PicklePod: Nasty Nelsons, Flying Private and Big H's Breakout w/ Hayden Patriquin

On this week's episode of the PicklePod (subscribe here), Zane Navratil and Thomas Shields interview 18-year-old Hayden Patriquin about Nasty Nelsons (particularly the one Zane hit him with last weekend at MLP SLC), private jets, and his breakout year so far.

Hayden is ranked 15th in Men's Doubles, 10th in Mixed Doubles, and 18th in Men's Singles on the PPA Tour. He's also a member of the St. Louis Shock Major League Pickleball team.

When Big H is on the pod, we know to get the censor button ready.

Let's go!

MLP's first-ever Nasty Nelson

Down 23-12 with nothing to lose, Zane (a member of the New Jersey 5s MLP team) hit his serve directly at Hayden, who wasn't the returner.

The ball hit the tape and popped Big H in the face.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Dink Pickleball (@thedinkpickleball)

As far as we know, this was MLP's first ever Nasty Nelson, and Hayden had a LOT to say about it.

Where to draw the line on chatter

Is there such a thing as too much "chirpiness" on the pickleball court? Hayden gives his top 5 trash talkers and they all discuss where the line is and if it's okay to cross it.

Battle of the sexes: Ryan Sherry vs Anna Leigh Waters

Not too long ago, Ryan Sherry (ranked No. 25 in Men's Singles on the PPA Tour) challenged Anna Leigh Waters (ranked No. 1 in Women's Singles on the PPA Tour) to a "battle of the sexes" singles match.

Zane, Thomas, and Big H discuss this and who they do and don't think ALW could beat from the men's side.

The origin of the 'Big H' nickname

Early in his pickleball career, Hayden spent a lot of time with now-senior pro, Jeff Warnick – quite the trash talker himself – and tells a story of how Jeff is the one who actually gave him his nickname.

Ben Johns appeared fatigued at MLP SLC

There's been a lot of discussion this week about the Johns brothers.

After Hayden left (probably to go fly on a private jet furnished by the STL Shock owners), Thomas and Zane discuss what's going on with the greatest player in the game, Ben Johns.

Is he fatigued? Just bored? Does he feel like he got the raw end of the MLP deal (like his brother)?

It's likely all of the above.

After this podcast was recorded, Zane responded to some of Collin's (alleged) complaints about MLP:

The Facebook Group looking to combat pickleball noise

To some, pickleball makes the sweetest noise in the world. To others, it's a whole other story.

That latter story was covered here:

Thomas brings up his side of the pickleball noise problem and tries his best to get Zane to give a hot take on those who consider pickleball too noisy.