AI-Powered Pickleball: Enhancing Player Experience with Tech | Dr. Gordon Jones from Pickle Zone

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Dr. Gordon Jones: Hey, how’s it going, Ernesto?

Ernesto: I’m doing great. Great. Thank you so much for being on today’s episode. I think, I’m sure our listeners tuning in wondering, hey, Pickles Zone, this is, this is a first for us. So, let’s start off with that. In your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Dr. Gordon Jones: So, Pickle Zone what our mission is, is to enhance player, experience within the sport of pickleball. And if you don’t know much about pickleball, it’s the fastest growing sport in America, even though it was invented back in 1965. And, so people are, over the last ten years has just expanded greatly. And so, what we realized was there’s a need to build an app or online community around pickleball and then provide some, some capabilities through, mobile and artificial intelligence that would just enhance their experience with playing their game in pickleball.

Ernesto: All right, awesome. Great to hear that from, from you guys there now. And so that way our listeners to get a good understanding of your company, then what, what are some problems that you solve for, for your clients?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Yeah, so basically what we discovered is, there’s two things. One is it’s difficult for players to find other players in their area of the same level to play. and then the other is skill, development. So enhancing their skills. so the first thing that we did, we’re building what’s called, we call a challenge mode within our application where a person, like, say this, they’re three, five. So there’s different levels. There’s two, two and a half, three, three and a half, four, all the way up to five and then professional. so most players want to play, somebody of their same level in their area. So what we do is we understand what all of our members levels are on skill and then we can match them. And then one player can challenge the other player to play. Or the teams, it’s, it’s primarily doubles game, but there are some singles that go on m. And, so we match them up, then they challenge each other. They can even wager each other within our abs. So like, I hey, we’re going to win this. So we’re willing to put up this amount to win, to wager. It’s, not betting because they’re, they’re doing the activity. So we call it wagering. and that creates incentives for them to play more and then for other people to play each other. the other difficulty is finding open courts to play. So, you know, usually in a city, there’s clubs around the city that have members, and they usually charge guest fees and all this stuff for other non members to come over. So what we do is we’re building a network of clubs to where if we have a challenge match going on, the players who might not be a member of that club can come and play that match without having to pay a guest fee. So that’s one of the things that we’re working on. So it’s matching up players, enabling them to challenge each other, keeping the score in the app and all that, and finding a courts to play on. so that’s that problem, that we’re working on. And then the other skill development. And this is where we’re using AI. So we’ve built, an AI clone of, Scott moore. So he’s the winningest pickleball champion, world champion in history. So he’s won ten world championships. And he’s also, he was just recently inducted into the hall of Fame, the pickleball hall of Fame, in December. So he’s, he’s, everybody knows who he is. He’s been around a long time. And, he teaches and coaches teams. So we were able to clone him based on all his, instructions on what skills you need to develop at different stages that you’re going through your pickleball journey. And then also strategies Tim’s teams can use during their matches. And so right now, you can go into, you can go to picklezone.com, look for our AI coach, and you can actually have a conversation with Scott Moore for free, asking him questions that you would want to know about your pickleball play. Okay. so that’s how we’re leveraging AI, in pickleball, that the next thing that we’re doing is we’ll be able to video your match. We’ll be able to capture how you’re playing, your forehands, your back hands, where you’re placing the ball on the court, are you winning the rallies? Are you winning the matches, all that data we’re going to capture. And then we’ll be able to feed that, over to coach Moore and coach will then use that information to give you instructions back, even during the match. So, like, if you have an apple watch on your phone, you can have a coach in your ear. And so it’s really, it’s going to be very cool. And all that’s driven by artificial intelligence, both on the video side and on the coaching side. that’s, so that’s our innovation that we’re really building within Pickle Zone And, and all that’s then driven by a, yemenite, a token, a crypto token built on the ethereum net blockchain network, if, if your audience knows anything about all that stuff, and that’s our rewards. So whenever you’re earning a reward, you’re earning a token of a Pickle Zone token, and you’ll be able to use that to, rent courts or buy equipment or swag on e commerce site. And, so we’re really building an ecosystem that, incentivizes and enhances players experience within the sport of pickleball. It’s pretty cool. Everybody loves the idea.

Ernesto: Definitely. Yeah. I mean, the way you’re describing it, I want to start playing pickleball now.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Right.

Ernesto: Because I mean, if you have a coach and it’s, and it’s telling you right there and then how you can improve in the spot, I think that’s what everybody wants, right? Yeah, it’s amazing to hear. So how would somebody usually find out about pickle zone? Is there, what would you say is your top client, or your acquisition channel that you guys see working the best for you guys?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Yeah. So right now we’ve been kind of doing organic. So, we’ve got a pretty good following on, well, comparatively, for startup, on Twitter, on Facebook and LinkedIn primarily, LinkedIn networking is primarily on finding ecosystem partners. So the manufacturers of paddles, the equipment for the sport, maybe even teams. So team coaches. So, like, if it’s a University of South Carolina pickleball club, you know, we’re kind of reaching that type of Persona on LinkedIn. And then on Facebook, almost every pickleball community has created a Facebook page or a Facebook group. and there’s millions of people playing the game and they all communicate through their local clubs on their Facebook pages. so that’s where we get our direct to consumer side of things for the most part. There’s a little bit of YouTube and a little bit of TikTok and Instagram, but that’s not where the community. Because, the way the mix of our population right now is still primarily 55 ish, an age and above. but now more and more colleges and high schools are, starting up their own pickleball clubs. so there’s already a national championship for collegiate pickleball. M there’s a minor league pickleball. There’s a major league pickleball that’s about the top, top 75 to 100 players are in the major league pickleball league. and then on the minor leagues we probably have, probably a good two or 3000 people playing in the minor leagues. And then you have your, your community leagues and all that. And that. There’s probably about 9 million people who are actively playing pickleball on a weekly basis around the country. but it’s expanding into other countries. I mean, we’re pretty heavy in Australia already. China has already said that they’re going to make pickleball the next big sport in China. the cool thing about pickleball is that all ages can play. So like, you know, my son plays. If, if my parents were to able to play, they, they could play. There’s a. But there’s a lot of three generation playing going on. So usually the grandparents got started cause they’re already retired. Then they, then they get their kids, interested in it and then their grandkids start playing when they’re five or six. As a matter of fact, one of the women’s world champions, she’s only 16 years old. And so it’s really starting to ramp up on the younger ages. So we expect the number of people playing pickleball to scale very quickly over the next five to ten years that finally.

Ernesto: All right, awesome to hear that. And so that way our listeners who are tuning in can take a, like you mentioned, go to your website. You could guys, you could check them out at peco zone.com. what role does a website play for you guys? Right. Is it for getting more downloads? Is it for news? Is it for the Vitro coach? What would you say is the main objective there?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Yeah, so our app right now is in, we’re testing right now, so it’s not available to the public. if we’ve got a strategic partner that wants, to look at it and talk about how we integrate, then we can share with them on test flight. It’s built on iOS right now, so the website is primarily the place to go. And you can interact with the coach there, Scott Moore. And then you can sign up for newsletter and do all that. So when we know we’re coming to your area, we can get in touch with you also.

Ernesto: Definitely. All right, also. Awesome to hear that. And let’s switch gears a little bit then, Gordon. And let’s talk about you as a leader, you being the CEO there for Pickle Zone What are some, then some of your key tasks that you focus on, your day to day work?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Well, I’m very fortunate because we have a pretty strong team. As a matter of fact, I’m co CEO, so I’m not a, founder. I just joined the company about six months ago now, Jude Thomas is, my co CEO and he’s a co founder with the president, who’s Dan Brinker. And, then they. We’ve got a CTO, Chief, marketing officer. and then we have a, we have over a thousand people who have signed up to be brand, ambassadors around the country. so we’ve got a really good team. So for me, my job is to. Well, we’ve been raising money. So all of our jobs is to raise money. but my job is primarily on partnerships and building out the ecosystem and driving. And also I do the, artificial intelligence side of the tech. Definitely.

Ernesto: All right, awesome to hear that. Well, let’s jump into our next, section, here. Gordon. It’s, it’s a rapid fire question round. So are you ready for them?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Sure.

Ernesto: All right, first off, what is the last book that you read?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Oh, I’m reading, actually, I’m reading one right now that’s talking about what we’re doing. It’s, it’s read, write and own. It’s by Chris Dickinson and it just came out last month. So it’s the latest info and it’s talking about the history of the Internet and how the Internet has become so centralized because of the government. And I call them the gaftim. So GaaftM, which, which is, Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft. And they represent all of the people that, all the organizations that control the Internet today. and then his whole point is about how we need to move to decentralization. So we need to start adopting more blockchain based technologies in order to decentralize the Internet, which is what it was in the beginning. And the other thing you probably don’t know about me is I teach blockchain and artificial intelligence at the University of South Carolina. so I talk about this stuff all the time, and I am teaching these kids at the university level of what centralization is, government control. And decentralization is, like, why we invented bitcoin in the first place, and why is it so prominent? So I talk about all that. So that book talks about the history of all that and gets, gets all the way into AI. It’s a good book, everybody. I’m only halfway through, but I think everybody should read that one, definitely.

Ernesto: All right, great, great read there for me. Thanks for that. Next up is what is one single thing that your company is focused on at the moment the most?

Dr. Gordon Jones: well, besides raising money? I would say that the number one priority right now is, so we want to finalize the mobile app, and get that out into the hands of all the players. and we’re pretty close. We just, got about a few more weeks of development to get it ready. the funny thing is we keep coming in with new partners that have new capabilities that we have to build into the app, but we’re trying to, like, create a roadmap that says, okay, well, let’s get it launched, and then we’ll have all these different features being pushed out, as we progress.

Ernesto: All right, awesome, great, great to hear that. Now, if there would be no boundaries in technology, Gordon, what would be that one thing that you want to have fixed for your role as a marketer today?

Dr. Gordon Jones: Telepathically tell everybody to download and buy our app?

Ernesto: Definitely. That would be, I mean, you know, I don’t know.

Dr. Gordon Jones: I think everybody should embed an eon musk chip in their brain so we can all communicate with each other. And then that’s it.

Ernesto: That’s when I was at events. Right. He just launched it. I think they just applied, one. Right. I think yesterday.

Dr. Gordon Jones: It hasn’t been. He tweeted that they implanted one. I don’t know if they’ve got an FDA approval to do that yet. That’s basically a clinic. So my doctorates in health administration, so I’ve taken companies through the FDA process for clinical research, and you can’t just tweet out that you’re implanting this thing and this guy, you know, that’s it.

Ernesto: He could do it from any country. Why? We’re the.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Well, you’re right. He could be doing it. I know. Or Indonesia. You’re right. I didn’t think about that. now, now to that end, though, he is focused on quadriplegic, so he’s, he’s got it into. Yeah, that’s where he’s going to be working, first. But at the end of the day, he wants one of these things implanted in everybody’s brain.

Ernesto: So that would be a little bit crazy. But, you know, I mean, you know, also the past week, right, ever since the vision pro got launched, people walking around with them, you know, I mean, I. It looks like, you know, that that’s.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Where we’re driving their cars with a dag m things, man. It’s.

Ernesto: I was thinking they’re gonna crash, right? And.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Yeah, I think they have already.

Ernesto: Oh, they already did. Oh, there you go.

Dr. Gordon Jones: See, I, I don’t know that for sure, but I think, I thought I had read that already.

Ernesto: It’s. But with all the connecting so close, you know, you know, having that on your face, you know, getting that yearly in your brain, I mean, it’s. At one point, right, it’s going to be too much connected with, with somebody controlling you. So.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Well, I mean, now you’re talking about the, centricity. So it’s like, at the end of the day, you know, it’s.

Ernesto: What are we going to.

Dr. Gordon Jones: I tell you, a great, a great series I’m watching on Apple TV was foundation. so, ah, it’s enough theories about, Basically we. Humanity’s already all over the galaxy and it’s, and it’s got a little bit of AI and robotic stuff in there. but it taught, you know, it’s all about centralization. And everything we’re talking about today, they’re still going to be talking about it at 24 53.

Ernesto: Yeah, definitely. I mean, that’s where I’m at. I mean, it’s starting, but I think my, my, my grandkids are the ones that are going to have to deal with it. Right? And that’s not me.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Oh, no, no, no. You’re. We’re all, we’re. Now, if the United States deploys this, central bank digital currency, CBDC. Yeah, they, will be in total control of everybody. the Chinese are already doing it. So they’ve got their social credit score system over there. They’re getting all their data from their big tech companies and they’re, they’ve created a social credit system. It’s not just your credit score financially, it’s your social credit. So, like, are you going to websites you don’t need to be going to. Are you checking certain books out of the library that you shouldn’t be checking out? And your score goes up and down based on that? What? The United States would love to have that, or we, the people don’t, but.

Ernesto: The government does, definitely.

Dr. Gordon Jones: We, in decentralized world, are really working hard to at least to work towards decentralizing the Internet as it was in the beginning. and now, you know, Pickle Zone is a private enterprise. And, you know, we want every. We just want to work with pickleball players at the end of the day for that. But, but those of us who are deep into the tech and, and the culture, we want to just create environments that, where we don’t, we don’t have to be beholden to a government entity when they want data on our customers. but anyway, we can talk about that. That’s a whole nother podcast.

Ernesto: No, no, no worries. And, well, lastly, I do, I do want to ask, right, what is one piece of advice that you would give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer today?

Dr. Gordon Jones: So the thing that I’m, working through now, like, Google just changed some of their, some of their algorithms and things like that. So you’re always having to update these things. So is there a place, is there a model where, where we just do our thing from a marketing standpoint, and whenever somebody changes something or there’s another law that gets changed, it just automatically gets pushed into the protocol so that we users don’t have to think about all that stuff. It just automatically updates, because you get, you know, you get in trouble. It’s like you’ve been marketing this way for years, and all of a sudden, some change happens and you still continue doing what you’re doing, and then you realize you’ve broken the law or you’ve gone against ican or you, or you’re going against the Google algorithm. And so now all your messaging gets pushed down to where the exposure is not as high as it. As you want it to be. So those are the things that I get frustrated with. All right, great. Hey.

Ernesto: Well, Gordon, thank you so much for being on today’s episode with us. I do want to give you the last word. If someone forgets everything about the interview today, what is that one thing they should remember about your company?

Dr. Gordon Jones: we love the sport of pickleball. So go to picklezone.com and learn all you can about the sport.

Ernesto: Definitely. All right, awesome. to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in to you, Gordon, thank you so much for being on and looking forward to our next episode at Pathmonk Presents.

Dr. Gordon Jones: Cool, man. Thank you.

Ernesto: Thank you, Gordon.