If you’re watching a tournament and see CJ Klinger at work, chances are his dad, Darrin Klinger, isn’t far away.

Beyond cheering from the sidelines, Darrin plays a pivotal role as CJ’s coach and was once his doubles partner before his son turned pro.

“When we first started playing pickleball, we actually played tournaments together for the first couple of years. I think we played 3.0 or 3.5 for our first couple of tournaments,” recalled Darrin. “Then I had to encourage him to go and play with the better and younger players. I had my day in the sun, and now it’s his turn. I had some injuries catching up with me, but we still hit a little bit and I can drill with him.” 

Darrin has been by CJ's side every step of the way.

“It’s always been just him and I,” noted Darrin. “He’s self-sufficient, but I try to take some stuff off his plate so he can focus on being a great teammate and what he needs to do on the court.”

Though it comes with its challenges, Darrin is embracing life on the road.

“There’s nothing better,” he praised. “We don't take a moment for granted.” 

Given CJ’s rapid rise, it’s safe to say Darrin is doing something right in the mentorship department.

“We have a philosophy. We try to learn something from everybody, whether it’s what to do on the court play-wise or what not to do behavior-wise,” explained Darrin. “It’s one of the reasons I love MLP, because he’s surrounded by great teammates, great coaches, and it’s just a healthy environment.”

One unique aspect of this father-son duo is that whenever possible, they drive to PPA and MLP tour stops, turning their travel into road trips.

“We had an RV for about three years and we drove to a lot of the stops. We mostly fly now, but there’s a handful of stops we can drive to, so we take advantage of that,” said mentioned Darrin. “We make the most out of our road trips. We love listening to music and podcasts. It’s all part of the education. We also try not to do the obvious stuff as well. We do some museums and try to dig a little deeper and find out the different stuff, like what the city is known for or what the big industries are.”

One of Darrin’s favorite memories came during a trip in May when they stopped at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on their way to the PPA Atlanta Pickleball Championships.

“We took a detour to because we love all kinds of music, but we really love country music. It was crazy because we were just chilling there and a family recognized CJ, so we had a good chat and took some photos,” he concluded. “We’re just not used to that, and it really doesn’t happen that often. It was such a random place to be recognized, but a very cool moment.”

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