Pickleballer in the 808: Ralph Gorgoglione

Maui Pickleball — *“Pickleballer in the 808” Ralph Gorgoglione, talking to Kihei Elementary School students about pickleball. Credit:* *Maui Now*

Kihei, Maui—It’s hard to know where to begin when introducing Ralph Gorgoglione.

Ralph and I met last year, before I launched Pickleball 808, and was an immediate and early supporter of the idea of connecting Hawai’i pickleball players through an email newsletter.

He’s a force for good, doing incredible things for the Maui community through the non-profit Maui Tennis and Pickleball Association and an organization called KOKKU.

Ralph runs KOKKU, a “community of people who share the vision of making the world a better place with the simple principle of love for one another”. When the Maui Wildfires hit, KOKKU sprung into action and raised almost $90,000 for wildfire victims.

Ralph is an elite-level USPTA Instructor in tennis, an IPTPA Level 2 instructor in pickleball, and President of the Maui Tennis and Pickleball Association (MTPA), a league of almost 300 players. In addition to running a very active league (they’re in their fourth year), the MTPA subsidizes lessons, clinics, gear, and the Junior Pickleball Program in partnership with area elementary schools.

I can’t wait for you to get to know Pickleballer in the 808 Ralph Gorgoglione!

Psssst….be sure to watch to the end for an exciting announcement!

Currently resides in: Kihei

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Los Angeles area and moved to Hawai’i about 10 years ago. I played tennis since I was 12 years old…I played Varsity and NCAA too.

When and how did you discover pickleball?

I was just about to open Maui-G Sports (about three years ago), and I went out to the local public courts, right here at Waipulani Park, and I saw all walks of life, all different ages, a mixture of people….all having way too much fun. Way too much fun.

I see this and realize I need to do a major pivot. I’ve got to make sure we’ve got the gear and the goods for this sport at our store. As we were coming through COVID, I saw it as a wonderful social outlet for people, being cooped up for a while. And because of that, I realized that this is a sport that many, many people were going to be a part of.

What kind of products do you carry at Maui-G Sports?

We did a major pivot. Back then (when we opened), it was about 70% tennis and 30% pickleball sales, and now it’s totally flip flopped—now it’s 30% tennis and 70% pickleball. Right now, we have around 2700 pickleballs, 3000 tennis balls, 400+ pairs of shoes, and 300-400 paddles in stock.