Welcome, from Josh

Welcome to the Dropshot blog. A place where we’ll dive into everything we’re learning about pickleball tech, player experience, and building smarter gear for the court. You’ll also hear the behind-the-scenes stories that brought this project to life, where it’s going next, and the community we’re building around it.

Let me start by telling you how this all began.

A while back, I was playing pickup pickleball games at my local courts, and I noticed a pattern: no one could remember the score. Ever. There’d be a great rally, someone would call out “Was that 8–6-2 or 8-7-1?”, and the game would stall while we tried to piece it together. I’ve played a lot of sports over the years, but pickleball’s unique serving rules made this especially frustrating.

I searched for a solution.. something smart, portable, easy to use. There were clunky apps, whiteboards, and mechanical scorekeepers that didn’t really help. And nothing felt like it belonged on a modern court. I kept thinking: why hasn’t anyone made a scoreboard that actually solves this in a way that fits the sport and how people play today?

That was the spark. I teamed up with a small group of engineers - mechanical, optical, electrical, software.. and we started prototyping.

What we ended up building was more than just a scoreboard. Dropshot is an intelligent, LED-based system that sits on the side of the court and updates in real-time with just a tap from your Apple Watch or a lightweight remote control. We designed it to be glance-readable in bright sun, weather-resistant, and built with the kind of polish that makes you want to bring it out every game.

We went deep on the details:

• We engineered custom PCB and LED drivers to make the display ultra-clear from anywhere on the court.
• We tuned the optics so the green numerals pop against a matte black enclosure, even in full daylight.
• We added haptics and audible feedback so players know every input was registered.
• We gave players the ability to track the score, serving position, service number, and game format without ever needing to look down between rallies.

We also built it to scale. Whether you’re just playing with friends at the park or you’re managing 40 courts at a facility, Dropshot can be set up, synced, and running in under a minute.

And we’re just getting started.

Our goal is simple: make playing pickleball smoother, smarter, and more fun, without getting in the way of the game.

This blog is where we’ll share everything we’re learning. Design insights, tech breakthroughs, behind-the-scenes looks, and stories from the people using Dropshot all over the country. Thanks for being here. We’re building this for you.

– Josh Brown
Founder, Dropshot