Archive for "Pickleball"
Pickleball Matchmaking
Posted on May 26, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball.
Tried my hand at pickleball matchmaking again and hooked two of my favorite guys up to play together for Mid-South Diamond Amateur Regional earlier this month. Michael Harris needed a men’s doubles partner and so I suggested Tanner Rice. After a bit of back and forth, they decided to play together and Tanner came up for a practice session. I got some breakfast out of it as my referral bonus. LOL.
If you’ve never had the junkyard dog burrito at Chicken N Pickle, I highly recommend it. That brisket is so good!
And, of course, the mimomas are a must.
Michael put together a great practice session for them with Dustin Herman and Chris Heck. Tanner posted a couple of their matches on his YouTube channel. Tanner has some great pickleball content — mostly match footage from practice sessions and tournaments and such — so if you’re not already a subscriber, you should do it right now.
Here are a few action shots from their practice session.
I hadn’t seen Tanner play in person since last year and it’s amazing to see how much progress he has made in just a few months. Since quitting his job, he has dove in full throttle with pickleball and he has been teaching pickleball a lot. They say “to teach is to learn twice” and all of his drilling and teaching I think is not only helping his clients but also improving his game tremendously.
Above is a video of one of their practice matches.
When Tanner came up, he brought me a set of Powerhands rings/bands — I don’t even know what to call these things. However, I have used it a few times and I think it actually works. Having suffered from tennis/pickleball elbow before, I’m really glad that I have something to help prevent it from recurring.
I asked my chiropractor friend his thoughts on it and here’s what he said:
It (Powerhands) is focusing on lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow in layman’s terms). The muscles that extend your fingers attach to the outside of your elbow and the muscles that flex your fingers attach to the inside of your elbow; so extending your fingers, abducting your fingers, and flexing your fingers all provide support for your elbow. These motions can be achieved with various devices or at home with a towel or by grabbing handfuls of rice out of a bucket, but what is beneficial about these small bands is the portability they offer so you can take them with you on the go.
Anyway, I am super glad Tanner brought me a set and am looking forward to making it part of my regular routine. If you want to try and buy a set for yourself, you can get them at www.powerhands.com and if you use discount code CHING10, you get $10 OFF! ‘Til next time, GNG.
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US Open Recap – A Month Later
Posted on May 23, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
I didn’t get the results I was hoping for at the US Open this year so, understandably, I’ve been holding off on a recap. I played in five events and got zero medals. To say it was a disappointing venture would be an understatement. I’m not particularly emotional when it comes to playing. I approach failures more logically and just try to learn from every single experience.
I basically played every single day except for Wednesday. It was very ambitious and probably not the best decision but I honestly didn’t think I would be able to get all of the events I signed up for — that’s Murphy’s Law for you.
My friend Katie Merrill who I registered with for both of my women’s events ended up with an injury and could not play on Monday so I had to find someone else to replace her. I thought it would be much easier to find her replacement but I forgot to take account how crappy I look on paper. I think my ratings being ridiculously low was a huge turn off for potential partners. I was lucky that Alan Hans and Whitney Lichtenberg from Nebraska remembered me from the year before and convinced Alan’s mixed doubles partner Katie Fagan to play with me on Monday.
We arrived on Friday this year so we could attend the kick off events on Saturday — mainly the Joola Party in the Park and Simone Jardim’s seminar.
Mom and I got a pic with Parris Todd, a top female pro pickleball player.
Also with Tony Roig and CJ Johnson, from Betterpickleball.com.
I got to visit with Jonny Pickleball Andrews during the rain delay. I met him a few years ago when he did the Jonny Pickleball Show at the Chicken N Pickle in Wichita. That was also around the same time I met to female pro Lauren Stratman for the first time and I learned about Electrum paddles (the brand I play with today – I used to play with an Electrum Pro and I currently play with an Electrum Pro II).
This guy is the best. There isn’t much more I can say.
I just realized that there are no pictures of me from Sunday. That’s the day I was playing singles. I ended up being dehydrated and getting a massive headache but somehow managed to make it to the bronze medal match.
I played 3.5 40+ division but I have to say, some of the women did not look a day over 40. Some of them looked like they were mid-20s at best. I lost to Heidi Sung (above) in the main draw and found out she worked for Joola so I asked her for a ball cap, which I earned by taking a game off her. We went 6-11, 11-4, 7-11. I finished on the good side but just could not overcome the hole I hug myself on the bad side. Had I won that match, I would have been guaranteed a silver medal. Sadly, it was not to be. I got a free Joola hat, though. Well, technically Brian did because I gave it to him. He’s been super supportive and was livestreaming the entire time, it was the least I could do.
I ended up facing Katie Taylor, the official pickleball pro of the Pretty Picklers, in the bronze medal match and, of course, she smoked me. I was completely gassed at that point and had a massive headache. But, even at 100 percent, I didn’t stand a chance. Anyway, 4th at the US Open is not a bad finish.
On Monday I swapped one Katie for another when Katie Fagan took Katie Merrill’s place for women’s age 35+ division.
I was completely out of my depth but enjoyed the experience. Katie was super amazing and supportive and probably the best female player I have ever had the privilege of partnering with. And to top it off, she is a lefty! So grateful to Whitney and Alan (below) for hooking me up with a partner. Otherwise, I would have had to withdraw from the event.
Even though she couldn’t play, other Katie (Merrill) came to hang out on Monday. We unintentionally matched.
Monday was a long day because we stayed and watch Mike Wolf and Jim Secrest win their championship match. They are friends of some of our Kansas City friends. I think Mike owns Elite Tennis and Wellness in Overland Park.
It was totally worth it because they won. Tyson got it all on livestream.
Go to see the beautiful ChiChi at the Lucky in Love booth at Vendor Village.
Also got to see Kasandra Gehrke.
And Brendon Long. We actually got to see him on Saturday, the first day we went to the tournament, and mom got a picture with him then. I didn’t get this picture with him until a couple of days later.
Twinned with Tyson Steele.
Hung out with fellow Chicken N Pickle ambassadors.
Watched the guys compete (above: Kyle Rinck and Matt Gerber). Kyle couldn’t make it until Tuesday night so Parker Ward played with Matt for men’s doubles age 19+ division on Monday. Then on Wednesday, Parker played with a blind date from Facebook, Dominic Osborne, in men’s doubles 4.0 19+ division. They ended up winning silver. Not bad for a blind date!
Katie and I played women’s doubles 3.5 35+ on Thursday.
Got to see Jenna Hessert who I first met at Smash a year and a half ago and is now playing in pro events. She is amazing!
Also saw Angela Porto, who I first met at APP Delray Beach a couple of years ago. Her boyfriend Brent Huff was my blind date at that tournament.
Brian was there with me the entire time, making sure that matches got livestreamed. Not just my matches, but others’ matches as well when possible.
In the picture below, he and Parker are making sure that we had the optimum viewing angle for the livestream.
Anyway, that’s pretty much the US Open recap. It’s a “must play” tournament for me because there isn’t any other tournament quite like it. There’s live music every single day, beer samples during happy hour, and all sorts of fun things. The party atmosphere makes it feel like you’re at a music festival — but sporty. I can’t wait to do it all again next year. Until then, GNG.
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Mom and Dad’s First US Open Trip
Posted on April 29, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
Mom and dad traveled with us to Florida this year to check out the Minto US Open. Here are a few pictures from our trip.
With Kevin Coccetella at the kick off event.
Mom had fun tracking down and getting pictures with some of her favorite pros that she enjoys watching on Facebook and YouTube.
With Brendon Long.
With Parris Todd.
With Susannah Barr.
With Tony Roig and CJ Johnson.
With Megan Fudge.
With Salome Devidze.
With Wes Gabrielsen and Joey Farias.
With Jenny Marcos, Filipino senior pro who lives in Oklahoma City.
Had to get pics of mom and dad with some iconic US Open signage.
Will share some more pictures (food pics, etc.) from our recent trip in future posts. Until then, GNG.
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Ryan’s Birthday Weekend
Posted on April 26, 2023 by Ching under Community, Events, Pickleball.
I just love when friends come to visit. A few weeks ago we had a surprise visit from the Sagers. They were in town the same weekend as the It’s a Big Dill pickleball tournament at the Wichita Country Club. They were supposed to stay at the Egans but the Egans were in Tulsa for a concert so they weren’t in town. They made a game time decision to stay with us instead. It was quite spontaneous but everyone’s always welcome at our house.
They ended up meeting us at WCC and hanging out for a bit. We had early supper at Wichita Brewing Company, one of my most favorite pizza places. They also happen to have great craft beer so it’s a winning combination.
I love when the Sagers visit because they are so fun. After supper, we hung out at home and played cards. They taught us how to play Pitch. I love learning new things and I love card games so I can’t wait to play it again.
It was a pretty quick visit for the Sagers. They stayed over on Saturday night and left on Sunday. But then later that same week, Ramon Lozano came into town. He didn’t have any specific plans, other than I think he wanted to get some practice time with Kyle Starkel. They both played in a “Bring Your Own Partner” DUPR session I had at the Pickle Club that I organized at Zach Nguyen’s request.
While he was in town, he got invited to a bunch of pickleball games and also Ryan Kellenbarger’s birthday celebrations. Yes, celebrations with an S because they were celebrating all weekend long. Anyway, Ramon is probably one of the most spontaneous people I know. He doesn’t really plan too far ahead. So he arrived on Wednesday and stayed through Sunday — without any pre-planning. I think this was the longest length of time he had ever stayed with us. I was actually surprised he had enough clothes with him.
I love cake so I volunteered to bring the cake for the pickleball celebration.
Solo pic of Ryan with the cake above and a picture of our group below.
Later that night, we met up with the gang for more birthday festivities.
Here’s a pic of Ryan and Ramon with our friend Ty Richardson.
Ryan with Ian Carr and Austin Jones.
Group picture of those who stayed for dancing. Jared Smart and Kendra Wicks came for dinner but didn’t stick around. They left shortly after Brian and I arrived.
Dawn Hazlewood with Ramon and Ryan.
Last pic is an obligatory selfie of Brian and me. Cos, you know, we just have to do it. Until next time, GNG.
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It’s a Big Dill Pickleball Tournament
Posted on April 24, 2023 by Ching under Community, Events, Pickleball.
The It’s a Big Dill Pickleball Tournament at the Wichita Country Club which benefits the Wichita Children’s Home fell on April 1 this year. This was my third year helping with the tournament and every year it’s a little bit different and every year we encounter different challenges. Last year one of our biggest challenges was having so many teams (four divisions worth) and not having enough courts. The WCC team tapes up 8 temporary courts to supplement the 3 permanent ones so we always have just 11 courts.
The first year that I helped, we only budgeted half a day and the tournament ran until a little after 1 pm. I couldn’t stay that year because I had a Saturday morning Aqua Zumba class at the time that I couldn’t get out of (or it might have been some other commitment that I had later in the day). I remember I was only there to get it kicked off and then I had to leave.
Last year we factored in lunch and allowed for play until 2 pm. Despite having a limited number of courts, everything ran smoothly and on schedule. I remember looking at my watch as we were pulling out of the parking lot to leave and it read 2:01 pm. That meant we were able to award medals and start tear down in time for everything to wrap up by 2 pm as planned.
This year they wanted me to work an exhibition match into the tournament schedule. Two of our top pros Jay Devilliers and Patrick Smith were being auctioned off at the kick off party on Friday night and the winners of the live auction would get to play with them during the lunch intermission at the tournament on Saturday. Because of the exhibition match, we added an extra hour to the schedule and planned to wrap everything up by 3 pm.
But that wasn’t even the biggest challenge I had to face. I always like to print all my round robin schedules in Excel ahead of time so I’m not having to cross-reference team numbers against team names. Well, about 15 minutes before the start of the tournament, I found that we had an extra team in the men’s doubles division. One of the sponsors didn’t sign up to play in the tournament ahead of time but showed up that morning. The sponsors donate a lot of money so we couldn’t turn them away. I basically had to scrap my pre-printed worksheet for the men’s doubles and just used a generic team round robin from printyourbrackets.com for the men’s division. At least I only had to do that for one division and mixed and women’s didn’t have to be modified.
Amazingly enough, everything once again ran super smoothly and on schedule. Bryce and Michael from the WCC were fabulous at keeping things going and helping me put matches on as soon as courts became available. We were able to finish all the round robin play by noon and start the exhibition match as the players enjoyed their lunch.
The exhibition match was a nice addition to the tournament day. Not only did it raise $10,000 for the Wichita Children’s Home (both of the winning bidders paid $5,000 each to play with Jay and Pat) but it also gave the players a nice break for lunch so that they didn’t feel like they had to rush through their food.
Here’s a link to the exhibition match video for those who want to watch it. Below are pictures of the winners of this year’s tournament.
- Mixed Doubles
- First Place – Matt Nola and Jackie Hall
- Second Place – Dave and Lori Belew
- Third Place – Tanner and Britney Blaske
- Men’s Doubles
- First Place – Mitchell Born and Klee Watchous
- Second Place – Zach Nguyen and Noi Sourinthone
- Third Place – Ron McMahon and Daniel Ritchie
- Advanced Women’s Doubles
- First Place – Karen Fox and Vickie Hancock
- Second Place – Beth Fischer and Zoe Rohr
- Third Place – Chandi Bongers and Krista Crawford
- Intermediate Women’s Doubles
- First Place – Krista Onofrio and Kristin Conrad
- Second Place – Brenda Bishop and Margaret Dechant
- Third Place – Trish Mueller and Karen Taylor
So grateful to our wonderful pickleball community and generous players for supporting the Wichita Children’s Home pickleball tournament. We had a another successful event. I’m already looking forward to next year!
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