How 11SIX24 Signed Dekel Bar in 3 Weeks: Behind the Deal

When David Groechel's phone rang in mid-December, he wasn't looking to sign a professional player. The founder of 11SIX24, the enthusiast paddle brand that had carved out a devoted following among pickleball's biggest paddle nerds, had other things on his mind. 

His wife was pregnant. The holidays were approaching. And he was deep into finding new ways to build his brand in 2026.

But the call from Sara, an Austin friend who knew 33-time medalist Dekel Bar, changed everything. 

"She said, 'Hey, you guys should connect. Here are your numbers,'" Groechel recalls. "And then we started talking from there. It came out of a long thought process for the last few months of how I can continue to grow the brand and expand. And the opportunity just arose out of nowhere." 

What followed was one of the fastest-moving deals in professional pickleball. A partnership that was announced just weeks after first contact, which survived a nervy approval process that came down to the final day.

The first call

Groechel had been thinking about the long-game. With paddle companies proliferating across the pickleball landscape, he saw an inevitable shakeout coming. 

"The market's very crowded right now," he explains. "I think there's gonna be a lot of consolidation. Some companies are gonna get pushed out. Some niche companies will remain, and there's probably gonna be five to seven companies that remain as the known paddle makers. Tennis is the same way." 

But he wasn't actively pursuing pro sponsorships. That changed when Dekel, who was exploring options after his previous partnership with Joola was coming to an end, got his hands on one of Groechel's prototypes through their mutual contact in Austin. 

"I send a lot of prototypes down to Austin because Ben, my employee, is there, I have a bunch of friends there, and I know what they like, and I can interpret their feedback very well," Groechel says. Dekel hit with it, liked what he felt, and the connection was made.

After initial conversations, Groechel saw the fit. Not just in terms of equipment, but in character, and what a pro partnership could unlock for his brand. 

"There's a big contingent of players who are very into the pro game who only use paddles that the pros use or are sponsored," he explains. "For example, I know a guy, a local guy. He's Mr. Selkirk. That's all he wears, uses, preaches it. Good paddles, totally get it. Never gave me the time of day. All of a sudden he asked, 'Oh, can I hit one of those?' So there's another new audience I'm trying to reach. And it also gives your brand legitimacy."

A deal that came down to the wire

In a matter of weeks, the deal was coming together. But there was one problem: the paddle still needed final UPA-A approval. As the PPA season approached in just a few days, the clock was ticking. 

"The paddle got approved literally the day before the announcement date. There were some hiccups on the manufacturer's part. It was very stressful for the last week. I thought he may have had to play with this old paddle. That's not a good look or a good start to the partnership."

Bar had been practicing with the paddle, getting comfortable with its unique characteristics. Switching at the last moment would have been disastrous. "Pros get very in tune with the equipment they're playing with," Groechel notes. "And then having them switch a day before would be really hard." The manufacturer came through just in time, hitting the deadline they'd promised. The relief was palpable.

Why 11SIX24 paddles will be UPA-A only

But there was still a small road bump. The paddle Groechel wanted Dekel to use, featuring a proprietary long-lasting grit technology he'd developed, wouldn't pass USAP testing. It was too gritty, and wouldn’t pass the surface roughness test.

His solution was to go UPA-A only, using the rival sanctioning body's testing standards that include an actual spin measurement rather than USAP's. For months, Groechel himself had been uncertain about UPA-A. But a visit to their Pickle Pro Labs facility in Boca Raton in August changed his mind. 

"There are some quotes out there people have seen where I was a little unsure. And after going to the lab, I thought these guys really knew what they were doing and had done the research." 

Groechel even rented out the entire lab for a day of testing, bringing paddles and working directly with the engineers. The experience sold him on UPA-A's methodology. 

"They have an actual spin test now. Is it perfect? No, no testing's perfect. We're in such early days of pickleball. But it opens up the materials. And people have been asking for more durable paddles." 

When Groechel surveyed his community, 89% said just give them the grittiest paddle, regardless of who approved it. "There were definitely some people who pushed back because in their area it's USAP only," he acknowledges. "But once people realize they have a paddle that'll last longer, and if the pros can play with it, well, why can't I?"

The grit that started it all

The paddle's defining feature — its durable, gritty surface — began with Groechel's DIY approach to research and development. Unable to afford expensive composites equipment, he improvised. "You can buy a composites oven or autoclave, but I bought a hundred-dollar pizza convection oven off of Amazon and I started just testing stuff," he explains. "You don't need 10 gazillion dollars worth of equipment. Just throwing the composites in the pizza oven and testing it out and running tests until I got it right." 

The result was a surface texture that, in real-world testing with ambassadors and testers, showed remarkable durability. Paddles with over 100 hours of play showed only about 5% degradation from brand new. "We found the grit was very long-lasting, so we pursued approval. We tried with USAP, but it felt like peel-ply and wasn't effective enough. That's when we decided to test it with UPA-A instead."

How do you justify spending on a pro player?

For a company of 11SIX24's size, signing a professional player represents a significant investment. Groechel is also paying the PPA marketing fee to allow Bar to use the colored paddle on tour, not just the basic licensing. For a frame of reference, the total all-in cost could be upwards of $60,000.

"If I'm investing in Dekel, I should invest in the colored paddle too," he reasons. "The PPA provides marketing value as well—it's not just a flat fee."

But how does he calculate return on investment for such an expense?

"I operate my business a bit differently," Groechel says. "I don't have a set budget for pros. When a pro is a good fit and a good person, I assess whether I can recoup the investment. That money comes from my own earnings or business reinvestment."

Groechel relies on qualitative metrics rather than hard data. He tracks whether people are mentioning the brand more on Reddit and Facebook, and whether ambassadors are asking questions about the equipment his sponsored players use.

He's noticed organic interest building without any prompting on his part, like people reaching out to ask about Dekel's setup before Groechel has even announced anything. Much of the impact, he acknowledges, is difficult to measure.

His decision-making approach reflects this intuitive philosophy. When asked how he evaluates opportunities, Groechel jokingly compares himself to legendary music producer Rick Rubin: "I just know what I like and I know what's good, and I understand it. And it works." He admits people might not like that answer, but his gut-driven approach is already proving effective.

The deal was signed within three weeks

Speed has become Groechel's competitive advantage. The entire negotiation and partnership announcement happened in roughly three weeks.

"I move fast. I'm not a patient person," he says with a laugh. It's a trait born from experience. Groechel spent years in analysis paralysis after leaving a previous job and failing to open a bar. That period taught him a valuable lesson. 

"You just have to go do stuff and sometimes you'll be wrong and you're going to learn from it, and sometimes you'll be right and it goes well. And you just have to keep moving, keep learning and don't stop. Especially in this day and age now, where everything changes so fast." 

This velocity isn't reckless. Groechel tempers his instincts with calculation. "I trust my gut and I use my head a little bit to make sure I'm not making a super crazy, off-the-cuff decision," he explains.

Learning from mistakes: the Alpha Pro Power set the company back

For all his instinct-driven success, Groechel is quick to acknowledge his missteps. The Alpha Pro Power, one of 11SIX24's later releases in 2025, became a costly lesson in stubbornness.

"I knew I was wrong. I kept going and that put me back six months," he admits.

The issue wasn't quality. The paddle performed well and found fans. But Groechel had been developing foam paddles as early as February, before the Power series launched, and his trusted testing group loved them.

"They all said, 'This thing is really good. You need to make it.' I said, 'No, the Alpha Pro Power is really good. I'm getting great feedback.'"

Looking back, he realizes he should have cut his losses on the initial 1,500 Alpha Pro Power units, sold them quickly to ambassadors, and pivoted to foam months earlier.

"It's still a very good paddle, but it's not what the market wanted or needed at that time," he reflects.

The experience reinforced a crucial principle: knowing when you're wrong and moving on. It's a lesson that makes his rapid decision-making on the Dekel Bar partnership all the more impressive.

What's next for 11SIX24

The Power 2’s, an all-foam construction with the durable grit surface dubbed HexGrit, is slated to release in February.

Groechel describes it as "the Alpha Pro Power took creatine.” A bit more power, more finesse, smoother feel. 

"It's basically keeping the control but bumping up the power a little bit and adding the grit, and you can do some amazing shots around the net with it," he says. Beyond paddles, 11SIX24 is expanding into a full equipment brand. High-quality bags made with Patagonia fabric are coming. 

And shoes are in development with a specialized engineering firm. 

"People complain about how pickleball shoes look. You will not complain about these," Groechel promises. The goal is ambitious but measured: become a top-five paddle brand within two years. 

"I don't think I have aspirations to be as big as Joola or Selkirk," Groechel says. "But being in a 3, 4, 5 spot is a really good place to be for the style of business that I want to run and what fits me." It's a target that reflects his broader philosophy about building a pickleball company in 2026. Not every brand needs to be the biggest. Not every paddle needs USAP approval. And not every deal needs months of negotiation. 

Sometimes, all it takes is the right connection, the right product, and the willingness to move when opportunity calls — even if the paddle approval comes down to the final day. "Very glad we got that done," Groechel says, the relief still evident in his voice weeks later. For 11SIX24 and Bar, it was just the beginning.

The new 11SIX24 Power series paddle featuring the proprietary grit technology will be available in February 2026 in three shapes: the widebody Pegasus, the hybrid Vapor, and the elongated Hurache-X.

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