If there's a community event put on by the Patriots Foundation in support of the military, you can expect plenty of New England players to get behind it.
If you add pickleball to the mix as well, it's on.
"I think I'm going to buy some land back home and build me a court," said Patriots linebacker Raekown McMillan on Wednesday, volunteering at the Kingsbury Club in Medfield, Mass.
"I'll invite all my buddies over so we can have a little tournament going."
Tuesday's event, in honor of the NFL's Salute to Service initiative, has become one players look forward to.
Between a handful of Patriots players and at least 60 service members from the Massachusetts National Guard, the matches got quite competitive.
"We did this last year and it was a blast, so I knew I wanted to come back here and do it again," said punter Bryce Baringer.
"It gets pretty intense, a little bit of crap talking with one another, but it's a lot of fun. I have a couple of friends of mine who are currently serving in the army, also have a close family friend who is a retired army pilot, so that's always a reason I needed (to want to give back to the military.)"
McMillan was also motivated to show support for the military community, which he grew up close to.
"I grew up in a military town back where I'm from," McMillan said.
"It's called Fort Stewart, Georgia. It's one of the biggest ones east of the Mississippi, so I have a lot of love for the military. I grew up with a lot of military kids, military families. I have seen the struggles they deal with so I'm glad to be here and show love and appreciation for them."
McMillan and Baringer were joined by teammates Brenden Schooler, Sidy Sow, and legendary Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who has found a love for pickleball since his retirement.
After first having to play against Scarnecchia, McMillan was happy to eventually team up with the former coach and get some pointers.
"When I was going against him it was a little intimidating, but when I had him on my team he was doing a lot to coach me up," McMillan said of Scarnecchia.
"He taught me about the game and helped me out, so it was fun."
