Ryder Brown remembers the first thing he said when he walked onto a pickleball court for the first time.

“There’s no kids here.”

He was nine years old, standing at a local park in Texas with his mom, Jennifer, staring out at courts full of adults. Junior pickleball barely existed yet.

Jennifer told him not to worry. If there were no other kids, he could be her partner. One game later, someone from another court walked over and said, “I’ll take the kid.”

Nearly five years later, Ryder Brown is one of the most accomplished junior pickleball players in the country, with multiple triple crowns and sponsorships from JOOLA and Babolat.

How Ryder Brown Found Pickleball as a Junior Player

His dad got into pickleball first after a neighbor introduced him to it. Soon, the family had lines painted on the driveway and neighbors coming over to play.

Ryder was already an active kid who had tried several sports—soccer, football, baseball, even a little tennis—but pickleball was the one that stuck. At the time, though, finding other junior pickleball players wasn’t easy.

Jennifer remembers those early years clearly. Kids weren’t showing up in large numbers yet, and junior brackets were still inconsistent from tournament to tournament. That challenge pushed her deeper into the sport. She eventually became a certified instructor, partly because she wanted to help create more opportunities for younger players like Ryder.

The junior side of pickleball was still taking shape, and Ryder was growing with it.

Ryder Brown’s First Pickleball Tournament

Ask Ryder about his first tournament memory, and it’s not a win that comes to mind. It’s a forehand.

The event was a local tournament in Rockwall, Texas. Ryder was playing in the gold medal match and had a ball sitting on his forehand side that should have been simple. Instead of finishing the point, he drove the ball straight into the net.

He still remembers it clearly. His opponent took gold. Ryder walked away with silver. For Ryder, it became part of the learning process.

That memory says something about how he approaches the sport. He doesn’t rush past mistakes or pretend they didn’t happen. He studies them, remembers them, and keeps working.

Finding Competition Through National Junior Pickleball

One of the biggest shifts in Ryder’s junior pickleball journey came when he attended one of the early National Junior Pickleball events in Las Vegas. Until then, most tournaments meant scattered junior players mixed into larger adult fields. Suddenly, he was surrounded by dozens of kids who could really play.

“Wow, there are kids,” Jennifer said. “Around here we thought he was doing pretty well, but then you realize there are kids all over that are doing really well.”

Instead of being the only junior on a court full of adults, Ryder was part of a growing group of competitive players his own age. The format also gave kids more opportunities to play and connect with each other across multiple days of competition.

Jennifer noticed the difference immediately. More games meant more development. More time together meant kids were building friendships alongside rivalries. For families traveling to tournaments, that sense of community made a huge difference.

For the first time, Ryder was competing against a full field of junior players.

Winning His First Triple Crown in Junior Pickleball

For Ryder, the moment he realized he might actually be good at pickleball came after his first triple crown in a PPA junior event. Winning singles, doubles, and mixed in the same tournament is difficult at any level of pickleball, especially in junior divisions where players are still developing across formats.

That first triple crown made something clear: he might actually be good at this sport.

Since then, Ryder has added two more triple crowns to his resume.

Success brings new challenges, though. As Ryder’s ranking improved, the competition around him changed too. Opponents started approaching matches differently. Players started showing up with a plan to beat him. The hardest adjustment hasn’t been technical, though.

“Staying more focused and disciplined.”

That mindset is becoming increasingly important as he continues to climb.

How Ryder Brown Trains as a Junior Pickleball Player

At this point, pickleball is no longer just a weekend activity for Ryder.

He trains almost every day, often drilling for three to four hours and sometimes adding match play on top of that. Unlike many players, he genuinely enjoys drilling, which has helped accelerate his development.

One area that Ryder wants to improve this year is his footwork at the kitchen line. He believes tightening that part of his game could make a significant difference in high-level matches.

Balancing School and Competitive Junior Pickleball

Despite the training and competition schedule, Ryder’s family works hard to keep life balanced.

He attends school online, which gives him flexibility to train while staying focused on academics. Outside of pickleball, there’s still time for fishing trips, hiking, and the occasional outdoor adventure with friends.

Those breaks matter. They help keep the sport from becoming overwhelming and remind everyone involved that Ryder is still a kid growing up alongside the game.

Ryder’s goals for the year are simple: another triple crown and pushing his DUPR rating above 5.0. He trains almost every day, drilling for hours and studying his game the same way many pros do.

Five years ago, he was the kid walking onto a court wondering where all the other kids were.

Now he’s one of the players they’re trying to beat.

From One of the Only Kids to One of the Players Everyone’s Chasing