Pickleball professionals come from a variety of backgrounds. Take Lacy Schneemann, for example—she was an aerospace engineer at Boeing before fully committing to America’s fastest-growing sport. Initially, she balanced both careers, managing her responsibilities in engineering while pursuing pickleball.
“I worked my 9 to 5 and then I’d practice after work and play in tournaments on the weekend,” explained Schneemann. “Thankfully, between my manager and the company, we had a pretty good work-life balance, so I could get flexible with my time as I needed to play mixed doubles on Fridays, or travel, or take the occasional day off. By the time I finished my time there, I was just about out of my PTO, as you can imagine.”
Balancing her engineering job with touring as a competitor for more than a year was definitely challenging.
“The most exhausting thing was coming back to work on Monday morning after a tournament,” confided Schneemann. “There was the mental exhaustion, the grind, the travel, especially if there were several tournaments in a row. Monday mornings were the toughest part.”
She left Boeing in June 2023, and it has turned out to be a positive change.
“I have more time to practice and more downtime. I have a super flexible schedule now, which can be good and bad, but certainly better than it was because that was a grind,” admitted Schneemann. “It wasn’t sustainable for the long-term.”
It’s not unusual for professionals to make significant improvements after transitioning to pickleball as their main focus, as they can train and practice more consistently. However, competing at the highest level also comes with its own set of challenges.
Look At Her Amazing Playing Style In Video Below
“It’s a double-edged sword. It’s good because you have more time to practice, but once you go full-time, it becomes your job, as opposed to your side hobby that you were just doing for fun,” noted Schneemann.
“Now, it’s your source of income and your results in tournaments are dictating how much money you’re making. I definitely felt more pressure to do well now that it wasn’t just this side gig that I was doing for fun. I had to figure out how to manage that new stress and change my mentality about pickleball.”
Fortunately, everything has turned out well. “I have no regrets,” Schneemann stated.
