Meet the Team

Amy is a litigation attorney who became a pickleball addict in 2020 when her son suggested she give it a try. Amy’s skills as a former college tennis player quickly transitioned to pickleball wins at tournaments. Amy loves introducing family and friends to her love of the game and also helping the community come together to play pickleball and support various causes such as Big Brother Big Sister. Amy resides in Houston with her spouse, two sons and three dogs.

Laura Boske currently resides in Uniontown, Ohio.  Laura was a multisport athlete in high school. She played varsity volleyball, basketball and softball.  She also has a background in racquetball and enjoys hiking, biking, skiing and mountain climbing. She graduated from Kent State University.  She was a Stark County Deputy Sheriff for 9 years and owner of Secured Monitoring Systems for 16 years.  

She began playing pickleball in August of 2018 and developed a love of the game and the pickleball community. She is on the tournament sponsorship committee of her local pickleball club, Hall of Fame City Pickleball. Her recent highlights are back-to-back gold medals at the US Open in 2022 (women’s doubles) and 2023 (women’s doubles/mixed doubles). 

Laura is married to Mike and they have a daughter, Brooke (22) and son, Alex (18).  Brooke attends Ohio State University and Alex is a senior at Hoover High School. 

Missy Grant is a highly accomplished athlete and fitness professional based in Birmingham, Alabama. During her college years, she played tennis at Auburn University where she was ranked #2 on the team and at Flagler College on the national championship team for two consecutive years.

After her college years, Missy became a triathlete and found her calling as a Pilates teacher and coach. She started pickleball during Covid and has not looked back!

Mary Beth grew up in Tomball, Texas, which is a suburb of Houston.  As a fightin’ Texas Aggie (undergraduate class of ’93 and masters in ‘08), she has worked for Texas A&M University for 24 years, as professor of Kinesiology and Sports Management.   

Her first loves are her husband, Neil, and son, Tyler.  Her second love is of course – PICKLEBALL. She found pickleball in 2018 and has directed over 20 tournaments and is the co-advisor for the A&M pickleball club team.  She is also the USA Pickleball Ambassador.  She is a 5th generation Texan; lives on a farm North of Houston; owns 12 Nigerian Dwarf Goats, 4 dogs, 2 cats, and a handful of free-range chickens.  Her nickname is the ball crusher (ask her about this unique story); she can juggle and can do the worm, but not at the same time. and loves a good campfire.  Her personal philosophy –Live life to the fullest, LOVE with all your might, and include laughter every day, even if it’s at yourself … As a breast cancer survivor, she is always grateful for each day on earth and feels EXTREMELY blessed to represent H-TOWN and to be a part of this Houston Hammers organization.

Eric is an oil trader at Vitol Inc who has spent his career navigating the intricacies of energy markets. Originally from Florida, he’s played competitive tennis since childhood. However, a newfound passion for pickleball captivated his interest five years ago, leading to a shift in focus. Despite the transition, Eric cherishes the vibrant camaraderie and thrill of competition in both sports, fostering enduring relationships with fellow players. He currently resides in Houston, Texas, with his wife and three children.

Chris is a father of two beautiful girls, one is attending Clemson University and the other attends High Point University in NC.  Chris has had a great career in the pharmaceutical industry and currently works for Pfizer. As a former D1 tennis player and senior player competing in many national championships the transition to Pickleball in 2022 was seamless. As a former assistant tennis coach at The University of South Carolina, Chris enjoys teaching and helping others reach their Pickleball goals. 

Dino started playing pickleball over 6 years ago when asked to play in a local pickleball event. He quickly developed a passion for the game and understood its positive impact on people’s lives both physically and mentally.

Dino now plays in senior pro events and brings a lifetime of experience in sports including racquet ball and baseball. He sees great value in using video and drilling to help people make improvements in their game and believes practice makes permanent, not perfect.

When he is not on the road growing a business or playing tournaments, Dino lives in Montgomery, Texas, and enjoys spending time with family and friends and the great outdoors.

As Stacy Margolin she was a professional tennis player from 1977-1987 and competed in 25 Grand Slam Championships, including 8 Wimbledon Championships and 11 U.S. Open Championships, with victories over many top 10 players, reaching a singles ranking of #18 in the world.  While attending the University of Southern California, she won the National Collegiate Singles title as a freshman and the National Collegiate Team championships the following year, playing the #1 position.

For the past 23 years, with her husband by her side, they operate “Trails by Potter“, a hiking, biking, and rock climbing service throughout the Ojai Valley and Ventura County www.hikingojai.com.

She started playing pickleball during COVID at the urgence of her older brother Mike, whom she competed with in Mixed doubles at the US Open Tennis Championships 3 times. While it wasn’t love at first hit, she quickly grew to it and started competing. She has been competing on the Senior Pro Champions and Masters tour for the past year. She recently won the 2024 APP Sacramento Gold Medalist Masters Pro Women’s Doubles, 2024 APP Sacramento Silver Medalist Champions Pro Women’s Doubles, 2024 Senior Pro Tustin, Bronze Medalist, 2024 APP Daytona Silver Medalist, Masters Pro Women’s Doubles.

Stacy also has her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and is a Certified Integrative Health Nutrition Coach and owner of Balanced Eating & Lifestyle Coaching, www.stacypotterhealthcoach.com

Stacy also co-hosted the 1^st annual Nate’s Place Pickleball Tournament in 2022, which raised money for Nate’s Place, a Wellness & Recovery Center for teens and young adults. Since 2007, Stacy has volunteered with The Help of Ojai, a.k.a. Meals on Wheels. Interests include yoga, writing and dancing. Stacy was drafted for the Inagural year of the Champions National Pickleball League, where her team, the Austin Ignites, finished as the #1 team in 2023. Stacy has been inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Beverly Hills High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Women’s Intercollegiate Hall of Fame.

She is excited to play for the 2024 Houston Hammers for National Pickleball League.