Pickleballer in the 808: Jack Hodges

Hawai'i Pickleball NewsHawai'i Pickleball PlayersKaua'i Pickleball Players

Jun 11

Kalaheo, Kaua’i—I’ve known about Jack Hodges for a while, but finally circled back with him to chat. Jack is heavily active in promoting pickleball in the islands as the USA Pickleball District Ambassador for all of Hawai’i.

Kaua’i has a strong community of pickleballers, and it all began when Jack returned home from California in 2015.

But I’ll let him tell the story. Without further ado, please meet Pickleballer in the 808 Jack Hodges!

*Jack with a group of players on Kaua’i*

Currently residing in:

Kalaheo, Kaua’i

Where did you grow up and where did you go to high school?

Born and raised on Oahu. Grew up in Kailua and went to Kamehameha. Went to college at Stanford.

How did you discover pickleball and when did you start playing?

My sister lives in Chandler, Arizona.

Arizona is one of the big pickleball hubs in the U.S. She was always encouraging me to play, but I was too busy with teaching and coaching (I was a Kinesiology/PE Professor and Head Baseball Coach at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California).

When I retired in 2011, I took up the game—one of the best decisions I have ever made.

What do you do outside of pickleball?

Avid amateur photographer. Really enjoy going out on photowalks.

I hear that you were the first to bring pickleball to Kaua’i. Please tell us how that all came about.

In January of 2015, a few weeks after moving back home to Hawai’i (Kaua’i—my mom and her six brothers and sisters were born and raised here in Waimea), I started going to Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa.

Just me.

I would use the rally backboard, hit some serves, etc. I also put up a large banner on the chain link fence promoting pickleball.

People started noticing the sign and would stop to ask questions. In no time we had enough to play. Sometimes enough for two courts.

In late March of 2015, after encouragement from my wife Stephanie, I approached Melanie Okamoto and Cindy Duterte (Kaua’i County Parks and Recreation) about starting pickleball on Kaua’i.

They were 100% for it.

On April 1, 2015, we (my wife Stephanie and I) introduced pickleball to Kaua’i with a demonstration clinic at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center Gym. We had over 100 attendees.

That’s the story.

Nine years later we are going strong.

What do you love most about pickleball?

The people. The camaraderie. The smiles and laughing. The chance to see people exercising regularly. The genuine appreciation they have for the game and their pickleball friends. So many have said “pickleball has changed my life.”

What paddle are you currently playing with?

Stephanie and I both play with the Engage Pursuit EX 6.0

How often do you play?

We try to play at least five days a week.

Anything else on your mind that you’d like to share?

I want to make sure my wife Stephanie receives the credit she is due. She has been an unofficial pickleball ambassador for all these years—helping me and our PB community.

We play together all the time and enjoy talking about the game after play. So much fun.

She is invaluable.

I am the District Ambassador for Pickleball, which means I oversee play on the four islands. Covid changed the dynamics and our island ambassadors (20 for the four islands) do such a great job, I bother them very little.

My main responsibility is communicating with officials from USA Pickleball and passing along information to our ambassadors here in Hawaii. With our USAP website, they are almost as informed as I am.

But, in the background, Stephanie is always to help evaluate and recommend. She is our Kaua’i pickleball ‘ohana’s number one fan.