Deep Commitment to Pickleball in Family’s Genes

Henry Shields grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, only forty-five minutes outside Ann Arbor, where he goes to school now at the University of Michigan. He grew up playing sports, lacrosse being the one taken most seriously, and originally wanted to go to college to continue playing. He traveled around attempting camps and playing on travel teams, but only received some D3 offers (fun fact: Henry actually verbally committed to Navy before tenth grade before decommitting not-too-long after). By the time COVID hit, Henry’s college lacrosse aspirations had faded, but he’d already come across his new fascination: pickleball.

Henry had some experience playing pickleball growing up, as his grandparents had a spot down in Florida with courts, and the family would travel down each New Year’s and would end up playing. At first, this started as some light, rudimentary testing-out of the sport. As Henry grew up, the sport took a different form for him and his family, however. The games got more and more serious (some of the cousins Henry played with went on to play D-1 tennis, so he was likely getting solid-level play even just within the family-trip play), and they all bought in. Henry’s dad built a court in his backyard. His grandparents got a court for their other home in Northern Michigan. His brother Thomas even started “The Dink,” a pickleball newsletter (and possibly the first of its kind). While not heavily involved, Henry was one of the first people to have the idea pitched to him and got to be along for the ride as the brand gained popularity, taking off quickly and partnering with the Professional Pickleball Association as well as with various pickleball gear companies.

Henry standing on the far right. SOURCE: UOFMPICKLEBALLCLUB/INSTAGRAM

In 2021, Henry and his brother Thomas looked to enter a more competitive pickleball scene. In play, Henry notes that they didn’t have much power, more aiming to play a Ben-and-Colin Johns style of consistent, dutiful, smart pickleballing. Henry made it a point to set himself up with a foundation of strong dinks and drops, allowing him to develop quickness and power later on without needing to reinforce control.

Henry sets himself up for a turnaround backhand reset SOURCE: UOFMPICKLEBALLCLUB/INSTAGRAM

As a student, Henry began as an Economics major but finished his undergrad in International Studies. He doesn’t plan to use his degree in the near future, though, as he looks forward to a job opportunity with “The Bounce,” a pickleball-centered company where he’ll help work their social media site designed to connect players with other players and coaches.

Henry’s been tapped into the pickleball world for quite some time now, having discovered his love for the sport with his family at a young age, and has converted this passion into a 4.5+ DUPR rating, employment within the space, and the #1 player spot on the University of Michigan Pickleball team. What’s more? He remains a grounded, unfailingly positive teammate that everyone’s happy to have leading the team.