Who is the best pickleball player in the world? The one having the most fun! And one of the things that makes pickleball so fun is that it’s easy to learn and improvements can come quickly with practice.
Beginner clinics are designed for first time players. We will learn the rules, dinks, volleys, ground strokes, serving, basic game strategies and progress to play games as the week goes on.
Intermediate clinics are for more experienced players who want to work on consistency and rate themselves at 2.5-3.5. Drills will focus on cross-court dinking, drops and drives, third and fifth shot strategy, moving through the transition zone, court positioning, and serving.
Advanced clinics are designed for 3.5+ players. We will drill resets, changing the pace of play, backhand attacking from the kitchen line and other skills that participants request.
Friday morning I will host a leveled RLP Open Tournament that requires advanced sign-up.
Michael’s love for racket sports began when he was five and started learning tennis. He played competitively through high school as a doubles specialist and played ping pong and racquetball with friends on the side. Michael has worked guiding backcountry canoe and backpacking trips for middle school students, is an expert skier (though a beginner on teles), seasoned backpacker and an accomplished rock climber who has taken part in a multipitch first ascent in the southern Sierra and done two routes on El Capitan in Yosemite. A Father’s Day pickleball lesson got him hooked, and now he plays weekly, coaches adult clinics, and gives private lessons in San Francisco and Sonoma.
Away from sports, Michael is a life-long educator who holds a Masters degree in Education and has worked as a teacher and administrator in California Independent Schools for over 30 years. He is the co-author of two blended learning Economics textbooks and he has trained Economics teachers in the western US, China and the Middle East.
Michael lives in San Francisco with his wife, and sometimes mixed-doubles partner, Ali, and has two sons, neither of whom will play pickleball.
About Tony “The Marine” Lattimore
Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D
Duo Mundi: George & Gulimina
Alexander Kopelman is a writer, social entrepreneur, advocate, and coach who has devoted thirty years to advancing social justice and personal empowerment. As Founding President & CEO of the Children’s Arts Guild, he has led the development of nationally recognized programs in authenticity-based social-emotional learning, serving hundreds of educators and thousands of students across the United States. Alex is the author of For Real: Helping Children Remain Their Authentic Selves in a Limiting World (Page Two Books, June 2026), as well as ten previously authored and co-authored books, including The Empress Has No Clothes: Overcoming Self-Doubt to Embrace Success. He is a member of the Authors’ Guild. The Guild’s programs have been presented at South by Southwest EDU, the National School Boards Association Conference, and the National Art Education Association Conference. The Guild is a recognized New York State CTLE Sponsor and an official ASPDP Partner with the NYC Department of Education.
Jessica Zemple helps people shuck open their shells of fear with love to let their pearls shine leading to a more fulfilling life! 
Sheila Elaine, aka The Grateful Goddess, is a coach and speaker specializing in transformative topics such as the law of attraction, gratitude, women’s empowerment, and the mind/body connection in health and wellness. With a dozen years of speaking at world-renowned resorts and spas, she has inspired and empowered thousands to cultivate lives filled with meaning, purpose, and joy. Sheila champions the pursuit of one’s deepest desires, encouraging all to embrace the adventure of living authentically and passionately. She fosters leaders in all aspects of your life so you can exponentially expand your impact without sacrificing your health and well-being.
Laila Tarraf is a leadership coach and human capital advisor with over 25 years of experience working with founders, owners, and leadership teams at critical moments of transition, growth, and complexity. She has held three Chief People Officer roles, first as a founding member of Walmart.com during the height of the first internet bubble, then at Peet’s Coffee & Tea as it evolved from a regional retail company into a national, multi-channel brand. Most recently, she served as Chief People Officer at Allbirds, where she built the leadership and people infrastructure required to navigate a global pandemic, significant social unrest, and the company’s successful path to becoming a public company.
Christina Boyd-Smith, PhD
Priya Ford, M.S., CMPC
Brandee L. Waite, M.D., is a sports medicine physician who strives to keep her patients active. She has been a medical director for over 20 marathons and ultra-marathons over the past 15 years. With a dynamic personality, Dr. Waite has a passion for educating her patients, other physicians and the public about relevant sports medicine topics. She has served as a team physician for the USA Track and Field program, the Sacramento Kings (NBA) as well as the Sacramento Ballet and now works with Professional Soccer and Division I NCAA teams. Dr. Waite currently sees patients and teaches medical students and residents at the University of California, Davis. Her educational pedigree is impressive, having received her medical training at Stanford, UC San Francisco and Johns Hopkins. However, she credits her pre-medical years as a fitness instructor at Rancho La Puerta in the 1990’s with shaping the inclusion of sports and fitness into her medical practice.
Pei-Chun Tsai from Tainan, Taiwan, winner of the Taiwan National Violin Competition, made her debut at the Weill Recital Hall in Manhattan, and has enjoyed summers at the Alfred, Encore, Yellow Barn, and Taos festivals as well as the International Holland Music Sessions. Joseph Fuchs, Daniel Phillips, and Harvey Shapiro have been her teachers and mentors in the United States. She is the founding director of the Campanile Music Festival at San Diego State University and has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2005 in addition to being violin lecturer at SDSU. She released an album of solo violin works entitled “Chaconne” in 2021 highlighting Baroque and contemporary masterpieces of this form. Pei-Chun holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts degree from City University of New York, with Bachelor and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. She performs on a violin by Boston luthier Charline Dequincy, and a bow made by Abe Liebhaber in San Diego.
Described as “outstanding” (Melómano) and “sublime” (Augusta Read Thomas), L’Étoile Violin Duo was founded by violinists Hsin-Lin Tsai and Miguel Pérez-Espejo Cárdenas to explore and expand the violin duo repertoire. They perform throughout the United States, Europe, and Taiwan, with appearances at the Instituto Cervantes of New York, European Day of Music celebrations broadcast across Europe, and recordings with RTVE Música, Spain’s National Radio label. Renowned for their elegant style, superb ensemble technique, and expressive artistry, the Duo performs repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary works, with a strong commitment to new music. They have premiered and commissioned works by leading composers including Augusta Read Thomas, David Lefkowitz, Michael Ippolito, José Zárate, and Kareem Roustom. Recipients of the Granoff Music Fund Grant, they are also creators and Co-Artistic Directors of The Renewal Series, an interdisciplinary concert project uniting music with dance, literature, and visual arts. Deeply committed to education, L’Étoile presents master classes, residencies, and community programs internationally. Their students are prize winners in national and international competitions, reflecting the Duo’s dedication to artistic excellence and meaningful engagement.
Kristen Strom has played alongside many well-known artists, including Manhattan Transfer, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Johnny Mathis, Jimmy Heath, Pamela Rose, and the touring company of Blues is a Woman. She also performs in a celebrated duo with husband/guitarist Scott Sorkin. In addition to her albums, Intention, Sojourn and Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett, she has recorded more than 40 CDs with various jazz and pop artists. Her latest album, Moving Day, was listed as one of Best Jazz Albums of 2018 by The Mercury News and has gotten national and international airplay.
Scott Sorkin is a Bay Area guitarist, composer, producer, teacher and recording engineer who performs and records in styles ranging from jazz to Brazilian and Latin styles. His solo CD “Laika” was released in 2017. Performance credits include the Count Basie Orchestra, Mary Wilson (The Supremes), Nnenna Freelon, Paula West, Louie Bellson, Vince Giordano, Tammy Hall, Pamela Rose, Kristen Strom, touring shows “Dream Girls” and Disney’s “Newsies”, Symphony Silicon Valley, Great Performances, PBS Television and SFJAZZ. Sorkin has extensive recording credits as well as film scores (including composer credits). Scott co-leads the international jazz group “Crossing Borders”, featuring Kristen Strom, Jennifer Scott, and Rene Worst. He’s been a featured artist at many festivals.
Dr. Diane Snyder is a gynecologist who has been in private practice for more than 35 years. She cares for girls and women of all ages, including pediatric patients, and is passionate about teaching and sharing her years of experience to help women better understand their bodies and become proactive about their health throughout every stage of the reproductive lifespan. She is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and practices in Rockville, Maryland.
Dr. Jay H. Goldstein has been awarded the status of Diplomate by the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. This credential is widely recognized as the gold standard for excellence in dental sleep medicine. Dr. Goldstein has presented nationally and internationally covering topics on cosmetic dentistry and sleep apnea. Dr. Goldstein has been an instructor at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital’s General Practice Residency program. Dr. Goldstein has spoken at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation on oral appliance therapy for obstruction sleep apnea.
Chef Denise Portillo’s path to the kitchen began with beauty. She was a florist first — arranging color, texture, and form long before she plated it — and that eye for how things make us feel never left her. Cooking became her language, and across more than two decades in professional kitchens she came to understand food as far more than something that satisfies hunger: it nourishes, it balances, it brings people to the table and holds them there.
Born in San Diego and raised between Tijuana and Mexicali, Raul’s culinary journey is deeply rooted in his family’s traditions. He grew up cooking alongside his grandmother, learning to make everything from fresh tortillas and salsas to chilaquiles and refried beans. His early experiences in the kitchen became a foundation for his passion, especially after the loss of his mother at a young age, which led him and his father to cook together out of necessity.
Doug Settle is a Southern California based chef with nearly 20 years of hospitality experience. Tracing his roots to the foot hills of the Appalachian mountains where gardening, hunting and fishing are a lifestyle, proper sourcing and appreciation for those who grow, raise and harvest our food is a deeply ingrained passion. Alongside this Doug pairs a drive for leadership and training honed by a decade of working with San Diego’s finest chefs and restaurateurs.