My Goal: 5.0 Before 50

I played some of my first pickleball games in a friendly Lake Tahoe tournament in 2021 at my brother-in-law’s bachelor party.

Here is a picture of the beautiful courts where we played (source).

picture of lake tahoe pickleball courts at Paradise park.

With a background in mostly racquetball and some tennis, I couldn’t believe how fun the game was. The tournament directors wants to pair teams appropriately, and I was terrible at first, so they paired me with the best player.

Needless to say, we won every game and won the tournament.

And, I fell in love.

I quickly requested pickleball gear for birthdays and Christmas, but it wasn’t until April 2024 that I picked up my pickleball paddle again.

This time, I didn’t let the paddle go, and pickleball quickly became my favorite sport to learn and improve. As I improved, I wanted to share my love for pickleball paddles and my love for the game on my quest to become a 5.0 DUPR pickleball player before I turned 50.

As of December 2025, I am 39 years old, and am sitting in the 3.5-4.0 DUPR doubles range, and I play in my first singles tournament in January 2026.

If my journey is interesting to you, consider subscribing to follow my story and see my best pickleball paddles in my growing collection of around 70 pickleball paddles.

Mission/Vision

Mission: Help you become the best pickle “baller” by providing unbiased product reviews to find you the best equipment at the cheapest rate.

Background: There are thousands of paddles you can choose, and thankfully because of your support from using discount codes and other means, we have a large budget to purchase and test products, so you don’t have to waste time or money on shoes or paddles or anything.

If you would like us to review a product, please email ben@bepickleballer.com and I can add it to my purchase list.

I Am A Pickleball Paddle Fanatic

Yes, this is me. My wife kept asking why I kept getting Amazon boxes. 🙂

I love testing new paddles (here are my purchase receipts), from $5 to $200+. In my day job, I do a lot of marketing, so I love to see whether the juice (the paddles) are truly worth the squeeze (the purchase). I also love writing pickleball paddle reviews.

I went to a pickleball tournament recently and gave a couple of paddles to my friend to use.

My friends said to me, “how do you have so many paddles?”

To which I realized, I am sort of a paddle nerd.

Haha, I’ll take it as it’s true.

My Favorite Pickleball Paddle Articles

Pickleball Shoes Articles

My second love to pickleball paddles is shoes, so here are some of my favorite pickleball shoes articles that I’ve written.

Pickleball Match

Pickleball is my favorite sport, and I would say that I am addicted even though I only get the chance to play around 3 times per week.

That said, I found that it could be challenging find the perfect pickleball doubles partner.

When I addressed pain points on one of my Facebook pickleball groups, check out the responses:

This was a pain point that others felt as well. As such, I found that it was necessary to build a solution to help you find the perfect pickleball partner.

The idea is that you can enter the criteria and match with someone BEFORE stepping out on the court. After playing together, each party can rate each other to help others in the future match with the best partners as well.

Thus, Pickle Baller match-making was born!

I Love Strategy

My biggest accomplishment in high school was being the California high school state chess champion.

Chess is all about strategy, so I like to use that strategy in all parts of my life, including pickleball.

So, from beginner’s guides to advanced strategies, and equipment reviews to player profiles, we cover it all, ensuring every visitor finds valuable resources to enhance their game.

I Love Writing About Fun Pickleball Topics

But our story doesn’t end there. As we help you become a pickle baller, we understand that pickleball is more than just a game—it’s a community. That’s why we foster a welcoming and inclusive environment where players can share their experiences, exchange tips, and forge meaningful connections with fellow enthusiasts.

Join us in our quest to become the best pickle ballers we can be. :0)

See you on the courts!

-Ben