Pickleball pros come from diverse backgrounds.

Lacy Schneemann was an aerospace engineer at Boeing before switching to America's fastest-growing sport on a full-time basis.

But, it wasn't a complete transition at first. She actually managed both roles to start.

“I worked my 9 to 5 and then I’d practice after work and play in tournaments on the weekend,” explained Schneemann. “Thankfully, between my manager and the company, we had a pretty good work-life balance, so I could get flexible with my time as I needed to play mixed doubles on Fridays, or travel, or take the occasional day off. By the time I finished my time there, I was just about out of my PTO, as you can imagine.” 

Juggling her engineering job and competing on tour for over a year was certainly taxing. 

“The most exhausting thing was coming back to work on Monday morning after a tournament,” confided Schneemann. “There was the mental exhaustion, the grind, the travel, especially if there were several tournaments in a row. Monday mornings were the toughest part.”

She left Boeing in June 2023.

And it has proven to be a good change.

“I have more time to practice and more downtime. I have a super flexible schedule now, which can be good and bad, but certainly better than it was because that was a grind,” admitted Schneemann. “It wasn’t sustainable for the long-term.” 

It’s common for pros to vastly improve after making pickleball their primary occupation because they can train and drill on a more consistent basis. 

Pickleball at the highest level, however, presents its fair share of challenges, too. 

“It’s a double-edged sword. It’s good because you have more time to practice, but once you go full-time, it becomes your job, as opposed to your side hobby that you were just doing for fun,” noted Schneemann. “Now, it’s your source of income and your results in tournaments are dictating how much money you’re making. I definitely felt more pressure to do well now that it wasn’t just this side gig that I was doing for fun. I had to figure out how to manage that new stress and change my mentality about pickleball.”

Fortunately, everything has worked out for the best.

“I have no regrets,” concluded Schneemann. 

If you’re curious about how much pro pickleball will cost you, check out this article.

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