Brooklyn Pickleball Team Chief Operating Officer Adam Behnke has outlined the organisation’s long-term vision for developing young talent, saying the goal is to build a complete pathway that takes players from grassroots programmes to the professional stage.
Speaking on the Empower Pickleball podcast, Behnke said Junior Major League Pickleball was introduced to give young players an opportunity to compete in the same team environment that has made Major League Pickleball one of the fastest-growing professional leagues.
“We wanted to make sure we had a platform for our junior players to shine and experience what Major League Pickleball is all about. It’s such an amazing environment and team atmosphere,” Behnke said.
“A lot of the players joining these Junior MLP teams already compete on the PPA Junior Tour and are doing a fantastic job there. But because the PPA and MLP schedules are split across different parts of the year, we wanted to give juniors the opportunity to compete year-round if they choose to.”
Behnke revealed that the inaugural Junior MLP season is being run as a pilot programme.
“This is the first year of the programme, and it’s serving as a pilot with around 10 teams participating.”
“We’ve got the Orlando Squeeze, Miami, New Jersey 5s and Palm Beach Slicers involved, among others. We’re really excited about the teams that have come on board because they’re helping us build another important layer in the pathway to becoming a professional player.”
According to Behnke, the long-term objective is to create a structured development system where every level naturally feeds into the next.
“When you look at the bigger picture, we started with the professional level. That’s the pinnacle of the pyramid.”
“The question then became, how do we build the other layers underneath it to create long-term growth for the sport? What do we need to do to make that happen?”
“Over the last few years, that’s exactly what’s happened. Minor League Pickleball now sits directly below the professional level.”
“Junior Major League Pickleball sits below that, and then the pathway continues to grow from there.”
Behnke believes grassroots participation remains the foundation of that structure.
“From a Brooklyn Pickleball perspective, our Conquer Kids programme is the foundation of that entire pathway.”
“That’s where it all begins. This year, we got involved because we saw young players like Ethan performing at such a high level, and we wanted to help create a clear route for the next generation to progress through the sport.”
The Brooklyn Pickleball Team has expanded beyond its professional roster in recent years through junior development programmes, school partnerships and community initiatives, with Behnke stressing on the Empower Pickleball podcast that sustainable growth begins by giving young players a clear route from grassroots pickleball to the professional game.