At James Madison University, Ryan and Carter have built one of the fastest-growing pickleball clubs in America:
📈 500+ social members
🏆 32 competitive athletes
💰 3 sponsorship deals
✉️ 200+ cold emails, reach outs, and even fundraising rounds
This isn’t just about sport. It’s about leadership, failure, culture, and building something from the ground up.
From breaking racquets at 12 years old (Ryan's greatest failure), to pitching companies like Engage for sponsorships, to running trial processes with 200+ students… JMU Pickleball is proving that collegiate sports can operate like real businesses.
This is The New Startup.
⏰ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - intro
01:18 - The New Startup begins (Greatest Failures
10:15 - Learning leadership as the youngest player
17:50 - Cold emails & landing sponsors
26:20 - Running JMU Pickleball like a business
34:55 - Nationals, tryouts, and building competitive teams
45:40 - Pro players in collegiate pickleball?
54:15 - The social side of JMU Pickleball
1:02:05 - Biggest mistakes & lessons learned
1:12:40 - The future of collegiate pickleball
1:20:00 - Legacy: JMU’s role in building the sport
✨ Key Takeaways
Failure on court can shape your leadership off it.
Cold outreach works — 200+ emails led to multiple sponsors.
Collegiate pickleball is exploding, from 32 teams to 64+ in just two years.
Running a club is running a startup.
JMU’s legacy is simple: they did it right, and they did it fun.
📌 Connect with JMU Pickleball
Instagram: @jmupickleball ( https://www.instagram.com/jmupickleball/?hl=en )
Email Reach Out (BIG email guys) : jmuclubpickleball@gmail.com
#FailFirstPodcast #Pickleball #pickleballpodcast #collegesports #CollegiatePickleball #StartupLife #TheNewStartup