The teacher, the captain, the Maverick: Meet one of Melbourne’s pickleball pioneers

“Growing up I played six different sports. By 14, mum and dad were like, ‘it’s too much, you’ve got to pick one.'”

“I always thought tennis was going to be my thing. Thought I’d be playing Saturday afternoon tennis for the rest of my life.”

“I was doing tennis coaching during university with a guy called Mat Monty who had a friend named Bill Beckwith. He’s an American, probably in his 70s, and taught a lot of the pros in the US. He was at the tennis club in Melbourne one day and said ‘there’s this sport called pickleball in the US that I’ve been playing. You guys should give it a go.’

“He showed us how to play, and I fell in love with it immediately.”

That love quickly turned into action. At the start of 2018, Mat and Aaron started the very first venue in Victoria (and one of the first in Australia).

“We held the first Victorian Open in 2018 with 80 players. Eventually, we ran what I think was the first tournament with prize money in Australia.”

“That was the second Victorian Open held in January 2020, just before COVID. We got two sponsors and had a thousand dollars in prize money. We had a lot of bushfires in Melbourne at the time — the smoke was going all the way to New Zealand. It was pretty scary at the time, but we made it happen.”

“Of the 200 venues in Victoria now, I reckon 50 or 60 of them, at the very beginning, I had a hand in somewhere.”

As the founding Secretary of Pickleball Victoria in 2020 and now as a board member in his fifth year of service, he’s helped create the infrastructure that supports this growth.

“I created a map on the website showing where to play, started the Facebook group that now has 7,000 members — just trying to make it easier for people to find and fall in love with the sport like I did.”

“Five of the biggest clubs in Victoria right now have over 200, 300 members each. I was there day one, started them, taped the court, put the net up, showed them how to play and just let them go off.”

The journey started small at Pearcedale with the first club called South East Melbourne Pickleball.

“We started with one net and four paddles. All my friends thought it was an absolute joke. Within months, we had 8-12 people come, and we thought, ‘wow, we better tape up another court.’ We ended up having more people come to play pickleball at this tennis club than tennis in six months.”

I think people forget that some of us have been around for a long time and we’re not just players. I’ve helped develop the sport in Victoria and I’m super proud of that.”

What makes Melbourne’s pickleball scene unique, Aaron believes, is its inclusive nature.

“We’re all one big happy family. We all want to hit together, we all want to get better. That’s been my philosophy since day one.”

“In 2019, I won the national championships. I beat Mitch Hargreaves, Josh Elliott. You had Deb Rossi playing back then, Sueme Rajpal, Nick Cooper — there’s a lot of other big names you find in pickleball back then that aren’t around now.”

The sport was fundamentally different in those early days. “We were playing with wooden paddles or paddles with no grit. Maybe honeycomb was just coming into the sport. That’s when you could just dink all day, which was my whole game style. I came back to Melbourne basically the number one Australian — I’m still claiming that today,” he adds with a laugh.

His success continued through 2022: “I went to Queensland — that was the big one, like you had to win there if you wanted people to know you were the best player in Australia. I lost to Mitch in the semi-finals in singles, but I won the open men’s doubles with Alex Ung and the aged with Brendan Lee… who’s now the CEO of Pickleball Australia.”

Aaron went on to be named the #1 male for Team Victoria in the Battle of the Border (NSW v VIC competition which unfortunately is no longer run).

“We played Sueme [Rajpal] and David Richardson in the final. They were like the dominant pair. You also had Mike Newell, Brendan Lee, Martin Clark, Taylor Smith, Wes Vine playing. They were all legit guys back then. This was only two-three years ago.”

“When I first came to pickleball, I found it a lot easier. Nowadays you have to train every day. I wish I was 21 again right now. Some of these guys don’t know how good they have it. With the best paddles, the best balls, all the time in the world, getting paid by paddle sponsors and leagues. But it was super exciting at the start and I never thought it would grow into what it has.”

“I always write on Instagram that I have to pinch myself. I never thought we’d be here.”

After a brief stint as an accountant and getting his Masters of Teaching, Aaron found his calling in teaching economics, accounting and business management. Now in his third year, he’s created a unique bridge between his professional pickleball career and his classroom.

“The kids get around the pickleball. Sometimes my lesson extras that I leave is actually just pickleball, and then they’ll write in the comments ‘Go Mr. Blitz!’ If we’ve had a good Melbourne Mavericks event, I’ll put on the stream for my pastoral in the morning.”

The students have even turned their teacher’s professional career into a fundraising opportunity. “We have a day called Mission Action Day where they all bring money for charity. Part of it now is that they all have to verse me. I’ll get these 18-year-olds that are playing for Victoria in AFL, and they’ll be like, ‘sir, we can beat you.’ And I just chop them, but they love it though.”

The reality of being a professional player while maintaining a full-time career brings unique challenges.

“Having a mortgage, trying to plan a wedding — it’s different from some of the younger players who can train full time. You can’t just live at home still, expect to just do a little bit of coaching, and then have enough money to travel the world and play pickleball at my age.”

“I think people forget that some of us have been around for a long time and we’re not just players. I’ve helped develop the sport in Victoria and I’m super proud of that. I’m still on the Board [of Pickleball Victoria], I still do the sponsorships and help with the tournaments.”

“A lot of people focus all their energy on playing, but I try to be off court doing extra volunteer work in addition to working full time and trying to train and play. Ellie’s not too impressed with that half the time.”

“There’s obviously a lot of pressure being a captain because you’re expected to be one of the best players in the league. And I’m just not quite that anymore — but I’m trying to be.”

 “It was pretty crazy when it first started. I did my shoulder in March 2023, and then a month after I had my surgery, Adam Thompson called me. He’s like, ‘we’ve got this PPL league and we want you to be the Melbourne Mavericks captain.'”

The league has evolved significantly since then. “It wasn’t actually called MLP Australia until like a week before the first event, it was just the Pacific Pickleball League (PPL). Then they cross-branded with Major League Pickleball before PPA even existed. Our first four months at the back end of 2023 was the PPL.”

Despite being sidelined for the first events due to his shoulder surgery, Aaron’s return to play in Melbourne was memorable. “Playing professional pickleball for my hometown was super special. It was probably still one of the biggest crowds we’ve had. That whole grandstand, everyone knew I was coming back. I had my family and friends there.”

“There’s obviously a lot of pressure being a captain because you’re expected to be one of the best players in the league. And I’m just not quite that anymore — but I’m trying to be.”

“It’s not a question of not trying on these weekends; it’s about trying to train and play and get to that level again while working full time, and life gets hard. It’s hard being out of the game for six months while the level grows. You’ve got to somehow keep up.”

“A lot of people would probably question me being the Melbourne Mavericks captain. There are better Melbourne players now — you’ve got Zach and Tom and others. I might not be the strongest captain on the court, but I’d like to think I’m one of the stronger ones off the court and I’ve been here since the beginning.”

“My communication and organisation, I think, is second to none, and team chemistry is everything. There’s no one out there who would hate a Melbourne Mavericks team — we’ve always had good team unity. Maybe we haven’t had the greatest success, but we made top six twice last season.”

“I’ve really enjoyed [being a captain], but it’s not for the faint-hearted. You have to draft the team, captain the team, and then try and play the best pickleball you can. It’s probably easier being a captain if you are one of the top players in the country.”

“I feel like at the moment it’s also easier to be a female captain because we just don’t have the female depth when we drafted teams for 2025. Our top female captains are the best players in Australia and they draft from a stacked pool of male players. I’d be surprised if a male captain wins any of the [MLPA] events.”

“Having a mortgage, trying to plan a wedding — it’s different from some of the younger players who can train full time. You can’t just live at home still, expect to just do a little bit of coaching, and then have enough money to travel the world and play pickleball at my age.”

“In 2021, during my second year as founding secretary of Pickleball Victoria, I found out I had Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”

Three months into chemotherapy for Stage 2 Lymphoma, he organised a ‘Pickleball for Lymphoma’ fundraiser, bringing the community together to raise $5,000 for Lymphoma Australia.

“I still did the volunteering stuff. I still tried to play pickleball even though I was bedridden for 10 days every 14-day cycle.”

His resilience through treatment led to an incredible comeback.

“I came back and just went on a tear. I won the Yeppoon championships with Martin Clark in this three-month span with the Queensland Championships. Went to Nationals and we took down Thanh [Huynh] and Ben Costin — it was pretty high-level stuff.”

“It was so much fun. I look back now and I’m like, wow, these guys… a lot of us are kind of dropping off and there’s new talent coming through. It’s a pill I’ve had to swallow for 12 months now. But I’m just so happy. Someone like Tom Evans… I showed him how to play pickleball at the start and now he’s signed in the [PPA US] pros.”

But the challenges weren’t over. “Last year was tough with the Mavs. I found out I had sleep apnea. I knew I wasn’t myself — I never had energy, couldn’t react, couldn’t see the ball. I was having like 30 episodes an hour where I wouldn’t breathe for 10 seconds at a time.”

“But that’s just another hurdle to overcome. I feel like I’m very mentally strong because I obviously went through the whole cancer thing, and I was super positive throughout it all. I knew there’s no point being negative. So now I know I’ve been through harder things, this is all kind of easy.”

After getting treatment, Aaron felt the difference immediately. “I feel like I’ve got way more energy now. I’ve got motivation to train, do all that. That’s why I felt like the back end of last year, Vietnam, Melbourne — I played my best pickleball and we did better as a team.”

“I just can’t believe that I get to rub shoulders with some of these US pros. On a Saturday morning, I’ll have a coffee and watch PPA in the US. If there’s a Mitch, Joey, Zach, Tom etc., playing internationally, I’ll bring up the livestream on TV because I love supporting everyone.”

The recent Australian Open at Melbourne Park was particularly special.

“Besides me feeling like I didn’t play my best, it was awesome. I never thought I’d be playing at Melbourne park and playing pickleball against some of the best players in Australia and some from the world. I know I probably won’t get that opportunity again, so I tried to absorb it.”

“I’m still absorbing this weekend. I’m so happy I got to be a part of it from the very beginning at a local level, then a state level, and now we’re here.”

“It used to be even more strategic because you couldn’t just rip a ball to get yourself out of a jam, you had to place it. The sport is still very strategic, but it’s different now.”

“I was speaking to Sange earlier and this is the first time there has been a sporting event in the Melbourne Convention Center. Because we have the MCG — you don’t normally have sports here. Pro sport, in the Convention Center — that’s crazy.”

“The sport has changed dramatically in the last two years. The paddles are getting a little bit too fast. Obviously, people love the way the sport’s going because it looks way better on TV and everything, but at the same time, it’s taking away from the essence of pickleball, which people don’t realise unless you’ve been around for a while.”

“It used to be even more strategic because you couldn’t just rip a ball to get yourself out of a jam, you had to place it. The sport is still very strategic, but it’s different now.”

“With all the money coming into the sport, especially internationally, I worry people might try to cut corners and use enhancements they shouldn’t just to keep up. I know it’s happening in the US… I don’t know if it’s happening here. It would suck if it’s happening here.”

“That’s my biggest worry and would be a sad reality of sport at the highest level.”

“The landscape has changed so much,” he reflects. “It’s getting a little toxic with the contracts going around – people thinking ‘if he’s on that, I should be getting that.’ When I was winning tournaments, I got sponsored by Gearbox at the time, but it was just paddles and a bag. You didn’t win prize money in events. It was so small.”

“Things can change when there’s money involved.”

“I think my goals have shifted a bit. I’m 28 now, just proposed, thinking about a wedding. I’m into my third year of teaching and I really enjoy that. I’m a big believer in that you should keep on doing something you enjoy.”

“My biggest goal in pickleball is to hold onto this Melbourne Mavericks thing for this year. But I know there’s so much talent coming through now that at the end of the year I’d be like, you know what, here’s some Melbourne players that if you can get them to be the captain, I would love that.”

“Obviously, if I’m still playing good pickleball, I would love to do it.”

The future holds both uncertainty and opportunity.

“At the end of last year, I thought maybe I wasn’t going to be the captain this year. Obviously with a couple of different leagues, that helps too. The bank wouldn’t be happy if I just quit my teaching job, but I guess that comes down to my end goal.”

Looking further ahead, Aaron sees multiple possibilities. “My goal at the moment is to keep doing this until I get pushed out. Could I work for the PPA Australia one day? Maybe… I’ve got enough knowledge there. I love teaching, and I still need to have time for hopefully Ellie and I to start a family too.”

For the latest updates and to follow Aaron’s pickleball journey, find him on Instagram @blitzpickleball.

xo,

Tati