Who Is Your Director of Pickleball?

One great hire can define the success of your new pickleball club.

Most founders don’t miss because of demand.

They miss because of who they hire—and why.

They start with a simple idea:

Keep payroll lean.

So they hire for:

• availability

• affordability

• likability

Good energy.
Easy to schedule.
Happy to be there.

They’re not hiring bad people.

They’re hiring from the wrong part of the talent pool.

Low-leverage labor fills shifts.

It covers hours.
Runs sessions.
Keeps things moving.

But it doesn’t build anything.

So the system forms around that choice.

A system built for:

• coverage

• flexibility

• replaceability

Not:

• ownership

• progression

• accountability

And once that system locks…

Everything downstream reflects it.

Ask one question:

Who is responsible for making players better here?

Not the team.

A name.

If you don’t have one…

You don’t have a coaching system.

You have a staffing plan.

Now watch what happens next.

Turnover.

Not dramatic.

Just constant.

People come in.
People leave.
Energy resets.

Again.
And again.

So nothing compounds.

While you’re rehiring…

You’re not:

• building programs

• developing players

• creating momentum

You’re maintaining coverage.

And coverage feels productive.

But it isn’t.

It’s neutral.

The experience becomes…

fine.

Fine doesn’t retain.

Fine doesn’t spread.

Fine doesn’t win.

Here’s the shift most founders miss:

Payroll isn’t a cost line.

It’s a leverage decision.

There are two types of hires:

People who do the work.

And people who make other people better.

Multipliers.

You’ve seen them.

They step on court…

And everything sharpens.

• players engage

• sessions tighten

• decisions improve

They reduce:

• mistakes

• confusion

• drift

They remove the need for:

• constant oversight

• constant correction

• constant rehiring

Multipliers don’t increase payroll.

They remove waste.

But most systems never attract them.

Because multipliers need:

• ownership

• responsibility

• clarity

Not:

• rotating shifts

• interchangeable roles

• “just cover this hour”

So they don’t stay.

Or they never show up.

And the system keeps producing the same result.

Simple filter:

What’s unnecessary? Remove it.

What remains? Simplify it.

Who owns it? Name them.

Move.

Most clubs skip the third step.

And that’s the one that matters.

They didn’t hire the wrong people.

They optimized for the wrong type of person.

They built a system that attracts coverage…

Instead of one that attracts multipliers.

One multiplier is worth more than three available people.

If you can’t point to the person who makes everyone better…

You’re not building a club.

You’re filling shifts.

And nothing compounds from that.

You don’t lose pickleball matches because you lack information.

You lose them because you miss the moment.

Pop-up. Speed-up. Middle ball. Now what?

Describe the point.
Get your next move.

👉 Start talking to Narci now