David Satka displays his book on the Blair County Pickleball Club courts at Garfield Park.Mirror photo: Patrick Waksmunski
Dave Satka was giving pickleball lessons a few years ago, and while he was chatting and imparting wisdom, a student suggested he should write a book.
So he did. Satka's book, “Winning Pickleball,” published by Hatherley Press in New York, will be in bookstores on April 30th, with an autograph session and seminar at Barnes & Noble at Logan Town Center on May 4th. We plan to do so.
Suffice to say he's excited.
“I'm very happy,” Satka said. “It’s really rare for a first-time author to be picked up by a major publisher.”
Satka, an Indiana State University graduate, Duncansville resident, and former teacher at Forest Hills and Penn State Altoona, credits pickleball with making the book marketable.
According to the Pickleball Players Association, the sport has been the fastest growing in the United States for three consecutive years, with more than 36 million people currently playing.
“I have no illusions that it’s because I’m a great writer,” Satka said. “It's because of the growth and sales potential of pickleball.”
It didn't take long for Hatherley to sign him.
Hatherley's publisher Andrew Flach said: “We are very excited to be publishing David's upcoming book.” “The sport has seen a huge increase in the number of places it can be played and has seen an increase in membership numbers. Pickleball is an ideal way for people to stay active, so David's book has a special focus on health and wellbeing. It was perfect for our growing publishing field.”
Satka credits a player he coached, Dave Berry, as an inspiration to him.
“He had written a book and knew the process and convinced me that I could do it too,” Satka said. “If it wasn't for Dave, there's no chance I would have taken on this. And I probably wouldn't have been able to complete it without him, because he encouraged me from start to finish. Because you gave it to me.”
Berry, an accomplished player himself who won medals at the prestigious Gamma Classic tournament held in Pittsburgh the past two years, proposed and edited the book.
He said to Satka: “I can hear your voice. It's like you're talking.”
Berry said Satka's “diverse background” of competing, coaching and teaching provided a broad base of experience for the book to inform.
Another regular partner who encouraged him was Hope Sheehan. She is also a writer.
“The first day Dave (Satka) showed up to play pickleball was 11 years ago when we met,” Sheehan said. “I was a foot shorter and 10 years older, but I was already playing pickleball and he was still playing tennis, so I had an advantage at the time. But he couldn't be satisfied with the match, even if he was losing.
They played more during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Dave just loves to have fun and his nature makes the game even more fun for me,” Sheehan said. “His sense of humor comes through in this book. I hope the tips in this book will enhance readers' pickleball games as much as Dave and I have advanced ours.”
Many tennis players become drawn to pickleball as they get older. Pickleball not only requires less ground to cover, but also because it offers sociability and offers different levels of play.
“I was an assistant professional at Summit (Tennis and Athletic Center) and continued to play primarily in warmer weather,” Satka said. “I competed in the Mansion Park Tournament, but I came to the conclusion that no matter how much I practiced, it wasn’t enough to compete against the younger, faster, harder-hitting players. Those days were over, and I I was tired of playing old tennis.”
He said he left the tennis courts in Hollidaysburg and “walked across the field into the Y (MCA)” where he spotted a group playing pickleball.
“I was lucky to have Ron Lin, a former tennis player, pick me up,” Satka said. “I was in the second or third group to start it here.”
Wanting to find an outdoor venue, Satka and Mike Hofer, executive director of the Brea Central Recreation Commission, toured the city looking for open tennis courts.
He said he found a spot off Broad Avenue called the “Sandbox” and “felt it was the perfect spot, but we also got kickbacks from tennis players who weren't happy.”
That led to an opportunity at Garfield Park, where Satka and friends received permission to etch pickleball lines into two dilapidated tennis courts.
Since then, the Blair County Pickleball Club has been formed and has developed Garfield into an upscale pickleball facility with six courts.
“The inclusive and addictive nature of the sport makes it appealing to people of a wide range of ages and skill levels,” Flach said.
When Satka is not playing pickleball or writing about pickleball, he volunteers with the Blair County Miracle League. His son Benjamin is involved in a baseball program for children with disabilities.
“I'm the field announcer,” he said. “I try to make sure the kids have fun. It's a shock that my son won't be able to play, so this is our only chance to socialize in the form of sports, but I also love volunteering because kids respond to the little bit of sunlight that falls on them. is rewarding.”
Miracle League President Joe Reed said Satka's contributions have been well received.
“Dave will be on the field with the players as a sidekick and help with batting,” Reid said. “He also pitches and makes announcements from time to time. Dave is well-liked throughout the Miracle League. We can't run the league without volunteers.”
Satka's book is dedicated to Benjamin.
