Back in March, Ben Johns made a big move from Austin, TX to Boca Raton, FL.

After residing in Texas for a few years, he returned to the Sunshine State to be closer to family, friends, and take full advantage of the major pickleball hot spot. 

“I love Florida,” said Johns. “I got a house with a nice backyard, cold plunge, pool and a sauna. I play a lot of pickleball, and I do a lot of reading.” 

Even before calling Austin home, Johns spent some time in Florida leveling up his game.

Moving back felt no different. 

“In Florida, there’s a higher quantity of high-level pros, so it’s beneficial to have that because you can set up games and drill,” he explained. 

Players like Anna Bright, JW and Jorja Johnson, Gabe Tardio, Christian Alshon, and Johns’ mixed doubles partner, Anna Leigh Waters, reside on the southeast coast of the state.

“Anna Leigh and I practice occasionally together, but we mostly just drill together. We don’t play too many games because we play matches together so often on tour,” shared Johns. “But, it’s good for the partnership to be close by.”

Johns and Waters have even shared some funny moments from the practice court on her Instagram account. 

From a relocation standpoint, the biggest change for Johns has been acclimating to a new drilling routine. 

“I used to strictly drill 100% of the time with Collin [Johns]. I didn’t play any games. But moving to Florida and utilizing the high level of pickleball players in the area, I now drill maybe 20% of the time and play 80% games,” he noted. “Those games are definitely beneficial.”

Given Johns' remarkable success over the years, it was quite surprising to hear that practice games weren't his thing just a short time ago.

Fortunately, he’s already seeing positive results from the switch.

“It has encouraged some positive things. Some skills are really great for drilling and others are better to put into practice, not that I felt like I was capped out on certain skills, but I had a lot of things that I really needed to work on,” said Johns. “Playing games allows you to put into practice some different skills, so games have been the impetus for me at the moment.”

Shaking things up has been fun, of course, but his downtime hobbies still keep him super grounded. 

“I make time to do the things I enjoy, like reading a good fantasy book or playing Fortnite. If I don’t do that, it’s hard not to get complacent or get into a monotonous routine,” he concluded. “It’s good to have these other things, and then I can come back to pickleball and still be motivated.”

For more insight from top pickleball pros, follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).