PLAYER PROFILE
Their introduction to pickleball didn ’ t come until sometime after , when Jodi ’ s parents moved to The Villages in Florida and had taken up the sport . They introduced Robert and Jodi to pickleball and they fell in love again . In a decision that was partly about being closer to family , partly about living in a better climate , partly about retiring early , and partly about their growing love of the game , the Elliotts moved to Florida as well , and fate started guiding their paths once again .
“ We had no idea that Robert would design a pickleball paddle ,” said Jodi . “ We were down here for about two and a half years before it happened . I was dinking with Robert , and with his engineering background , he started designing a paddle for me that was better than anything I had been using .” Robert soon found himself in the position that every innovator has been in when they create something unique and useful : confronted with demand from everyone for his product .
“ I was only going to make a paddle for Jodi , but people tried it and they liked it . Soon after , I made myself a paddle that suited my playing style and other people wanted that one ,” Robert said . “ All of a sudden , we have these orders and the craziness that comes with that . As we went along , two orders became three . Five months into the business , we had a single order for 500 paddles . From there we continued to grow quickly .”
Joshua , who earned himself gold medals at Nationals for Junior Men ’ s Doubles , Mixed Doubles and Singles in 2014 , 2015 and 2016 , began researching the paddle resale market in earnest . He realized that instead of the resale market he dreamed of , he would be focusing his time on sales and distribution of new paddles his dad was crafting , which was a better dream .
Rachel , who was also a Junior Champion at Nationals and managed a silver medal in the Women ’ s 19 + at the age of 14 , became an instant product tester and sounding board for ideas . Once again the family came together — this time to come up with paddle names . “ As a family , we sat around the table and talked about names for paddles ; it was totally all done as a family unit ,” Rachel said .
The name for the company itself came to Joshua long before the first paddle was ever even thought of being designed , and the family loved it : Engage .
While demand continued to rise , supply barely kept up until Robert reached the point where he finally left his job to focus 100 % on Engage . A short time into the business he invested in CNC machines — automated , computerdriven production units that helped him keep up with the orders coming in . As the company grew , the family continued to hire employees and now have two
Rachel Elliott wins the Girls National Championships as her father , Rob Elliott , looks on . locations in Florida where they do it all … no outsourcing — a completely different world than what Robert was doing in the beginning , in his garage with hand tools and spare time almost two years ago .
Today , Robert spends a lot of time working on Engage ’ s product lines , tweaking skins and cores and bringing those new prototypes on the court to test with his favorite test team , the family , which is the best reward the Elliotts could ask for .
“ The company and pickleball in general have kept us together as a unit ,” Jodi said . “ We bought an RV and we teach clinics together . It ’ s kept us so tight . Every night is family night . I love it , and I feel lucky that Joshua and Rachel want to be a part of it .” It is no wonder why they have been nicknamed “ The First Family of Pickleball .” •
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 | MAGAZINE 47