Hudef Sport

This week marks one year since Trenga (right) began co-hosting with Unsicker - The husky guy with two fully tattooed arms sitting screen right during  Pickleball Effect  podcasts seems jovial. Kyle Trenga sometimes plays the comedic role to host Braydon Unsicker’s more serious persona. But Trenga’s upbringing was anything but jovial. It was chaotic. “My parents were addicted to methamphetamines,” Trenga, 36, tells a writer within minutes of their first conversation. “Ask me anything you want,” he says. “I’m an open book.”  Chapter one is about Trenga’s difficult childhood.  He grew up poor and his parents were always arguing, usually about money, sometimes about drugs. They got divorced when he was in kindergarten. They were nomadic. By the time Trenga reached third grade, he had lived in  San Diego, El Cajon, Tracy, Big Bear and Boise, Idaho. “With the constant moving I think one of the toughest things to deal with was being the new kid in school quite a few ti...

   Jill Thomas left California courtrooms for Portugal’s pickleball courts in 2022 - Jill Thomas chased gangs, cartels, terrorists and child predators in California for 12 and a half years. Now she’s chasing pickleballs . In Lisbon, Portugal. Thomas spent a life  in  courts before she was ever  on  a pickleball court. She was a federal prosecutor in Sacramento, a defense attorney, and a judge in the military. She’s an Air Force Reservist assigned to a base in Germany, where her time on duty is between 20 and 30 days a year. In early 2022, the 53-year-old native of Shelby Township, Michigan, and her wife, Jordan, moved to Lisbon. They had visited Portugal’s capital city just once before, in 2012. “We wanted an adventure in a European capital to use as a home base for travel,” Thomas told me. “Portugal is a friendly country to foreigners, the weather [is good], it’s a city with great public transportation, the ability to walk almost anywhere in the city...

Alright, folks! Gather 'round because we're diving into the wacky world of pickleball paddles. From the tried-and-true to the new kid on the block, Hudef, let's see who's serving up aces and who's just serving up laughs. Engage: The Overachiever Engage paddles are like the straight-A students of the pickleball world. They're always at the top of the class, showing off their advanced technology and high-quality materials. If Engage was a person, it would be the one correcting the teacher's grammar. But hey, when you're good, you're good. Just don't be surprised if your Engage paddle starts doing your taxes next. Joola: The Life of the Party Joola paddles are the life of the pickleball party. They're known for their vibrant designs and excellent performance. Think of Joola as the friend who always brings the best snacks to the potluck and tells the funniest jokes. You can't help but have a good time with a Joola paddle in your hand. Just d...

  “That Pickleball Guy” Kyle Koszuta went from beginner to pro in about a year. Pickleball influencer, instructor and pro player Kyle Koszuta has been setting lofty goals since he was a kid. One of his first goals was to be a top high school basketball player. He made all-state at Niceville High School in Florida, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds per game his senior season. His next goal was to get a college basketball scholarship. He earned a full ride to the University of Louisiana Monroe. Koszuta, a 6’1” guard, played only 15 minutes a game at ULM (but led the team in three-point percentage his freshman year in 2012-2013 at 44%). After his sophomore season he transferred to Rollins College, a Division 2 program in Winter Park, Florida. There he played in all 28 games his senior year but his minutes decreased to only 12 per contest. He knew his basketball career was over. “I felt like I underachieved my entire college basketball career,” Koszuta tells me. After his sen...

Mark and Michelle are nudists who happen to love pickleball. So when they play pickleball at a nude resort, of course they have no clothes on. “You need sunblock everywhere,” Michelle says. “I could say your shirt never sticks to your back,” Mark says. There are an estimated 500,000 nude  pickleball  players in the US - Other than using extra sunblock and not wearing sweaty clothes, Mark says, “There’s no difference between nude and clothed  pickleball . Once you are on the court, the game is the only thing on your mind.” Mark and Michelle didn’t want their real names used for privacy purposes. They’re in their 60’s, live in Massachusetts and have been married for 20 years. He’s a realtor, she’s a language specialist. “We started [being nudists] more than 10 years ago after visiting some topless beaches and finding it very liberating to have no clothes on,” Michelle says. “The ability to swim in the ocean nude is exhilarating.” Mark says, “Being a nudist enables you to me...