high to Phil . I gave our opponents a chance to lose . I knew if I didn ’ t lose the point , we would win it ,” Movsessian says , before adding another of his favorite maxims : “ A team is only as strong as its weaker player .”
Movsessian ’ s first love was hockey , which isn ’ t surprising since he grew up in Boston . He was a defenseman for perennial powerhouse Boston University . After graduating , he taught physical education at North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend , Massachusetts , for three decades . His nickname started there — so many students butchered his last name that he ordered them to just call him Coach Mo .
After school he coached several sports including two hockey teams for several years , the high school ’ s and a Junior League club . In hockey season he ’ d leave home at 7 a . m . and not return until 10 p . m ., often driving in New England snowstorms .
Movsessian was so respected as a hockey coach that he was asked to help the 1980 USA men ’ s Olympic hockey team ’ s coach , Herb Brooks , during tryouts . That team of college kids shocked the world when they beat the Soviet Union squad en route to winning the gold medal , the result known as “ The Miracle on Ice .”
Movsessian was able to retire at 52 , though certainly not on his teacher ’ s and coaching salaries . He did well with two side businesses . At 26 , he and his wife , Jeanne , started flipping houses . They also sold household appliances such as washers , dryers and refrigerators out of their basement . “ We got them wholesale and sold them for $ 100 less than the big stores charged ,” Movsessian explains , in his thick Boston accent .
He credits his parents for his work ethic . His father made guns for battleships and worked as a cobbler . His mother was a bank teller . Mo and Jeanne have been married 58 years and have two children . Another of his favorite sayings : “ Behind every good man is a great woman .”
Movsessian played tennis during summers off from school and became a certified tennis instructor . He and Jeanne discovered pickleball 20 years ago . “ We became hooked on pickleball immediately ,” he says . “ It was like tennis but with a smaller court .”
The couple moved to The Villages in 2005 . “ New acquaintances learned I was a tennis teaching pro and asked for tips on their pickleball backstrokes , volley
Coach Mo giving a free lesson recently near his home in The Villages , Florida .
strokes and other parts of the pickleball game ,” Mo says . “ So , I started giving free lessons every Monday . In the winter I ’ d give a free indoor seminar every week . And snowbirds who were in Florida for the winter and took lessons from me would have me give lessons to them up north once their weather warmed up .”
Movsessian has also written two bestselling books , “ How to Play Pickleball ” ( with Joe Baker ) and “ Simplified Pickleball .”
Erne Perry has known Mo for 15 years . Perry is a legendary pickleball player for whom the “ Erne ” shot is named . He says , “ Mo has an incredible reputation of being a generous and knowledgeable teacher . When almost everyone was charging for lessons , he just wanted to promote the game of pickleball . I can ’ t say enough about the man and what he means for the pickleball world .”
Many in the pickleball community hope that he will be inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame in the contributor category .
Movsessian regularly meets his buddies at a popular bakery chain restaurant in The Villages . While there on a recent morning discussing pickleball over bagels , a woman at the adjacent table recognized him ( it seems everyone in The Villages recognizes him ). She says she needs a lesson and asks Mo for his phone number . Of course , the lesson will be free of charge . •
Matthew Schwartz spent 40 years in television news and won more than 200 awards , including four Emmys and four Edward R . Murrow awards for investigative reporting . His 2020 memoir , “ Confessions of an Investigative Reporter ,” was an Amazon # 1 bestseller . He writes a weekly blog for Hudef Sport and plays pickleball every day .
MARCH / APRIL 2025 | MAGAZINE 43