Steve Teaches at Hollyburn Country Club

The following article was published on the Chartwell Group’s blog by David J. Snell.

Steve Deakin, who is not only Canada’s #1 ranked Doubles player, but is ranked an impressive #5 worldwide, recently conducted Pickleball clinics at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, BC. Steve is also a native of BC, demonstrating how the clean air and mountain life contributes to the outstanding level of play of all our enthusiastic Pickleball players here – after Steve’s clinics!

Jeff Boag, our Hollyburn Pickleball Pro, was kind enough to arrange Steve’s clinics and – oh boy – were they an eye opener. For those of us who have been playing over the last 18 months after falling in love with this sport, and thought that we were pretty good, we soon found out that we had a LOT to learn. Not only is Steve a very good teacher, he is an enthusiastic ambassador of the sport, and also a really nice guy – he’s Canadian, so what would you expect? Now, it’s a question of putting those new skills that Steve gave us to work and creating brand new muscle memory!

As overviewed on his web site, Steve comes from a pro tennis background, which gives viewers the beauty of all his technical prowess at the same time as giving us confidence in his ability to close on the big points. As Steve admits himself, playing a game with a hamburger garnish in its name did not excite him much, but when he first played Steve was immediately taken with this sport.

Initially, pickleball appeared to be geared towards older players with its small court, light paddle, and social atmosphere. But, the last few years have brought us an entirely new level of competitive players to admire. Hollyburn will be nearing 1,000 avid players in 2022 we believe, and probably more as we watch players of all ages and competence join in!

So, as the word spreads, the age gap narrows and we’re watching this incredible Pickleball force unfold before us as younger stars are born. One of those Canadian Stars is Steve Deakin.