PLAYER PROFILES
GOLD RUSH
Pickleball phenomenon Dave Weinbach
continues championship surge.
BY JEN BROSAK
F
or national champion Dave Weinbach,
pickleball has become a family affair.
Weinbach’s introduction to the sport
came while he was visiting his parents
who had moved to Surprise, Arizona,
from their native Wisconsin. While
playing tennis with his dad, he witnessed
a gathering of people on the nearby
courts. Curious, he asked what sport
the group was playing. After a quick
introduction, one of the players asked
Weinbach if he wanted to give pickleball
a try.
After just a few minutes on the court,
he was hooked.
“Not only is it terrific exercise, but it’s
also extremely fun. It’s a great way to
meet new people and make new friends,”
says Weinbach, 46, who lives in Madison,
Wisconsin. “It’s very addictive.”
Soon, Weinbach’s entire family was
playing the sport, including his wife Dina
and his three boys: Jake, 16, Ryan, 15,
and Sam, 11. As a testament to their
family’s love for the sport, the Weinbachs
built their very own pickleball court on
the side of their house last summer.
“The boys enjoy playing against each
other and with their friends,” says
Weinbach, who is the CEO of his own
firm, Weinbach Investment Management,
LLC. “Now we can play whenever we
want.”
It’s safe to say that Weinbach’s selfdescribed obsession with the sport has
paid off. He’s quickly become a fierce
competitor on the national pickleball
36
circuit, racking up an impressive
collection of gold medals.
In 2014, at his first tournament in
Rockfield, Illinois, he took home the gold
in both Men’s Doubles and Men’s Singles.
He then moved on to the 2014 USAPA
Nationals in Arizona, where he won
gold in Men’s Singles 35+. In the Grand
Canyon State Games in February 2015,
he won gold in both the Open Men’s
Doubles and Ages Doubles with partner
Justin Rodgers.
In June, at the SoCal Classic in
Oceanside, California, he won gold in
Open Men’s Doubles alongside partner
Kyle Yates and also took gold with
Jennifer Lucore in Mixed Doubles.
He then went on to win gold in Men’s
Doubles with partner Bill Ritchie at
the Regional Midwest tournament in
Kalamazoo, Michigan. In August, at
the USAPA Regionals in Fort Wayne,
Weinbach earned two gold medals: one
with Yates in Men’s Doubles, and another
with partner Stephanie
Lane in Mixed Doubles.
At the Fall Brawl in St.
George, Utah, in October,
he earned silver in Men’s
Doubles with partner
Brian Ashworth and
then claimed another
national title with gold
in Men’s Doubles 35+ at
the USAPA Nationals in
November.
At the Grand Canyon
State Games this past February,
Weinbach earned yet another gold medal
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in the Men’s Doubles 19+ division with
partner Scott Moore, who is 53.
“Our combined ages were almost
100, and we won the gold over two
great young players, Kyle Yates and Wes
Gabrielson, who are good friends of
mine,” says Weinbach.
Weinbach, who also enjoys platform
tennis, golf, basketball and fishing, says
that part of the beauty of the game is that
it takes him to locations that he never
would have explored otherwise. It’s also
allowed him to form solid friendships
with players from all over the U.S.
“Even though we compete against each
other on the court, we all become friends
off the court,” he adds.
One of his goals is to help grow the
game both locally and nationwide, and
says that younger people shouldn’t be
discouraged by the misconception that
pickleball is a sport just for seniors.
Weinbach also helped form, along
with Seymour Rifkind, the International
Pickleball Teaching
Professional Association
(IPTPA), whose purpose
is to certify and elevate
the standard of the
pickleball teaching
profession.
“It’s the fastest
growing sport in the
country, and the reason
is that anyone can play
— it doesn’t matter if
you’re 5 or 100,” he says.
“It’s an exciting form of exercise and a
great way to meet new people in your
community and form new friendships. •