Gary Heinlein

Gary Heinlein is a Pickleball Coaching International certified instructor and serves as a support staff member for Next Athletes and Nike Pickleball Camps.

Gary grew up learning to play racquetball (from his dad) and tennis (from his brother) and he also played baseball, as a catcher, through college. It wasn't until 2018 that he discovered pickleball in Palm Springs, California and became addicted to the game. He then had to learn the techniques of transferring his racquetball and tennis game to that of pickleball. After about a year he had most of the techniques down and started playing tournaments across the United States winning many Gold medals along the way. During his second year he began the process of getting certified through PCI (now a part of Selkirk Sports). Since that time he has taught many people to play and advance up the ranks of the pickleball ladder. He has taught all ages from 8 to 89 to improve in the game of pickleball. He has taught across the U.S. as well as in his own hometown of Payson, Arizona, where he holds clinics and helps coach the high school pickleball team. As a player he has played in many of the major tournaments including the USA Pickleball Nationals, PPA and APP tournaments, pro/am tournaments and Huntsman Senior Games.