The Dinking Dad - Family. Pickleball. Beer. Repeat.
About The Dinking Dad
Welcome to The Dinking Dad: Where Dinks Are Strategic, Dad Jokes Are Mandatory, and a Cold One is Within Arm's Reach
I’m Neil Friedenberg—a family man, longtime pickleball advocate, craft beer enthusiast, and living proof that you can take a few or more than a few wrong turns in life and still end up exactly where you’re supposed to be (usually at a pickleball court….or a brewery).
I’ve been playing and coaching pickleball since the late 1980s, back when paddles were questionable and nobody knew what a “dink” was. My dad happens to be a legendary Hall of Famer, so yes—pickleball is basically coded in my DNA. But here’s the thing: it does not define me. What defines me is connecting with people, building community, laughing at life's curveballs, and enjoying a damn good craft beer along the way.
My journey hasn’t always been smooth, polished, or social media worthy. It’s been messy, humbling, and often a roller coaster with the unexpected sharp turns, but that’s where the best stories live. I’ve lived a little (okay, a lot), learned the hard way more than once, and now I’m here to share the laughs, the life and pickleball lessons, and the occasional bad decision….preferably after a great game and a cold beer.
This site is that meeting place. A spot to connect with people grinding through the marathon of life—family, work, the wins, the losses, and everything in between. It’s a place to learn pickleball (whether you’re brand new or competitive), appreciate great beer without being one of those IPA snobs, and share stories that remind us that none of us are navigating through life perfectly.
Think of it as part pickleball clinic, part beer-fueled storytelling, and part group therapy with island vibes. If you’re here to laugh, learn, sip a cold one, and realize you’re not alone in the chaos, you’re in the right place. You made it!