Master-Athletics

Who Is The Norseman?

My name is Dave Kjeldsen, and I was the ultimate couch potato until my wife Deb dragged me out on a cold snowy February evening to play this game called “paddle”. I am not sure whether it was the play, the beer, or the cigars that got me hooked, but hooked I was. In 1985 I started A2Z Products, which sold platform tennis paddles and balls by mail order (before the internet!).

In 1995 I founded Viking Athletics, growing it into the premier supplier and manufacturer in the game. In 2008, in what took place only weeks apart, I was inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame and sold Viking Athletics to Prince Tennis.

Since selling the business I watched what I perceived as a change in attitude of the sport’s purveyors. Gone were the days of true personal interaction. I felt as if the “corporations” did not have the players’ interests at heart, and were not really providing them with top notch products. I didn’t see a lot of attention to detail or to the players, as everything was becoming too bottom line oriented.

So while this Norseman still had some gas left in the tank, Master Athletics was born. Our focus is on the players. Period. Providing them with only the highest quality products on the market. I’m betting you’ll agree!