Pickleball pro to conduct clinic at AMP

Pickleball pro Daniel Moore is shown in this file photo from 2019. (USA PICKLEBALL)

Daniel Moore is the real deal as he is a professional pickleball player and is hosting a pickleball clinic this Wednesday, March 8 and Thursday, March 9.

The clinic is from 8am to 12pm at the American Memorial Park pickleball courts and it costs $100 for a four-hour lesson.

Moore will then travel to Guam for a two-day training event also.

The visit was arranged by Pickleball Federation of the Northern Mariana Islands president and pickleball ambassador for Saipan, Dr. Nelson Krum.

The 26-year-old is currently ranked as the 11th top doubles player in the world, with a Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating rating higher than 6.6 and is a nine-time national champion professional pickleball player. 

Moore won both the 19+ age and open singles divisions at the 2014 USAPA. In 2015, he double dipped at the Tournament of Champions, winning the masters singles and also teaming with Matt Staub to win doubles as well. 

Then, at the USAPA Nationals Tournament, he won gold in the men’s 19+ singles division and men’s open doubles, partnering with Matthew Blom, and earned silver in the open singles, establishing him as the top overall player in the game. 

Moore co-founded and manages Pickleball Trips, a company taking pickleball players to world-class destinations around the world. He introduced the sport to Japan eight years ago, where there are currently around 300 players. He is an International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association certified instructor and teaches in the U.S, Japan, China, Spain, France, and Mexico. 

Moore is now living in Ueda, Japan, where he is trying to grow the country’s interest in pickleball. 

He and his father, Scott Moore, have made pickleball a family affair. 

In their first match together in 2014, they beat the defending national champions at the Tournament of Champions. They played well together but decided that in 2015 they should split up to play with others their own age. 

Both men say they appreciate the mental and physical aspects of the game. 

“It is a general equalizer. Speed and power is not as big of a factor as most sports, and therefore a person in his or her 50s can potentially compete with those in their 20s,” said Scott, who also enjoys golf, snowboarding, and tennis. “It can be physically challenging, but it is also extremely intellectually engaging, as you have to be very patient and calculating, almost like a chess game, to think ahead and set up your points in order to gain the advantage.” 

Daniel, who was once an avid tennis player, agrees. “When you get to the higher levels, it requires so much patience and thinking,” he says. “You can’t just attack. You have to bide your time, set up the point and pounce when the time is right.” 

The Moores have played all over the world and have presented clinics in half of the states in the U.S. as well as Spain, Portugal, Japan, and Mexico. 

For those who don’t know what pickleball is, it is a cross between tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. You can watch to learn more or join their daily night games at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.