Benjamin Bishop

ABOUT ME: 

I have lived in Catawba County, North Carolina, my entire life and am getting ready to start my 32nd year of teaching middle school students. My father introduced me to the game of tennis at age five and I grew up playing it as well as baseball. I was introduced to pickleball about four years ago and since then I've started playing more and more pickleball and less and less tennis. I became the USA Pickleball for my county last year and love working with my city and other pickleball players to help grow the sport in my area. 

In regards to pickleball: I play up to five times a week, I'm currently at a 4.5 level (4.0 on bad days and sometimes 5.0 on great days), and being the USA Pickleball Ambassador for my county has allowed me to work with my home city (Hickory, NC) and others to help create a total of 13 outdoor public pickleball courts in our city (before last year we only had 4 courts), and I also send out pickleball related emails to 112 local players/families keeping them updated on pickleball happenings in our area. Regarding tennis: in the early 2000s I was ranked number one in NC at the 4.0 level and I've been on two state championship 4.0 teams. 

My hobbies include spending time with my family and friends, playing pickleball, and working to grow the sport of pickleball in my area. 

WEBSITE: https://www.foothillspickleball.com/

FAVORITE QUOTE: 

Being a Math teacher, I like the quote: "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." - Eric Hoffer