The St. Louis Shock has established itself as one of the most dominant teams in Major League Pickleball, thanks in large part to a star-studded core featuring Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Hayden Patriquin, and Gabe Tardio.

The group has competed together for three years, and that shared history has helped create one of the strongest team bonds in the league. But the Shock’s tight-knit chemistry wasn’t built overnight.

It took time for this version of the Shock to develop. Bright and Fahey recently opened up about the team’s early days on a podcast, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how their camaraderie began to take shape.

Tardio and Fahey did not get along at the start. 

“Gabe was terrible our first year. He was such a jerk,” said Bright. 

When Fahey got engaged, she wasn’t sure if Tardio would be invited to the wedding. 

“I remember thinking, do I have to invite the other guy on our team?” admitted Fahey. 

In the end, Tardio and the rest of the Shock attended Fahey’s wedding last year.

But the squad started off with a lot of tension between Fahey and Tardio. 

“I won a singles tournament, the Shock posted a picture of the medal winners on their Instagram, and Gabe commented ‘Yeah, the event that no one cares about,’” said Fahey.

“I think that’s how Gabe shows affection, by kind of being a jerk, especially because it was Kate’s first year playing pro. She’s brand new and she didn’t even have a PPA contract for a while. And Gabe is just calling her bad at doubles all the time,” added Bright. 

“I remember Andrei Daescu came up to me three years ago and said, ‘Maybe we can play mixed together? Gabe always tells me you suck, but I think you’re not bad.’ And Gabe was my mixed partner,” said Fahey. 

Tardio didn’t go easy on Fahey in her early days on the Shock.

“Do you remember our first practice with Gabe?” asked Bright. “Kate came to Florida to play with Will Howells, Gabe, and I, and we played four times in one day. For the last session of the day, we played mixed and we were so tired.”

“I popped every ball up, I played so bad. Will was really nice about it, saying don’t worry it’s just practice. But Gabe stormed off. He said, ‘I’m not playing with this chick,’” recapped Fahey.  

“I told Gabe I promise she’s better. We were doing really well today in women’s. And later that day, Gabe went to Hayden and said, ‘We’re screwed. Kate isn’t good,’” said Bright. 

A month later, the four Shock teammates played again and Fahey had a better day on the practice court. Patriquin started to see what Bright saw in Fahey. And eventually, so did Tardio.

Now, the Shock are one of the strongest teams in the game, Tardio and Fahey have countless wins under their belts, and the Shock are top contenders to win the Finals.

This team has certainly come a long way in a few seasons. 

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