Pickleball

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Chicken N Pickle Sponsored Athlete Sip ‘n Play

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.

Once a month, Chicken N Pickle hosts a “Sip ‘n Play” event for sponsored athletes. They give us a couple of courts for two hours so we can play, practice, and socialize with one another. It’s very generous of them and I am grateful for it. These are the highlights from the one we had this month.

These events are usually on the first Tuesday of the month but this month the first Tuesday coincides with Chicken N Pickle’s “Our Hearts are Local” employee volunteer day. Chicken N Pickle closes for the entire day so that employees can participate in a volunteer activity together. So our next sponsored athlete play day is on Wednesday, September 7, instead.

Other upcoming events at Chicken N Pickle include:

September 13 – Newbie Night
September 13-15 – Picklepalooza 2022
September 20-22 – Chicken N Pickle Signature Camp

Are you signed up for any of these fun events? If so, see you there!

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Another Dream Team Doubles in the Books

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.

These are some highlights from the last Dream Team Doubles event at Riverside Tennis Center last month. Many amazing players from both genders came to participate but there was only one team champ. Congratulations to Jen Tiano, Jenny Cole, Antwome Topps, and Nathan Peters!

This is a fun format that the players seem to really enjoy. I can’t wait for us do this again and to be able to play next time. Until then, GNG.

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USAP Newport Beach Highlights

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.

I had a blast playing with my friend Ramon Lozano at the USAP Newport Beach Championships pickleball tournament. On the one hand, we wanted to win gold but on the other, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go to Nationals since I’ve already committed myself to going to the Diamond Amateur Championships in Florida this year. Plus, I didn’t want to go if I only had one golden ticket. We took 3rd and, while we could have done better, I’m totally okay with it.

One of the best parts of the trip was meeting Ramon’s wonderful family. Uncle Ramon decked everyone out in Chicken N Pickle gear. What a great uncle he is!

The group pic above was taken in the morning and then this second group pic is after we got our medals.

Here are some pics of Back Bay, a beach that’s literally just a five minute walk from our hotel room. We walked over a couple of times. We didn’t get in the water but we took some pics and people-watched.

The area was breathtaking and the weather was absolutely perfect (as it often is in California – they are fortunate to have wonderful weather year-round). I would totally go back if Brian is up for it next year.

Here are some pics we took at Back Bay. Thank you to Lucky in Love for the cute outfit in the next pic.

Back at the tournament, I met some really fabulous people and made new friends (as always). I may not bring a bunch of medals home but I can always count on making new friends.

Above is a Filipino lady from Illinois that I met at the tournament, Michelle Chow. Below is my blind date/new friend and women’s doubles partner Nancy “Moondust” Kaplan.

I met the amazing founder/creator PlayTime Scheduler, Reine Steel.

And, I also got to watch my friend Jenna Doffer (Hessert) kick major butt in the pro division.

Meanwhile, Brian got a cool new ball cap from the Zelus booth.

Brian and I also got to go to Fashion Island.

I’ll end it here for now and share pictures of our hotel/resort in the next post. Until next time, GNG.

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Best Day with Jay Devilliers

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball.

Here’s a highlight video from the best day ever hanging out with one of our professional pickleball players Jocelyn (Jay) Devilliers.

We started at Chicken N Pickle. From left: Matt Nola, Nico Acevedo Olmos, Chie Cline, Jay Devilliers, Huyen Nguyen, and me.

Then continued on to Zach’s house, where we played some additional games.

Jay is so fun. At one point, he told me not to come up to the non-volley zone because were working on our baseline and transition zone drop shots.

It was super fun and a day I won’t soon forget. Until next time, GNG.

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Ramon in Wichita

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Ching under Community, Food and Drink, Pickleball.

My friend Ramon Lozano came to Wichita on the last weekend of June so we could play some games together before the Newport Beach tournament. We decided to play in the Y’s Men charity tournament benefiting the Greater Wichita YMCA so that we could kill two birds with one stone – we’re helping the community raise money for a great cause and we are getting to practice.

We didn’t fare as well as I’d hoped in the tournament but it’s always a good time playing with Ramon. There’s a reason “Everybody Loves Ramon” – LOL. That was our team name for the tournament.

Ramon drove into town early on Friday to get some games in with Kyle (Starkel, aka “Soapdish” also “Pornstache”) and a couple of other guys. Brian and I needed stamps for our Wicked Brew passports (something that we do every summer) and so we were game when Kyle suggested we meet up at Norton’s.

Here are some pics of our delicious food… BTW, you cannot go to Norton’s and not get bacon crack. It is a must!

Here are some pictures from the charity tournament at Chicken N Pickle the next morning. I had to get a picture with my friend Erica Lopez because we both were playing with Joola paddles that day. Formerly, we both played with Electrum Pro paddles. So we still managed to match somehow.