Open play was packed, and someone suggested we try a “no-step-in” drill to clean up our dinks. Simple enough: if your foot touches the kitchen line, your team owes five jumping jacks. Easy… until Carl showed up in his brand-new “court-grip” shoes.

I channeled my jiu jitsu instincts on the pickleball court today. Ball popped over my head, I sprinted back, reached for the save… and tripped. Instead of crashing, I tucked and rolled like I was back on the mats. Somehow, mid-roll, my paddle connected with the ball and floated it back over the net.

Yesterday I was convinced I was trapped in the world’s longest pickleball game. We were playing well, hitting dinks, smashing overheads, and somehow… still stuck at 6-4. Every point felt like an eternity. I kept looking around like, “Did someone hit pause on this game?”

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between playing pickleball and actually training for it. It feels like a lot of players spend hours on the court competing, but not enough time drilling or working on their weaknesses. They’re logging time, sure—but are they really getting better?

Day 1 – MLP Dallas Classic Recap

Getting hyped for Vegas! What started as a simple hiking trip for Mai and me (with a few friends) has turned into a full-on Whatabangers adventure. We're not big gamblers, but we do love the outdoors—so we planned to hit the Zion Narrows for an 8-mile hike. I was a little nervous I’d have to bail because of a leg injury, especially with back-to-back hiking days on the schedule.