medalist, and qualified with a Golden Ticket for the APP National Championships for 5.0 MXD. In 2018, Erica began coaching and has found tremendous joy in working with her students. She is known as a strategic coach and specializes in helping people identify their strengths and opportunities by breaking down the mechanics of their movements, giving purpose to their shots, and developing team strategies. You can find Erica at Live, Laugh, Pickleball on Facebook.

Chris Powers is a four-time Nationals Gold medal champion as well as three-time Silver medalist. She competes around the country at the Super Senior Pro level. She competes in the Mixed Doubles and Women’s Doubles categories. She has competed in over 80 tournaments including Nationals in Indian Wells, California, and the U.S. Open located in Naples, Florida. She has won over 200 medals in the four years she has competed. Chris resides in Aiken, South Carolina with her four horses, three dogs, and two pickleball courts. She conducts lessons and camps at her farm called Two Sisters Farm. She loves to teach and her students range from complete beginners to those who play competitively. Chris also runs free pickleball retreats for women diagnosed with any type of cancer through her organization, Women Beyond Cancer.

Maryhelen Atkins is an IPTPA-certified instructor and the former director of the NC IPTPA training facility. She is qualified to train and certify instructors on how to uphold the strict IPTPA standards of pickleball instruction so I don’t think you will find anyone more qualified to lead our clinics! Additionally, Maryhelen is consistently in the top 10 in the Senior Pro Doubles rankings and has recently been recruited to join in the National Pickleball League draft!  

Some recent notable wins in 2022 include GOLD at the Rocky Mountain Championships in Senior Pro WD & MXD; GOLD in Senior Pro MXD at the Atlanta Metro APP; SILVER at the Atlanta Metro APP in Senior Pro WD; SILVER at the Boca Raton APP in Senior Pro WD; SILVER at the APP Los Angeles in Senior Pro WD; SILVER at the APP Hilton Head in Senior Pro WD & MXD; and BRONZE at the Sunmed Houston APP in Senior Pro WD.

Jodie Merrill has been teaching for 4 years and assisting pickleball players who are ready to launch their skills to a higher level. She uses knowledge, creativity and drills that promote the most enjoyable ways to improve.  Her engaging personality is a bonus and she is delightful both on and off the court! With Jodie as your instructor, you will find that fun and learning go hand in hand.  

Some notable past accomplishments include GOLD in the USAPA Mid Atlantic 4.5 WD; GOLD in the 35+ WD open division at the NC Open; GOLD in 4.5 WD at the River Run Grand Prixe Indoor; SILVER in 4.5MXD at the Atlantic South Regional; and BRONZE in 4.5 WD at the US Open!

Mindy Yoder hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana but moved to The Villages, Florida in 2022. She was introduced to Pickleball in 2017 by her father. Since then, she has played in tournaments across the United States and has been on the podium more than 100 times. Mindy is a certified International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA) Level II instructor, and Level I Referee. Mindy left her job as a Nurse Practitioner to teach pickleball full time starting fall 2021. Since then, she has taught for LevelUp, Suncoast Pickleball and around the U.S. Mindy is passionate about teaching fundamentals, strategies and helping others to have fun and to be healthy through the sport of Pickleball.

 John & Leesa are a dynamic duo who are most commonly described by the adjective PASSION!  Both are Master Certified IPTPA instructors, the highest certification available.  Leesa is Director at Pickleball Charlotte where she oversees instructional programming, leagues & competitive events.  John is a lead instructor at Pickleball Charlotte and a frequent medalist in tournament play.  John and Leesa are Brand Ambassadors for Paddletek.  They often travel locally and abroad to share their passion and expertise of the great sport of pickleball!

Doug Abell’s athletic and sports teaching background is in gymnastics and he started playing Pickleball in 2016. He first met Mindy at a Pickleball camp in September, 2018. They got married on the pickleball court at that same camp in September 2023. When he is not at his full time job at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lexington, KY, Doug is a 4.5/5.0 tournament player and travels with Mindy to teach. He enjoys watching people smile and laugh while helping them reach their pickleball goals.

Coach Matty and Coach Meishen have been teaching Pickleball for nine years. Both instructors are IPTPA and PPR Certified, with Coach Matty having achieved IPTPA level two certification and a PPR Teaching Pro status. These instructors have a wealth of experience and have taught over 33,000+ students in more than 850 Clinics in 38 states.  Both instructors have a strong passion for teaching Pickleball and improving your game!

Deb is a Certified PPR/IPTPA coach with 24 years of coaching and playing experience. She is a gold medalist at prestigious tournaments, including the US Open, Nationals, State, Regionals, and Huntsman World, in both table tennis and pickleball over two decades. In 2018, she was honored as the Florida State Senior Games Athlete of the Decade and was also nominated for the Pickleball Hall of Fame. With over 200 videos available under her “PicklePongDebYouTube” channel, Deb shares her expertise with the community. As a traveling clinician, she has taught in various locations, including California, Illinois, Texas, Vermont, North Carolina, Georgia, Utah, Michigan, Delaware, Maine, all parts of Florida, and even aboard Royal Caribbean cruises. Deb’s mantra is, “It is more about the whack than the yack.”