Led by a powerhouse ownership group and dedicated front office, Miami Pickleball Club (MPC) is pushing to become Major League Pickleball’s (MLP) flagship club on and off the court. MPC general manager Jamie Duguid sat down to provide insight on building one of the most exciting brands in pickleball.
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW
Duguid is new to the pickleball scene, transitioning from a 12-year tenure in sports marketing with Major League Soccer, VISA and FIFA World Cup. He’s now in the midst of Miami’s inaugural season in MLP, tasked with player management, trading and drafting. Off-court, he works alongside club ownership to develop the club’s distinctive brand.
“In a league that’s taking off like a rocket ship, how do we ensure Miami Pickleball Club is bringing on the right partners,” said Duguid. “Marketing itself in the right way and putting on the right events, so that we really are creating what is a professional sports team from scratch.”
Duguid’s path to Miami’s pickleball scene came by way of his brother Stuart, player agent for MPC co-owner and founder, Naomi Osaka.
“He’s been talking about pickleball for a little longer than me,” recalled Duguid. “Him and Naomi were part of, and led with a few others, the ownership group that was put together for the team. Once that all got finalized, they were looking for someone to bring on to help with a general manager role. He asked me to come onboard at the start of the year. That’s really how I was introduced to the sport, the team and the league as well.”
The ownership Duguid speaks of includes Osaka and fellow tennis star Nick Kyrgios, Kansas City Chief quarterback Patrick Mahomes and music artist, Kygo.
High-profile athletes involved with MPC were on display at the club’s launch event at Reserve Padel earlier this year as well. Situated on Miami’s picturesque waterfront, the event saw tennis player Taylor Fritz and Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler taking in the festivities.
“We just wanted to set the tone with that brand launch,” said Duguid. “I think moving forward what you’ll see is more of the same, to a degree. We want to diversify and do a bit more with consumers, but we want to make sure we stay true to the brand.”
The development of Miami’s name and logo were approached with the same attention to detail and thought, resulting in a clean, authentic and functional look and feel. A task not easily accomplished.
“We wanted the aesthetic to be very Miami,” said Duguid. “We worked with an ex-Nike employee who worked on the Jordan brand to put together our logo. We wanted to be very thoughtful with that…There’s a lot of great names in the league and a lot of great ideas. We wanted to have pickleball in our name so that from day one, people know exactly who we are.”
Miami’s ownership group has been actively involved with the club’s brand development as well, with a number of behind-the-scene investors involved in real estate, consumer products and tech industries. It’s an aspect of the club’s organization that they intend to lean into moving forward in addition to capitalizing and incorporating their most prominent and public-facing owners.
“We want to use the expertise and the personalities that we have,” added Duguid. “Whether it be the music element with Kygo, whether Naomi is involved in our merch, designing a piece or fashion line. Those are things we want to think about moving forward so that we are representative of our owners as well.”
It hasn’t all been roses for Miami in year one. The team’s results in MLP’s opening event of the year in Mesa left much to be desired, and forced Duguid and the club to make some early-season changes that saw the arrival of Brendon Long to the team. The changes resulted in a third overall finish in Daytona.
“We have to create a winning team,” explained Duguid. “I think that we found that out pretty quickly. After the first MLP event where we didn’t draft correctly, one thing led to another and we’re in 11th place in the Challenger League—that left us in a bit of difficult spot. We talk about building a brand a lot, but first and foremost we have to be a competitive team and we have to do well on the court. Otherwise the rest isn’t even worth talking about.”
Moving forward, the club plans to announce a multi-year brand partnership in the coming weeks. It’s another area that is being carefully managed to ensure any deals are mutually beneficial for both parties and that the club’s overall brand remains authentic, while also benefitting the sport of pickleball in Miami and beyond. The pragmatic approach applies to MPC’s plans to increase overall visibility in the city and state as well.
“We want to be the first movers in the league,” said Duguid. “We want to be the hippest brand in the league and we want to make sure we’re positioned as Miami’s team moving forward and what that means to the city, what that means to represent Miami. So, moving forward, more brand building, hopefully more partnerships, competitive success and kind of riding the wave of pickleball as well. I think it’ll be really interesting to see where the league and the sport goes.”
ABOUT MIAMI PICKLEBALL CLUB
Miami Pickleball Club is a professional sports team that competes in Major League Pickleball. The team made its debut in 2023 and is owned by Naomi Osaka, Patrick Mahomes, Kygo, Nick Kyrgios, Rich Paul, Soichiro Minami and others. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the US, and Miami Pickleball Club represents the city in the highest-tier competitive league in professional pickleball. For more information on Miami Pickleball Club, visit themiamipc.com and follow Miami Pickleball Club on Instagram and TikTok.
ABOUT HAUS PICKLEBALL
Haus Pickleball covers the rapidly growing sport of pickleball. Through written articles, interviews, podcasts and more, Haus Pickleball aims to support the growth of the sport in North America and beyond. Stay updated and help us #GrowTheGame by following and subscribing to the Haus Pickleball social channels.
