Archive for "Pickleball"
First Minor League Pickleball Team Tournament in Wichita
Posted on October 23, 2023 by Ching under Events, Pickleball.
I was fortunate to be part of bringing the first ever Minor League Pickleball team tournament to Wichita earlier this month. The iPickle Nation team has been hosting these in the Kansas City area but this was our first one in Wichita.
We had quite a few hurdles to overcome but, overall, I think we had a pretty successful first event. The first hurdle was finding a suitable venue. Riverside Tennis Center had various events going on and was limited on dates that they would be willing to allow us to have. Besides that, we had to dodge a bunch of other tournaments in the region that were happening at the same time and we were running out of warm weather days. In the end, we ended up going with Crestview Country Club because Riverside was going to be too expensive (there was no way we were going to be able to have the event at Riverside and not lose money) and the rate we were able to negotiate with Crestview was much more reasonable.
We ended up with 8 teams each in DUPR 16 and 18 and 4 teams each in DUPR 14 and 20, which was perfect for the number of courts we had. Crestview has six painted pickleball courts and we taped up six additional courts for a total of 12 on event day. We taped up courts and set up nets on Saturday night and were all set to go first thing on Sunday morning.
Visit Wichita, our local visitors’ bureau, was a huge help as well. They set up group rates at a couple of nearby hotels for our out of town players. It worked out great.
I did host three players from a DUPR 18 team that I helped put together (Genevieve Eskridge from Tulsa, Craig Morford from Kansas City, and Gloria Knoles from Nebraska teamed up with Chris Wilson and formed “Strangers with Candy” team) and helped find housing for some others but for those players who we couldn’t find free housing for, Spring Hill Suites and Tru next to Chicken N Pickle offered really good rates for our group. It was perfect too because those who stayed there could easily walk over to Chicken N Pickle.
I always get super cranky and stressed out but thankfully I have Brian who is always such a huge help. He helped us set up on Saturday and Sunday and, although he left for part of the event to take care of some chores and honey-dos, he came back to help tear down after. He is the best!
Anyway, I dream of having many of these types of events here in the future. I feel like Wichita is the perfect location to bring players from all over — Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and so forth — to compete with one another. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
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Backyard Pickleball Invitational 2023
Posted on October 12, 2023 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
I have so many ideas and not all of them actually come to fruition so I was really happy when we pulled off Backyard Pickleball Invitational 2023 last month. I think the first time I thought of this was on a rainy day a few months ago. I was at Chicken N Pickle playing with Jenny Corley, MariAnn Heeren, and Fong Witte when it dawned on me that all three of these ladies have their own private pickleball courts at home. Each of them typically have a “go to” group of players that they play with and they just play at their own courts. However, with a single court, you can’t really have too many players. Usually, you just grab three other friends for a scrimmage. So then I thought to myself, “How do we bring all these private groups together?”
Zach Nguyen is another friend I have who has a pickleball court in his backyard. He actually doesn’t live too far from me so, after playing at his house one of the times, I pitched the idea. What if we could have a pickleball tournament where we host the pool play at various private courts in the morning and then we all met up somewhere in the afternoon for bracket play? We brought Fong and Jenny into a group text and started talking about it. Then we were like, okay, what weekend would work well for this (because everyone is so busy with tournaments and travel and stuff). We originally thought about playing the bracket at a park like Seneca or Edgemoor but then another friend suggested we play the bracket at Jeff Bally’s because he has two private indoor courts at his property. He just recently completed this project so what a perfect opportunity to break it in.
Anyway, I’m busy with tournaments and stuff because there was the PPA Kansas City Open and Tulsa Pickleball Classic and Shangri-la Open and then maybe some other things in between there so like a couple of weeks before the date that we kind of tossed around they were like, “Hey, are we still doing this thing?” I’m glad they stayed on me because it is very easy for me to get distracted and just let things fall through the cracks if people don’t really seem interested. Anyway, I’m like, “Yeah, yeah. For sure we are still doing it. I’ll the registration form link.” I totally added an entire page of liability waiver in there and made people agree to it as a CYA move so none of our court hosts and organizers get sued.
During the planning stages, we were thinking we would have 12 mixed doubles teams but actually ended up with 16 because so many players wanted to play. Instead of just having pool play at Zach’s, Fong’s, and the Corleys, we also had pool play at Jeff’s (our afternoon bracket play venue).
This is the group that played at Zach’s house.
We had another great group of players at Fong’s.
This was our group at the Corleys’.
I don’t think they took a group photo in the morning at Jeff’s but we did take a bunch of pics in the afternoon during bracket play.
Here’s a highlight video I made of the day.
I’m so happy that we pulled this off and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. I hope we get to do it all again soon. Until next time, GNG.
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Shangri-la Tournament Recap
Posted on October 5, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
I played in the Shangri-la tournament last year with my friend from Topeka, Devon Fuller, and we made a decent run in 4.5 mixed and so earlier this year when the tournament was first announced we agreed to run it back. Shortly after talking about it, I found out that Colby Fugit was also playing mixed but didn’t have a women’s doubles partner so we decided to team up.
I didn’t actually end up playing with Devon because his work schedule changed. He originally had Sundays and Mondays off which would have been perfect because mixed doubles was scheduled for Sunday but then about a week or two before the tournament he reached out to me about potentially not being able to play. He told me that he would find a suitable replacement. I joked that it needed to be some of equal or greater skill – LOL. But then, after having had the misfortune of playing with blind dates two consecutive tournaments in a row, I decided rather than having Devon find his replacement and risking having to play with another blind date, I would take matters into my own hands.
I originally reached out to Ian Carr who was signed up to play men’s doubles with Ryan Kellenbarger on Saturday but not playing mixed and got him to agree to being Devon’s back up but then, the week of the tournament, he and Ryan withdrew and ended up playing in the Springfield tournament instead so, when it actually came down to Devon not being able to play, I actually didn’t have an alternate partner. The other person I thought of was Jordan Sparks, who was signed up to play men’s with Fernando Martinez but not playing mixed but he couldn’t play because he had work the next day. So I reached out to Kumar Krishnan and explained my predicament. Thankfully, he knew of another guy who was playing men’s but not playing mixed, Levi Kerr. I remembered Levi because Devon and I played against him and his sister last year so I wasn’t going in completely blind. I thought he was quite good and I was grateful that he was willing to play with me. But, truth be told, I would have been perfectly fine not playing in mixed either because it’s just kind of a nice, chill place to hang out and enjoy watching others play. I told Kumar and Cody (Kent) that, had I not been able to play mixed on Sunday, I would have been perfectly happy just volunteering and shadowing Cody because then I could use the opportunity to learn more about the PickleballBrackets.com software.
I played 3.5 women’s with Molly Sager last year which was fun but this year was even more fun because Colby and I played 4.0 and she’s a lefty! And y’all know how much I looooove playing with lefties. I mean, I do not enjoy playing on the left side (which is the side I end up playing most of the time when I’m playing with a lefty partner) but I need the practice so I relish these opportunities.
Last year Molly and I earned silver in 3.5 women’s and this year Colby and I got silver in 4.0 women’s. Even though we earned the same medal/place, I was pleased with the results because it was the next division up from the one I played last year. Another thing that made this tournament significant is that Colby and I ended up defeating Genevieve Eskridge and Nikki Baker, which is the team that Kendra Wicks and I lost to in Tulsa Pickleball Classic a few weeks before. Honestly, a lot of these matches could go either way but I’m glad that our team won this time. I consider it progress and I’ll take it.
Colby and I got matching dresses and matching shoes and just had a jolly good time. All the ladies were super nice and were wonderful all the way around. I had an absolute blast! The team that won was Tiffany Milner and Stephanie Watling and they were both super nice. Tiffany was head and shoulders better than everyone we played against that day but she was so ridiculously nice. She’s the kind of person you don’t mind losing to ’cause she is a graceful and kind winner. Besides her amazing pickleball prowess (which obviously comes from her extensive tennis background), I was most impressed with her overall attitude. Many of the really good pickleball players are not really that personable or kind. I feel like it’s a lot like the “hot crazy matrix” where a woman’s level of crazy is directly correlated with her level of hotness. The theory being the hotter they are, they crazier they tend to be. Similarly, I feel like the more skilled a pickleball player is, the more likely they are to be jerks on the court – LOL. Much to my (pleasant) surprise, Tiffany was totally not like that. She is amazing at pickleball and also very, very nice. She is, therefore, a unicorn and that’s what I was the most impressed with.
The next day was mixed doubles day and this is where I had to play with a brand new partner I had never played with before. Kind of a blind date (because it was our first time playing together) but not really a blind date because we actually met at the same tournament last year. I didn’t get a picture with him because I didn’t know him very well and I didn’t want him to think me a weirdo. I got very few pics on mixed doubles day but I did get a few pictures of Brian working at the desk with Kumar and Cody. He is such a good, supportive hubby.
In this next photo are Mike Ward and Deana Holman (our first opponents that day) and Kyle Rinck who ended up earning gold with Colby Fugit.
Levi and I played a couple of practice games but those games were clearly not enough to prepare us for the well-oiled team that is Mike and Deana. They pretty much murdered us. We worked out some kinks and we actually did surprisingly well against Colby and Kyle. We were up 10-2 shortly after the end change and Colby admitted to me later that day that she actually thought they would lose that match. They ended up coming back and we lost 14-16 but I was impressed we did so well overall. I only wish we could have closed out the match while we were up.
Our next match was against Caleb Williams (he played men’s doubles with Levi the day before so I believe they are friends) and Jessica Lachata. I’m not sure how that pairing came about but I think they were blind dates also. They were the team that we played a couple of warm up games against that morning right before our first match. That was probably our most relaxed match of the day because it was against Levi’s friend. Our next match after that was against Jonathan Hill and Kali Wilson. We did surprisingly well against them too (if you don’t consider me getting the yips during the game). I literally lost my serve and I counted at least six missed serves during our game.
I know we played really well because, despite my yips, we managed to earn 12 points. We lost 12-15 but can you imagine what the scoreline would have been had I actually made my serves? Because all those points were won strictly off Levi’s serves. Looking back, I honestly feel like Jonathan and Kali got lucky that my serve decided to take a vacation when it did because we might have won that one.
Our last match was against Genevieve Eskridge and Eric Bunch, another duo that has a lot of tournament playing experience together. It was a bloody massacre. Not only were they playing well but, at this point, I was so rattled by the fact that I couldn’t serve that it permeated the rest of my game. In the previous match with Jonathan and Kali, I was actually still playing really and it was only my serve that was off. Well, in the next match, everything took a nosedive. None of my other shots were working, at all. So everything was off and I couldn’t make ANY shots to save my life. I felt so bad for my partner because I was so awful and there was nothing he could do to help me.
The most ironic part of this whole experience is, I was teaching my coworker Faith Taylor how to play pickleball the weekend before and I stressed to her how important it is to make your serves. Besides learning how to dink and play at the NVZ, I told her you have to make your serves because if you can’t serve then you can’t score, and if you can’t score then you can’t win and then lo and behold, a week later I am in this exact situation of not being able to make my serves. My serves are super consistent and reliable (with the exception of that one day at Edgemoor Rec Center because I hadn’t played inside on wood floors in years — I couldn’t make my serves then either — but that was rec play and it didn’t really matter), I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. All I could do was laugh at my predicament because if I didn’t laugh I would have cried. It was very, very frustrating.
Anyway, other than the yips, tournament was a blast. I even had a lot of fun playing with Levi. Kumar was originally concerned about pairing us up because he said Levi is quiet and he didn’t think we would mesh well personality-wise but he was laughing at my jokes and he was super easy to play with. He was patient with me when I was struggling and I appreciated having him on the same side of the net as me. All things considered, it was yet again a wonderful weekend. It’s hard not to have a great time at Shangri-la, though. I mean, I’m already looking forward to doing it all again next year. Until then, GNG.
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Shangri-la Resort in Monkey Island
Posted on October 4, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
The Shangri-la Resort is a place unlike any other. I can see why so many retirees are flocking to this area. Grand Lake is exactly that — grand. With pickleball, tennis, golf, boating — the area has so much to offer. It’s no surprise why our retired friends are spending a lot of time there.
Brian and I discovered this pickleball haven last year when I played in the Shangri-la pickleball tournament for the first time. I was impressed with how beautiful the surroundings area. The only thing that would make it better is if there were actually more than six courts. While six permanent pickleball courts is probably sufficient for their needs most of the time, I’m thinking they’ll need a few more as more and more people flock to this area.
Brian and I arrived on Friday in time for the open play. We got to hang out with our friend Kumar Krishnan, who was hosting us for the weekend. Not many tournament players came for open play so we ended up just mixing in with the Todd Kerr’s Friday night mixer. Todd is the director of the Anchor racquet club.
The weather was beautiful and the sunset absolutely breathtaking. I can’t imagine a prettier place to play pickleball. Speaking of pretty, the resort pool is also beautiful. We didn’t get to experience it this trip but I’m thinking we will have to stay at the resort next time and take advantage of all the amenities.
Eddy’s Lakeside Bar is another place that I would like to try at some point. The restaurant was already closed for the season when we were there but I heard it is a pretty fun summer time hangout spot.
Anyway, if you are looking for a pickleball getaway, I highly recommend checking out the Anchor. They have pickleball pretty much everyday except Wednesdays and Sundays. The outside courts are free for members to use and the guest fees are reasonable. The mixers are also free for members and just $15 for non-members. Having visited a couple of times now, it kind of makes me wish we had a house there. Maybe someday. Until then we will just visit whenever we can and keep on dreamin’ – GNG.
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Doc’s Bar and Grill
Posted on October 2, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink, Pickleball, Travel.
We ate at Doc’s last year when we were in Shangri-la for their inaugural pickleball tournament. It was our first stop again this year. The menu changes on a regular basis so the list of dishes is vastly different than when we were there last year. Here are some pictures of the food we had this time.
The food was fabulous as always and the company even better. Just like last year, we were with Kumar Krishnan, his wife Sujatha, their daughter Priyanka, and Cody Kent. It is Kumar’s tournament but, if you ask him, Cody is the brains behind the operation. He single-handedly runs the tournament desk at the event. Cody’s wife Dana had to work this weekend so she didn’t come out but we gained Fernando Martinez and Amanda Ades who joined us for dinner after the Friday night open play/mixer at the resort.
There weren’t as many players from Wichita this year so I am glad that Fernando and Amanda made the trip. The tournament venue is just breathtaking and I want to be able to share the experience with as many people as I possibly can.
I’ve decided to significantly reduce the number of tournaments that I am playing in next year (seriously, as of right now zero) but Shangri-la is probably one that I will still do just because it’s more of a vacation than a tournament. It’s just so beautiful out there. Until next time. GNG.
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