Julie Johnson is the proud mother of pickleball stars JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson.

She's also their coach, so attending every tournament is a must.

Balancing her parenting and pickleball mentorship duties is definitely a challenge, but Julie wholeheartedly appreciates every second of it.

“It’s a lot. It’s exhausting, it’s exhilarating, it’s so much hard work to get there. And then once you’re there, it’s still more hard work,” said Johnson. “But then when you’re sitting on center court on Sunday, you think, ‘This is all worth it.’ It’s the best feeling in the whole world.” 

Admittedly, Julie didn't expect to find herself in a coaching role when she began playing America's fastest-growing sport.

She took up the game for a very different reason.

“I started playing pickleball to get away from my kids, and here I am, waiting on them hand and foot like nobody’s business,” joked Johnson. “My kids don’t think it’s funny, but I think it’s really funny.”

It certainly is.

And Julie has some unique insight on pickleball coaching in general.

“Here’s the problem with pro pickleball. I’ve told my kids repeatedly that they are the first generation of true professional pickleball coaches because they are the generation of true professional pickleball players,” stated Johnson.

Right now, pickleball doesn’t have the same number of high-level coaches like other pro sports.

But as a highly-skilled player herself, Julie stepped up to the plate for her kids. 

“I’ve watched more film and more live matches than you know. There’s just a handful of us who have done as much as I have. And once you watch so much of it, you start to see things. So therefore, by default, I’m fulfilling that coaching role. I already wore so many hats for my kids,” said Johnson. “It’s not easy and we’re still living and learning a lot.”

Julie is also known for being visibly invested when she sits courtside watching JW and Jorja.

This video of her at the CIBC Atlanta Slam is a perfect example of that.

“I don’t even know I’m doing it. During a really exciting point, I’ll suddenly find myself with my leg stuck out and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t remember how I got there.’ I was just watching the point,” shared Johnson. “I love to go watch a pickleball match when I don’t have a dog in the fight. You know, I can just sit there and enjoy watching pickleball.”

But having JW and Jorja playing together in mixed doubles must be an interesting dynamic for the family.

“One of the takeaways that I had from 2023 was the fact that the kids had played almost every single thing together, and I don’t think that’s good,” mentioned Johnson. “When you’re on these long stretches of tournaments and it’s just the same thing over and over, your mind goes into autopilot. I told them to pick some tournaments and play with other partners, especially since they were doing MLP together as well. I think it’s good for them. And they actually switched up a few times during the year and they were excited to play with other people.” 

It's also exciting to see how pickleball continues to grow, develop, and change.

And while the pros usually get all the attention, you’ve got to hand it to superstars behind the scenes like Julie who helped them get there.