Our Team

James Harding

James Harding- Head Coach

James Introduced Pickleball to the Club back in October 2023. James is a Level 4 Performance Tennis Coach, and having coached since 2003, jumped at the chance to increase participation in this rapidly growing sport in the UK.

James holds the Pickleball England Leadership Certificate and also the Pickleball England Level 1 Qualification and is ready to undertake the Level 2 soon.

Heading up the Pickleball coaching programme and growing the game at Lets Dink is a big focus of James’. His passion for sport drives him on to make the programme one that is available to all levels, and ages and one that goes from strength to strength.

Deb Pearce

Deb took up pickleball in January 2024 and has quickly embraced both competition and development in the sport. A regular player with Pickleball Nottingham, she has already competed at the English Open (2024 & 2025), the English Nationals (2024, with 2025 ahead), and will also take part in the Welsh Open (Sept 2025).

Having trained in Los Angeles and Spain, Deb holds the Pickleball England Leadership Certificate, the PPR Level 1 coaching qualification, and will continue to build on her coaching pathway. She is also a qualified Level 1 European Pickleball Federation Referee, bringing a valuable officiating perspective to the game.

Passionate about both playing and contributing to the wider pickleball community, Deb is committed to helping the sport thrive.

Mark Pearce

Mark discovered pickleball in January 2024 and quickly made his mark, competing in the English Open (2024 & 2025), the English Nationals (2024, with 2025 to come), and the Welsh Open (Sept 2025) with Pickleball Nottingham. He has trained in Los Angeles and Spain, holds the Pickleball England Leadership Certificate and PPR Level 1 coaching qualification, and will be undertaking his Level 2 coaching award in December 2025.

Recently appointed as Nottinghamshire’s representative for Pickleball England, Mark is also training to become a Level 1 Referee with upcoming experience in the US. Passionate about both playing and coaching, he’s dedicated to growing the game at every level.

Maria Cotton

Maria is a Level 3 tennis coach and started coaching Pickleball back in 2004. She is passionate about growing the sport and increasing participation at all levels.

Maria has her Pickleball Leaders Certificate and is looking to undertake her Level 1 qualification and progress through the coaching Levels. She also enjoys playing alongside her coaching.

Jon  Penney

Jon is a Level 3 tennis coach and started coaching Pickleball back in 2004. He loves to make sessions as active as possible with lots of fun games and drills to help development but make the game as fun as possible.

Jon has his Pickleball Leaders Certificate and is looking to undertake his Level 1 qualification and progress through the coaching Levels.