Hey 👋,

Wow. What a weekend in Ft. Lauderdale.

In last weekend’s APP Ft. Lauderdale event, I teamed up with Ryler DeHeart for Men’s Doubles.

Fun fact about Ryler I just learned recently. He once reached the 2nd round of the US Open (tennis) and played Rafael Nadal. Pretty neat.

Overall, we had an epic run and made it to the Finals, where we took 2nd place. 🥈

LETS GO!!

Today’s newsletter is broken up into two parts:
1. Storytime
2. What’s Coming Next

We’re deep into the semifinals—game 3.

I’m on my fifth shirt of the day. I’ve crushed about three gallons of water, and enough Slamit Hydration electrolytes to qualify as a walking science experiment.

Meanwhile, Ryler hasn’t changed his shirt once. A personal mental toughness challenge, apparently.

(Seriously. The guy treats moisture like it's a weakness.)

At 8-8 in the deciding game, Ryler looks at the ref and asks for a timeout.

Then he says, 

“There are actual puddles in my shoes.”

The ref gives us the timeout. Ryler walks over, takes off his shoes, takes off his socks, and proceeds to wring out enough sweat to fill a water bottle.

😂 Naturally, I’m assuming he’s about to switch to a fresh pair. 

Nope. Not Ryler. 

He stares me dead in the eyes, socks dripping in his hands, and says:

“Stay hard.” (he’s a big David Goggins fan)

Then he puts those same swamp socks right back on, laces up his shoes like nothing happened, and we head back out to win an epic match 13-11. 

And honestly? That moment tells you everything you need to know about Ryler DeHeart.

Mentally unshakeable. Always calm. Always joking. But when it’s time to compete, **switch flipped & locked in.

His whole vibe all weekend was this perfect balance of lightness and laser focus, and it was a huge part of why we kept pushing forward when things got tight.

Because trust me, they got tight.

We faced match points in rounds 2, 3, and 4.

We were that close to packing it up three different times.

But we stayed connected the whole time.

I joked with him about his age, he chirped me about how he was carrying me (he wasn’t wrong), and somehow… we just kept surviving.

We eventually lost in the finals to Jack Munro & Will Howells, but that run?

I wouldn’t trade that one for anything.

Quick tip on partnerships:

I’ve played with a lot of different partners over the years. My advice?

Keep playing with different people. Every new partner teaches you something about playing styles, personalities, and how you communicate under pressure.

You’re probably not going to change someone to fit your style. But you can find someone who naturally fits. Keep searching, because the right partner changes everything.

I’ve got good news.
And I’ve got great news.

The good news: I recorded every single match of the tournament.
The great news: Ryler and I were both mic’d up the entire time.

😳

Yep. Full tournament footage with live audio. Strategy talk, sideline banter, Goggins quotes, all of it.

I’ve never done this before. It’s a bit chaotic trying to play, manage gear, and not forget my paddle, but a huge shoutout to my new girlfriend (hooray to me), who helped film and mic us up all weekend.

Seriously, none of this happens without her.

I’ll be dropping a game or two in the newsletter soon, but the full matches, with mic’d up insights, strategy breakdowns, and behind-the-scenes chatter, will release inside ThatPickleballSchool.

So if you haven’t checked out our 7-day free trial, now is as good a time as ever. 

As Ryler would say..

Stay hard, everyone!

-Kyle

P.S. In case you haven’t seen it, Friday Pickleball released a video last week showing me playing a pro tournament alongside Jake, a 4.5 player.

It’s pretty good. Check it out here: