May 1st Marked the Official Team Launch of the Coachella Valley Scorpions
The Coachella Valley Scorpions officially launched on May 1st as California’s first 50+ pickleball team with the National Pickleball League – putting the Coachella Valley on the map of the hottest new game to emerge on the scene of professional sports. In addition, plans are in the works to find a suitable location within the Coachella Valley to build one of the West Coast’s largest indoor pickleball facilities.
Team owners, players, community leaders and local pickleball enthusiasts gathered at Desert Horizons Country Club on May 1st for the Coachella Valley Scorpions Official Team Launch at Media Day. The team is made up of 14 players – a mix of men and women – and monthly tournaments beginning in May will be held in centralized U.S. cities through September – including Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Houston – with the Championships held October 17-20, 2024, in a location yet to be determined. Tournament play will be streamed online.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the first 50+ pickleball team to California, and we’re so proud the Coachella Valley will be representing the state in one of the fastest growing leagues in America,” said CEO/CFO and Team Owner Rob Zwemmer. “Over 400 players in the nation competed for the 14 coveted spots on the NPL’s 12 teams, and we drafted some of the best 50+ players in the game.”
The team roster includes Piet Aldrich of Solana Beach, CA; Joe Frasca of Colorado Springs, CO; Dayne Gingrich of Santa Barbara, CA; Kim Jagd of Indian Wells, CA; Keith Jain of Carlsbad, CA; Julene James of Bluffdale, UT; Lily Kordic-Mueller of Carlsbad, CA; Maggie Murch of North Vancouver, BC; John Riedy of Carlsbad, CA; David Smith of Spirit Lake, IA; Chrishawn Spackman of Gulfport, FL; Johan Svensson of Lakeland, TN; Brenda Tilford of Northridge, CA and Stacy Zelenski of Morro Bay, CA.
The Team Launch & Media Day included exhibition matches featuring pros Kim Jagd and Dayne Gingrich, as well as Doug Ellin – creator, executive producer and head writer of the HBO series, “Entourage” – and Morgan Evans – the first professional pickleball tour coach in the history of the sport and a well-known pickleball commentator. Another court featured some talented pickleball youth players, aged 10 to 15 years old, who came in for the event from Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.
Other teams on the National Pickleball League include the Austin Ignite, the Boca Raton Picklers, the Columbus Hotshots, the Denver Iconics, the Houston Hammers, the Indy Drivers, the Kansas City Stingers, the Naples JBB United, the Princeton Bruisers, the OKC Punishers and the Seattle United.
The team also has plans to bring pickleball clinics and other events to the Coachella Valley in the next year that will allow the public and local youth to get more involved in the game.
For more about the Coachella Valley Scorpions, go to ScorpionsPickleball.com, and for further information on the National Pickleball League, go to NPLPickleball.com.
