Sonia Burda used pickleball to spark a turnaround in her life

During her academic career in the East Penn School District, Sonia Burda didn't play sports.

"I was into music," the 1986 Emmaus High graduate said. "I won best in music in high school. I played instruments there and then I attended Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia where I was president of their musical ensemble."

While quite the musician, Burda always tried to stay in shape, and would run marathons and bike in the Lehigh Parkway throughout her adult life.

And then like the more than 36 million people who have made it the fastest-growing sport in America, Burda was bitten by the pickleball bug.

In her case, there was a special incentive to pick up the paddle and get in the game.

She had moved to Brentwood, in Los Angeles, many years ago, but came back home to help take care of her mother, Agnes, during the pandemic, who had multiple respiratory and cardiac issues.

"In those days, I'd open up that Morning Call and I'd see seven or eight pages of obituaries for elderly people," Burda said. "It was shocking. I came to terms with making a sacrifice. I decided not to leave the situation and make the best of it. I managed multiple medical equipment machines and over fourteen doctors between St. Luke's and LVHN. After my mother passed in 2022, I felt the need to get moving and re-engage with life," Burda said. "I saw a friend enjoying pickleball in sunny LA, and I thought, 'This could be a healing step forward.' Pickleball could give me a way to be active, build relationships, and start fresh."

One relationship led to another and now Burda is the chief financial officer for The National Pickleball League (NPL), the 12-team professional league for age 50+ which has brought the passion for pickleball to a new level across the country. One of the teams is based in Princeton, New Jersey – and a potential Philly team is on the horizon with NPL's 2025 expansion.

What at first was a personal escape from a difficult time in her life has turned into a new career venture and that passion was inspired by her first coach in the Lehigh Valley, Dottie (Fischl) Kelly.

Kelly, a Dieruff High School graduate, made her mark as one of the country's most prominent racquetball players. She made several U.S. national women's teams in the 1980s and early '90s.

She is now a St. Luke's pickleball instructor and when Burda wanted to really learn the game and take it to a higher level, she sought out Kelly.

"I sought her out as she is the go-to coach in the Lehigh Valley" Burda said. "I really threw myself into pickleball, going to Dottie's clinics when I was in town and taking lessons with Kyle Lewis, a top pro, when I was in LA."

Kelly said Burda came to her as a beginner but clearly had athletic ability and was able to pick up the sport in a hurry.

"She was taking care of one of her parents when she was learning to play pickleball and she was dealing with a lot," Kelly said. "It was a very good thing for her. She kept taking lessons and grew to love it. And now, look at how far she has taken it. She ended up as a top official with the National Pickleball League. She's an amazing person. I am very happy for her and proud to have played a small role in her journey."

"I have a lot of relationships in the entertainment industry and so I started to network out in LA with pickleballers I came into contact with," Burda said. "One of them was Matt Manasse, who is considered the pickleball coach to the stars in Hollywood. I did my research and just started talking to people about pickleball which I love to do all the time. I asked people to introduce me to other people. I asked for an introduction to Beth Bellamy, who is one of the best senior players and a former Division I tennis champion. She's one of the co-founders of NPL. With an MBA from the Darden School of Business at UVA and all my work experience I was ready to go when the league and co-founder Michael Chen was ready to go."

Burda's involvement with the entertainment industry includes being an agent for International Creative Management (ICM) where she brokered content and sponsorship deals. She's worked at most of the major studios and earned membership into the Emmy's Television Academy.

"That has given a 360-degree view of the sales side of the business and also the cost side," she said. "I've actually worked for Guitar Center stores which is headquartered in the suburbs of LA, that's merchandising which works really well with the NPL plans for growth."

But despite her vast experience in the business, media and entertainment worlds, it is her passion for pickleball which is the most satisfying aspect of her new position.

Burda said she used pickleball to pivot her life.

"It was a good way to distract from the loss of a loved one and to be engaged post-pandemic with other people outside of my professional geographical area," she said. "I still had responsibilities with family financial management as anyone would after a loved one dies. I could play it on either coast. It was a platform for change in my life."

And she sees pickleball as a way to bring people together regardless of age, race, gender, political affiliation or anything else that may divide us.

"As we look at the current environment, we're in with a highly political election and many world events going on" Burda said. "Not just to me, but to everyone, pickleball has almost become a place of escape — especially in Lehigh Valley where we're in a swing state and a swing county, 50% of the people are going one way and 50% are going the other. But it doesn't matter on the courts. Pickleball is a place to disengage. It's a place where nobody is talking about politics or their jobs or their problems. They're there to play the game and compete and have fun."

Burda said her mother would drive her down to Sixth Street in Allentown as a kid to Wally's News to pick up a copy of the latest Billboard Magazine because her dream was to be in the entertainment industry, and her goals were realized when she networked her way into Hollywood, starting at Capitol Records and then into the film and television industry.

But now she has re-focused her life and is channeling her energy in another direction.

"Since the technology companies have taken over, the entertainment industry has dramatically changed," she said. "The music industry is much different than it was thanks to the streaming and there's cutbacks, predictions of major shakeups, and AI. So it was an inflection point, a good time to pivot to a growing area like pickleball."

She travels back-and-forth from coast-to-coast on a regular basis, enjoys spending time with her father, Joe, when she's in the Valley, and of course, playing pickleball.

No matter where pickleball takes her, she will never forget where she came from.

"I am so grateful that I was brought up here," she said. "I loved my childhood in the Lehigh Valley. It's been foundational to my success. The people here are still great. Through pickleball I've built a whole new circle of friends here and I love it. Pickleball can do so many things for you. For me, it changed my life."

Catch NPL's Championship broadcast will air on the CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3.