Beachwood Native Dominates National Pickleball League: Pickleball tournaments are happening all around the nation, including the National Pickleball League event in Ohio, where former Beachwood resident Pam Lippy participated. Since her draft by the National Pickleball League’s Boca Raton Picklers in April, former Beachwood resident Pam Lippy has been on the move, living out of her comfort zone to compete in NPL events. However, the weekend of June 21 to June 23 brought a welcome change. Lippy’s trip to her latest NPL event was short, with all 12 teams meeting at Paddle Taps in Worthington, near her home in New Albany, Central Ohio, for competitive match play.
“Not to have to travel and being able to sleep in your own bed, and just knowing the landscape, it feels really good,It’s a big advantage, for sure.”-(lippy)
In the end, she went undefeated in women’s doubles, winning against Columbus, Indianapolis, and Oklahoma. Additionally, her Boca Raton Picklers team won three of four matches.
New Facilities and Local Success
“We had competition in May in Chicago and our team did very well after meeting for the first time, Now everybody was landing in my hometown.” lippy said. The tournament in Worthington was a showcase for one of the newest pickleball facilities in the country, Paddle Taps, which opened on May 9.
“Things have gone even better than expected, I don’t know of another pickleball facility in the country that has commitments from more of the local and national pro tours and tournaments than we have. We’ve built a tournament-ready facility and we’ve already got 2,000 members. The pickleball world is a very diverse community and everybody gets along.”- (Bill Taylor)
Paddle Taps is also the home court of one of the newest NPL teams, the Columbus Hotshots. “We’re excited that we were able to showcase Columbus to the National Pickleball League.” Hotshots owner Jeff McKnight, who plays pickleball professionally, told the CJN. “This gives the Columbus fans and pickleball players the opportunity to see some of the top pickleball players in the world. Conversely, the NPL will see what great fans and pickleball supporters Columbus has.”
Personal and Professional Adjustments
As for Lippy, a Columbus JCC Hall of Fame inductee for her accomplishments in tennis and pickleball, her NPL experience in 2024 has been a bit of an adjustment, yet one she has go along well.
“It’s a first-time experience and I had no idea what to expect right away, I knew I qualified for the draft, but there are a lot of things that go into it besides your ability to play. When you go into a competition like this for your very first time, you meet people that you are immediately going to play with and be a teammate with for the first time.”-lippy
Lippy also highlighted the role of their coach, who doubles as their general manager, in preparing the team. “He has been very good in preparing us on paper with strategies – like who’s going to play on what side and where we’re going to hit the ball and how we’re going to assess our opponents,” she explained.
The Road Ahead and Upcoming Events
While excited to play at home, Lippy is no stranger to events on the road. She and her husband, David, split their time between New Albany and Boynton Beach, Fla. Competing at home, however, had significant upsides.
“What is nice is that I was housing some of the members of our team, which is fun,It also took the burden off some of our players since we all pay for our own expenses.”-lippy
Looking ahead, Lippy’s next NPL event is just a car ride away in the Cincinnati area from July 19 to July 21, at the Pickle Lodge in Westchester. “It’s just a car ride away, and I’m really happy about that,It has made this part of the season really doable.” lippy mentioned.
