St. Louis pro pickleball team to partner with The Picklr in Vestavia, Huntsville

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The Picklr Birmingham in Vestavia Hills and the St. Louis Shock of Major League Pickleball on Monday announced a partnership that brings the Shock’s minor league operation to Alabama.

Andrew Haines, the Shock’s chief operating officer, said the Shock has 110 players in its minor league program in eight states.

But the connection with Alabama Indoor Pickleball and Patrick Denney (one of the owners of The Picklr locations in Vestavia Hills and Huntsville) will be the Shock’s first minor league partnership, he said.

“It'll be opportunities for players at every level, every age,” Haines said. “Some of those players aspire to be professionals. Some just want to be part of a team and compete and have a good time.”

The Shock COO calls it a unique program with 10-year-olds up to players who are nearly 80 years old. And every skill level, from new to nearly professional. 

“Obviously, the Shock are a major league pickleball team,” he said. “What a lot of these players aspire to be is (to) go professional.”

The program that’s launching at The Picklr in Vestavia Hills and Huntsville is team-based and involves tournaments. Denney and his partner, Billy Holbrook, opened the Vestavia Hills location of The Picklr in March 2025. There has been a soft opening of the Huntsville location, with the official opening coming in January.

“Patrick and his crew here will have leagues and stuff going on (that are) not necessarily Shock related leagues,” Haines said. “But for us, … these players will compete in local, regional and national team tournaments. And they're going to host some tournaments here.”

Denney said this partnership gives The Picklr locations in Vestavia Hills and Huntsville much more access to the Major League Pickleball world.

“It's one big community. Over the last several months, we've really built up the pickleball community here in the Birmingham area,” Denney said. “It's part of our focus for the state, so we signed an exclusive (minor league license in) Alabama with the St Louis Shock to just do it with us while we grow our players and we're at home with programming. We just continue to grow the sport and really build a strong foundation.”

As the exclusive Alabama licensee, The Picklr will develop and operate the Shock minor league program statewide, providing players throughout the state with the opportunity to join the “Shock family” and compete in tournaments at the local, regional, and national levels. The program will offer year-round training and competitive play.

"This partnership with Patrick and The Picklr represents a defining moment for the St. Louis Shock and for Minor League Pickleball," Haines said. "Patrick has built two world-class facilities in Birmingham and Huntsville, and his vision for growing the game aligns perfectly with our mission. By establishing Alabama as our first statewide licensed territory, we're setting the standard for how championship organizations can expand and serve players across the country. This is just the beginning of our nationwide growth."

Haines said Denney brings extensive experience in pickleball facility operations and player development to the partnership. With premier locations in both Birmingham and Huntsville, The Picklr facilities provide state-of-the-art venues for training, tournaments and community engagement throughout Alabama.

The Shock also has minor league operations in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.

Being selected as the exclusive Shock minor league licensee for Alabama is an incredible honor, Denney said.

"The St. Louis Shock have proven they're the best in the business — 24-1 record and MLP Cup Champions says it all. Now, players in Alabama will have access to that same championship culture, training and competitive opportunities,” he said. “We're going to build something special here and give Alabama pickleball players a clear path from local courts to the professional level. This is a game-changer for our state."