Dave has been competing as an athlete since childhood. He was born and raised in Northwest Indiana where he played baseball, basketball, and tennis in high school. Upon graduation, Dave walked on to the men's tennis team at Division I Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He became a four-year letter winner, earning a scholarship on his way to obtaining his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.
 

Dave began his instructing career at the World Class Tennis Camp in Baltimore and continued as an assistant tennis professional in Altoona, PA. He started his professional career by serving eight years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves and as a criminologist with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Dave followed his passion for teaching by returning to become a certified secondary social studies teacher. He recently retired after 25 years of teaching history and as an adjunct professor at Penn State Altoona. He was also a successful head basketball and assistant tennis coach during his tenure as an educator.

 

In 2017, Dave discovered and became addicted to pickleball. He was named a USA Pickleball Ambassador for Central Pennsylvania and founded the first outdoor pickleball courts in Altoona. Since then, interest and the number of players in the area has exploded. Dave is a 4.5 skill-level player, an advocate for Selkirk Inc., a certified Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) coach, instructor for The Villages Enrichment Academy and a pickleball consultant for Guinness World Records. He resides in a small town just south of Altoona, PA.

 

Contact Dave at dsatka@winningpickleballnow.com