Who Is John "Johnny Smashmouth" Silvestri?
I'm John Silvestri, and I've been playing, teaching and promoting pickleball since early 2017. My best friend Artie and I played racquetball for about 40 years, and were very evenly matched. With AT LEAST 10,000 games between us, we're not sure which one of us is up by a game or two! Artie was also a great ping pong player, and a 4.0/4.5 ranked tennis player.
When Artie retired and moved to Arizona, he started playing pickleball and immediately fell in love with the game and the pickleball community. He introduced the game to me on a visit back to NJ, and we were addicted right from the start. Sadly for me, ping pong and tennis skills transfer much better to pickleball than my racquetball skills, and unlike our decades-long racquetball rivalry, Artie was way ahead of me on the pickleball courts. Not knowing any pickleballers in NJ, we only played singles starting out, and I found myself losing game after game. I remembered some of my amazing racquetball comebacks against my good friend, and that I played much better when I played mad! I grabbed a Sharpie marker, and drew a mean face on the pickleball, so my intensity level would go up a notch. Well, it didn't help me win any more games, but it was on that day, in Rahway River Park in Rahway, NJ that Johnny Smashmouth was alive!! It's a common misconception that I am actually Johnny Smashmouth, but really he's just a pickleball with a mean face drawn on it!! Those who play with and against me say the name fits, because I do play all-out. I will never give up on a ball, or a game, even to the point where all-out, body-launching superman diving saves can be seen on a weekly basis!
Even though pickleball has been around since 1965, it's only recently started to explode in popularity. It's a game that can be so easy to learn, yet is tremendously challenging. It is a game anyone can play regardless of age and has become a fantastic multi-generational sport where grandparents can enjoy playing with their kids and grandkids.
This website is dedicated to the continued growth of pickleball offering resources for lessons, meetups, equipment, pictures, videos and recap write-ups detailing all the local action from some of your favorite players, including Johnny & Susy Smashmouth!!