At just 18 years old, Jorja Johnson already has quite an impressive pickleball resume.

That includes being the third-ranked women's mixed doubles player in the world while competing alongside her brother, JW Johnson, and claiming the 2024 MLP Premier Level Championship together with the Dallas Flash, too.

Their mom and coach, Julie, has been guiding their journey every step of the way.

It's an unconventional life, to say the least, with tons of travel and lengthy stints on the road, which certainly makes raising youngsters - who are also execptionally talented athletes - rather interesting. 

With that in mind, Julie shared some insight on Jorja.

“Jorja is very independent. She’s a free-thinker and she’s going to do what she’s going to do, so I've learned that I just need to step into a massively supportive role for her. I’ve learned that if she wants my help, she’ll ask for it,” she explained. “I also need to be as respectful as I can. I’m not saying I haven’t messed up, but I’ve learned from that and I need to support what she’s done, where she’s at, and not worry. As a parent, you want to micro manage, and it's better to take a step back. Jorja is in that pivotal stage of growing up and there are things she has to learn on her own.”

This is a fascinating time in professional pickleball because as the sport continues to develop, it’s a lot of the parents like Julie and Leigh Waters who’ve also undertaken a coaching role for their kids.

“I best support her by not saying anything until she comes to me. That’s just good parenting advice in general,” advised Johnson. “I’ve watched the struggle, and it kills you because as a parent. You want to jump in and help, but I just have to wait until she comes to me.”

There are good days and bad days on the court, of course.

When a match doesn’t go their way, Julie knows how to effectively navigate the situation.

“I try to always keep it positive,” she said. “You pull something positive from the match because they’re young and they’re in this for the long haul.”

As a coach, Johnson has a clinical eye and sees key areas of improvement, even when the scoreboard doesn't necessarily show a good result. 

“I try to save my constructive criticism for when we go back to the practice courts and then we turn it into a drill,” she said. 

Wins and losses aside, Julie is just enjoying this pickleball life with her kids.

It has brought her so much happiness.

“If I’ve taken anything away from it, it’s that I need to find the joy in all of this and not worry about anything else because my kids are doing what they love,” she concluded.