Dinks On Tap: The Happy Hour Pickleball Podcast

What happens when two big personalities collide on the pickleball court? 

You get a duo that turns the game into chemistry, rhythm, and unapologetic energy!

Today, Casie and Lauren sit down with Jeanne Koepke and Pam McCurry, a duo who found more than just a partner. They built a rhythm, a routine, and a friendship that reshaped this stage of life. What starts with pickleball tournaments and mixed doubles opens into something deeper.

Jeanne and Pam bring equal parts of competitive fire and self-awareness. They share how they improved, built a strong partnership, and found their place within a growing pickleball community, especially in pickleball for seniors.

In this episode, we talk about:

The moment when they realized power alone would not carry them through higher-level play

What it means to compete in their 60s, and how expectations shift

The psychology of partnership, including how they manage energy and mistakes together

Why the social side of pickleball matters more than people expect

The unspoken rules of match etiquette, from line calls to tone

How friendship and humor can matter just as much as skill for any pickleball player

For those who play for fun and those who take it more seriously, there is something familiar in how this kind of connection shapes your days. 

So, pour something cold, settle in, and spend time with two people who remind you that the best part of pickleball might not be the game at all.

Cheers,
Casie and Lauren
Dinks on Tap

Let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with us:

Instagram: @dinksontap

Facebook: @DinksonTap
Website: dinksontap.com

For those wanting to fortify their mental game on the court, check out Lauren’s Mental Caddie offerings on her website or book a Chemistry Call.

Pickleball players will build an entire life around playing. Watching the pros? That’s where things get interesting.

In this episode, Casie and Lauren sit down with broadcaster, commentator, and certified pickleball numbers guy, Will Daughton, to ask a deceptively simple question: if rec players are so obsessed with pickleball…why aren’t more of them watching the pickleball pros?

What follows is a conversation about PickleballTV, Major League Pickleball, momentum swings, partnership dynamics, and the parts of pickleball strategy most rec players miss in plain sight. Not because the rec world needs a lesson, but because watching high-level pickleball reveals a different layer of the game entirely.

They we about:
We talk about:

Why so many pickleball players love playing more than watching

The subtle patterns pickleball pros notice immediately

Why momentum in pro pickleball is more real than people think

The tactical choices great players abandon the second they stop working

What strong partnerships reveal on and off the scoreboard

Why the human stories around Major League Pickleball may be the thing that makes more people care

What PickleballTV and the broadcast side of the sport are doing to make the game more watchable

This one is part pickleball strategy, part sports psychology, part broadcast-booth confessional.

So whether you’re a loyal PickleballTV viewer or someone who still claims you’d “rather just go play,” this episode offers a strong argument for paying closer attention.

Grab your drink, hit play, and meet the man making the pro game a lot more interesting to watch.

Cheers,
Casie and Lauren
Dinks on Tap

Let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with us:

Instagram: @dinksontap

Facebook: @DinksonTap
Website: dinksontap.com

 

For those wanting to fortify their mental game on the court, check out Lauren’s Mental Caddie offerings on her website or book a Chemistry Call. 

 

If you love being comfy as much as we do, go to cozyearth.com, use code DINKS for up to 20% off, and get ready to live your coziest life!

Ever wonder what your parents would say if they were handed a microphone and asked to review your sports career? Would they praise your hustle… or finally reveal that one time you blamed the wind for a missed shot? In this special bonus episode, an extension of Episode 38, we invite the ultimate behind-the-scenes MVPs onto the mic: our parents.

This isn’t your typical lineup of sports interviews. Instead of talking with pros or coaches, we bring on the original supporters who shaped our journey through youth sports, competitive sports, and into podcasting. Through funny and heartfelt family stories, we reflect on how sports parenting, teamwork, and a strong sports mindset shaped who we are today, on and off the pickleball court.

You’ll hear:

The hilarious and heartfelt family stories our parents share about raising kids in youth sports and surviving the chaos of early competitive sports

What sports parenting really looked like from their perspective—from car rides and tournaments to the occasional ref-yelling moment

How team culture and early lessons in athlete development shaped our confidence, leadership, and love for sports

The role supportive parents and strong sports families play in building resilience and a lifelong sports mindset

Why the friendships formed through the pickleball community can last just as long as the sports memories themselves

How storytelling, laughter, and a little nostalgia make for unforgettable podcast storytelling

Whether you grew up in youth sports, are raising future athletes, or simply love the stories that shape the people behind the paddles, this episode is full of laughs, perspective, and a whole lot of gratitude.

So grab your paddle, pour something refreshing, and join us for a heartfelt episode of our favorite pickleball podcast. And hey… after listening, you might just want to call your parents and thank them for all those early morning rides to practice. Cheers! 🥂🏓

 

Cheers,

Casie & Lauren
Dinks on Tap

 

Let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with us:

Instagram: @dinksontap

Facebook: @DinksonTap
Website: dinksontap.com

 

For those wanting to fortify their mental game on the court, check out Lauren’s Mental Caddie offerings on her website or book a Chemistry Call.

Ever wonder what it takes to raise a kid in competitive pickleball without turning every car ride home into a post-match press conference? A junior pickleball match only lasts so long, but parenting the player behind it is the part that follows you home. This episode gets into the family side of the game, where the travel is real, the pressure is sneaky, and keeping the joy alive can matter just as much as the result.

This week, we head into the wonderfully unhinged world of junior pickleball. where the snacks are packed, the hotel check-ins are tactical, and the group text about partners somehow carries more tension than the actual match. This week, we talk with the parents behind some seriously talented young players and pull back the curtain on what sports parenting looks like when your kid is chasing the tournament circuit, eyeing the pro circuit, and learning how to compete in a sport that can hand you a highlight reel and a minor emotional spiral in the same afternoon.

Glenda Calvo is a longtime volleyball coach with strong takes on the mental game, mental training, and why positive talk is not fluff, it’s fuel. Jared Messenger is a dad deep in the logistics of junior pro tournaments, managing travel, school, and the strange reality of watching a 14-year-old hold his own against grown men in competitive pickleball. And Angela Todd, the mother of Parris Todd, a recognizable face in professional pickleball, brings a hard-earned perspective on athlete development, communication, and the kind of boundary setting that keeps ambition from swallowing the whole family.

We talk about:
• How mental training tools like affirmations and visualization can shape confidence before a match.
• Why boundary setting matters when a sport starts taking over the family calendar, budget, and nervous system.
• What life on the pro circuit and tournament circuit actually looks like for families raising serious players.
• How parental support can help young athletes recover from losses without turning the car ride home into a lecture series.
• Why athlete development in youth athletics is as much about communication and trust as it is about reps and results.
• And the sneaky truth about competitive pickleball, which is that the real drama is not always on the court.

This one is funny, unexpectedly tender, and full of the kind of insight that makes you rethink what support really looks like in sport. 

 

 

Jared also recommends the National Junior Pickleball League as a great alternative for families looking beyond the PPA or MLP path. With divisions for beginner, intermediate, advanced, and elite players, it offers more guaranteed play through pool play followed by bracket play, making it a strong option for kids who want a competitive experience without the quick two-loss-and-you’re-done format.

So grab your marg and come hang with us for a conversation about the parents behind the players, the pressure behind the paddles, and the heart behind the hustle.

Cheers,

Casie & Lauren
Dinks on Tap

 

Let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with us:

Instagram: @dinksontap

Facebook: @DinksonTap
Website: dinksontap.com

 

For those wanting to fortify their mental game on the court, check out Lauren’s Mental Caddie offerings on her website or book a Chemistry Call. 

 

If you love being comfy as much as we do, go to cozyearth.com, use code DINKS for up to 20% off, and get ready to live your coziest life!

What if the most “irresponsible” thing you ever did… (joining a sport with a wiffle ball and a weird name) was actually the smartest move you’ve made for your physical health, your sanity, and your social life?

In Episode 37, Casie & Lauren are doing what they do best: pickleball + truth + tequila. We’re talking Mardi Gras (yes, balls, yes, beads, yes, strangers screaming at you like they’ve known you forever)… and why pickleball is basically the same experience but with less glitter and more knee braces.

We also tackle one of life’s greatest mysteries: why the rally ends and your brain immediately goes “nope” on the score. Lauren dives into the neuroscience of play and explains why “pickleball brain” is your brain prioritizing survival over bookkeeping.

And then Casie gets real about the emotional plot twist no one warns you about: how a career change can crack open an identity crisis, and how the court can become the thing that pulls you into a new chapter you didn’t see coming, complete with an identity shift, better habits, and the kind of community that makes you feel tethered again.

Because yes, this pickleball lifestyle might start as “cardio with friends” but it ends up being a full-blown life transformation.

In this episode, we’re pouring out:

Why long rallies hijack your brain into performance memory mode (and why your internal bookkeeper fully quits).

The real reason everyone asks “what’s the score?” and why transactive memory turns doubles into a group project.

A simple habit to boost mental clarity in-game so you stop getting accidentally robbed of points.

How chasing floats, chasing lobs, and chasing “one more game” can spark a huge glow-up in physical health, sleep quality, and stress reduction.

Why pickleball brings back childlike joy… and why that joy hits deeper than you think.

The spicy truth about friendship shifts: your energy isn’t free, your circle evolves, and meaningful connections start replacing convenience hangs.

How “finding your people” turns into an actual social community that can carry you through the messy middle of reinvention.

So grab your shot of Point Blank Reposado, squeeze a lime, and join us as we connect Mardi Gras madness to midlife magic, from the boardroom to the baseline, from burnout to belonging… and from “what’s the score?” to “who even cares, that rally was ART.”

Let’s get you back to the kitchen. Just try to remember the score this time.

Cheers,

Casie & Lauren
Dinks on Tap

Let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with us:

Instagram: @dinksontap

Facebook: @DinksonTap
Website: dinksontap.com

Learn more about the Mental Caddie or LPV Coaching, check out Lauren’s website or book a Chemistry Call. 

If you love being comfy as much as we do, go to cozyearth.com, use code DINKS for up to 20% off, and get ready to live your coziest life!