DALLAS, TX – One of the things we all love about pickleball is that it can be a family affair. 

Thanks to the Junior PPA, parents and kids can partner up together in mixed doubles, siblings can go head-to-head in singles, and everyone can compete and have a blast!

As enjoyable as tournaments are for parents, though, they can also be rather hectic if you’re juggling your schedule and your kids' schedule on-site, too.

Junior PPA mom, Erika Paman-Mercado, shared some of her insights on how she navigates tournaments with two kids who play at in different age brackets, at different levels, at different times.

“It gets crazy sometimes,” admitted Mercado. “I find myself running back and forth a lot.”

Mercado and her husband used to compete in tournaments as well.

Then came a change of plans.

“It was hard because my kids were playing a championship game and I was playing on another court, and I just kept looking over trying to watch them,” explained Mercado. “After that, my husband and I decided that it was really time for the kids to step in.”

With that in mind, the Mercados decided to navigate tournaments like this: if the event is within driving distance, the whole family attends, but if they need to fly, Mr. Mercado stays home to manage the house.

“When my husband is there, it makes things a lot easier. If the kids are playing at the same time, then we divide and conquer,” shared Mercado. “But, he prioritizes going to all their singles matches because he knows more about the skill set and strategy. We look at it on a case-by-case basis. We look at who the opponent is and how we are going to strategize. That’s how we divide and conquer.”

When it’s just Erika and her children, she focuses a little bit more on her youngest - 12-year-old Alexander - affectionately known as “Lex.” Her older child, 17-year-old Lauren, can navigate the demands of a tournament a bit more easily.

That being said, Mercado's motherly instincts help her assess who might need her most during any given match.

“Sometimes, if my daughter is playing on the Grandstand Court or [Humana] Championship Court, I’ll go with her because at the end of the day, they’re still kids. I might go with her because there’s more pressure from more people watching. That’s nerve-racking,” shared Mercado.

“I evaluate the situation like this: Who's going to need me in those high-pressure situations? Skill-wise, I don’t have a lot to offer them because they’re at a level where they’re very good and can play on their own, but for me it’s more about calming their nerves down,” she continued.

Strategies aside, the Mercados have found the pickleball parent community to be one of their greatest assets on busy tournament days.

“It helps that pickleball is a community sport. We have a lot of friends that come to the events, too, so when things get hectic, I go to the family friends and say, 'Hey, can you help me out? Can you watch Lex in his singles match?' And we do the same for each other. If the parents are playing, then we’ll watch their kids,” said Mercado.

“It’s a really good community and I’m glad we have each other to lean on. Whether we’re playing against each other or playing with each other, we are all there to support the kids at the end of the day,” she concluded.

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