Professional pickleball player Callie Jo Smith on faith, family and the Lord's hand in her life

Church News

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.9 • 782 Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Callie Jo Smith is a former collegiate tennis player, an 11-time Professional Pickleball Association Tour champion and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As pickleball is the fastest-growing sport several years in a row, she is using her influence to share not only tips for the court, but her love for the sport, her family and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Callie Jo Smith joins Church News reporter Mary Richards on this episode of the Church News podcast to discuss her athletic journey, the power of prayer and how wholesome recreational activities bring her family closer together.

The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Hosts Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News, and Church News reporter Mary Richards share unique views of the stories, events, and people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I guess my hope through pickleball too and just in my own life is to share the love that I have of Jesus Christ and how much he has helped me in my own life and to be able to share that with other people because life is so hard and without
0:22.9	him and without people to help you in your life too and just how amazing he is in every aspect.
0:31.1	And so I just am grateful for Pickleball for those reasons.
0:34.1	I've learned a lot.
0:36.2	Just with all of the things that I've learned about myself and that
0:38.4	I'm continuing to learn and recognize about myself and about Christ and my relationship with him
0:43.6	and just being able to share my love and his love with other people too. I have had so many
0:50.6	miracles just on tour, on the road. Like a missionary opportunity, like I'm just so happy
0:55.9	to be able to share just the spirit, like the feelings that we're feeling and that this gospel
1:00.9	is real, right? The spirit of God is real. This is Mary Richards, reporter at the church news. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1:25.6	Callie Joe Smith is a former collegiate tennis player and now an 11-time professional pickleball association tour champion.
1:34.3	She comes from a multi-generational family of athletes, and that family is a close one, sharing traditions, history, and love with each other through many years of practices,
1:45.4	games, and tournaments. With millions of people playing pickleball around the world,
1:50.1	the sport has been considered the fastest growing sport for several years in a row.
1:55.3	Callie shares pickleball tips and her love for the sport through clinics, videos, and social media. She is also a member of
2:02.7	the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loves the gospel of Jesus Christ. She joins me now
2:08.5	on this episode of the Church News podcast. Welcome, Callie, and thank you for being here. Thanks. I'm
2:13.6	really excited to join you and be here today. So tell me about your family history of athleticism.
2:19.2	You were born into a family of athletes.
2:21.1	You're an athlete.
2:22.0	You married a family of athletes.
2:23.6	Tell me about some of that history and how all of that brings you together.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Church News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Church News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.