Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) Presents 2022 Awards
Posted: November 30, 2022 in Suppliers
Professional Pickleball Registry
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – At the recent Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) Conference held in Rancho Mirage, California, PPR Chairman Hemel Cosme and PPR President/CEO Dan Santorum presented the organization’s annual awards. “The sport of pickleball continues to see amazing growth in this country and around the world,” Cosme says. “We’re thrilled that our PPR members and member organizations continue to contribute to the health and vitality of this incredible sport.”
Chairman’s & President’s Award – Collin Johns
Recently selected to serve on the PPR Board of Directors, Collin Johns has been actively involved in the organization since 2019, when he became a PPR Clinician. A top-ranked professional pickleball player, he regularly contributes as a columnist to the PPR publication Around the Post, as well as writing a column for Pickleball Magazine. “Collin is such an impressive, yet humble, professional player and coach educator,” says PPR President and CEO Dan Santorum. “The morning after winning the Open Doubles gold medal at USAP Nationals in November with his brother Ben, Collin came to the PPR awards breakfast to receive his award, was the leadoff speaker following the event, assisted Jarrett Chirico with his on-court presentation, and posed for photos with several PPR members afterward. Simply amazing!” A PPR-sponsored player whose paddle sponsor is Electrum, Johns, who lives in Austin, TX, is the founder and co-owner of Pickleball 360 (pickleball360.com), an excellent online instructional website. Select Pickleball 360 videos are part of a new PPR member benefit.
PPR Pro of the Year – Jeff Rausch
Jeff Rausch of Austin, TX, is one of a select few “4-Star” Professionals, earning certifications in Pickleball (PPR), Tennis (PTR), Platform Tennis (PPTR), and Padel (PCR). He’s the Head Pickleball Pro and Tennis Pro at Lost Creek Country Club in Austin, Texas, an Invited Club. “There are less than 20 coaches in the world who have achieved the prestigious feat of being a 4-Star certified member,” says PPR Vice-Chairman Jarrett Chirico , a fellow 4-Star pro. “Jeff is a knowledgeable and dedicated PPR Clinician, having traveled throughout the country to conduct more than 40 PPR Level 1 workshops with over 370 participants in 2022.” Rausch is a Senior Contributor to SportsEdTV.com, contributing author to both the PPR column in Pickleball Magazine and PPR’s Around the Post magazine and a member of Team Head Pickleball.
PPR Clinician of the Year – Vicki Foster
Vicki Foster of Scottsdale, AZ, who has been a PPR Clinician for the last three years, conducted 20 PPR Level 1 certification workshops in 2022. She’s been teaching and competing in pickleball since 2007 when her family built a court in their yard. A sponsored player on Team Gamma, Foster has won multiple U.S. and Canadian national championships at the 5.0 level. “After every workshop that Vicki runs, we receive several complimentary emails from workshop participants praising her for her clinician skills,” says the PPR’s Julie Jilly, who manages the extensive and constantly growing PPR Workshop certification program. “She is thorough and has a positive attitude with her students—and continues to help make this sport thrive.”
PPR Private Facility of the Year – Royal Oaks Country Club
The first thing you see when you drive into the Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, TX, is the new pickleball facility, which has become a focal point for the club. The facility has six new, dedicated pickleball courts, each with LED lighting surrounded by WiFi, speakers, and live-stream cameras. If more pickleball courts are needed, the club can always put the tennis courts into use. Presiding over this pickleball hotbed are the club’s General Manager, Todd Harbour, and the Director of Racquets, Jarrett Chirico, who both played a key role in making the new pickleball facility a reality. As a result of the new pickleball courts, Racquets at ROCC has doubled in growth to become one of the biggest programs in the U.S. ROCC hosted six PPR workshops in 2022 and has plans to host eight more in 2023. PPR Board member Collin Johns, one-half of the world’s No. 1 doubles team, raves about playing at Royal Oaks. “The facility is awesome,” Johns says. “Jarrett is the consummate promoter of both pickleball and tennis.” Recently, ROCC hosted a “One Night Only, With the World’s Best” event, which attracted 400 members and more than 10,000 who viewed the event online through the PPA Tour live stream. Created by Chirico, the event featured the world’s No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, who played with the world’s No. 1 pickleball player, Ben Johns. It was the first time the world’s top PGA golfer and top PPA pickleball player had ever been on the same court.
PPR Commercial Facility of the Year – Pickleballerz
In October 2020, Beverly and Greg Raelson opened the amazing 20,000-square-foot Pickleballerz in Chantilly, VA—the first dedicated indoor pickleball facility in the Mid-Atlantic region. The venue has hosted more than a dozen PPR Certification Workshops over the last two years, allowing more than 100 coaches to access pickleball training and certification, regardless of the weather. “The facility has six regulation pickleball courts, a separate dinking practice court, a pro shop, and a cafe with food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments,” says Sonny Tannan, PPR Clinician who has conducted several PPR certification workshops at Pickleballerz. “It’s the go-to spot in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area for beginners learning to play pickleball. Their PPR-certified coaches have taught thousands of the area’s newest pickleball players in our Pickleball 101, 201, and 301 series clinics.”
