Allyce Jones Featured On The Cari Champion Show

Watch our Pro Player, Allyce Jones, as she was interviewed on Amazon Prime’s The Cari Champion Show.

Transcript

Interviewer: Welcome back to the Carrie Championship. Pickleball is sweeping the nation. It’s all the rage I know about it. I actually did a special on it on CBS. That’s crazy. The Bulger crew have been covering the Professional Pickleball Association all week long. Amazing video. I hope you have been paying attention.

Interviewer: So we catch up with them as they talk to one of its rising stars. Madeline.

Interviewer 2: Thanks so much, Carrie. Now we are thrilled to have a guest, our next guest joining us right now. Um, Allyce Jones, who is a pro pickleball player. Allyce, thank you so much for joining us and taking the time today.

Allyce Jones: Yeah, thanks for having me.

Interviewer 2: Uh, first of all, we gotta start with the origin story here, because you started playing pickleball during the pandemic to stay busy. It was your, actually your mother who recommended the sport to you. What was your first reaction the first time you played pickleball?

Allyce Jones: You know, it was during, obviously during Covid and so, uh, I would just had taught my high school students in the morning and [00:01:00] then I taught my own kids here, here.

Allyce Jones: And we were like, kind of going stir crazy, was like, okay, let’s go find something else to do. So we went over to my high school gym and the first time playing, I was already addicted. Like most people that start playing pickleball. Uh, and that was even on just a gym floor. It’s obviously a lot better on a real court.

Interviewer 3: And you played college sports too, as well, and we’ve talked to a lot of people leading into what we’re now calling, uh, the, the Pickleball tour and what just the, the professional and the, the, uh, how it’s just progressed over the last couple of years. How does that helped you in your professional career as a pickleball?

Allyce Jones: Well, I think it helps you to perform in intense moments cause I was, I’m a little different from the other pros. I played collegiate volleyball where most of them, um, were collegiate tennis. And I just feel like it, having that experience of being on a big stage and then going to the professional level has helped me a lot.

Interviewer 3: Now you [00:02:00] said, uh, you played professional, I mean, you played collegian volleyball. And a lot of people went over, came to pickleball from tennis. But do you think that playing volleyball in the strategy wise, do you think that helped you more than, because I know there’s a big transition between tennis and pickleball, but is volleyball closer to pickleball than tennis?

Interviewer 3: Is the pickleball in terms of the strategies and whatnot?

Allyce Jones: Um, I would say strategies like, yeah. Well, and now still to this day, like tennis, you have finish. You don’t forget it. I’m not gonna say that.

Interviewer 3: I’m trying to put it again. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. Close.

Interviewer 2: Yeah, close. I mean, at least I love the way that, that this started for you too, though.

Interviewer 2: You said that the moment you realized you could play professionally, Was when your husband, Ryan set you up with a private lesson with Callie, Joe Smith, who we had on Bour Sports Talk earlier this week. Yeah. She’s a pro and incredible talent. Mm-hmm. Um, and you said you were able to hang and compete with her in your [00:03:00] very first lesson, pickleball sa Savant over here.

Interviewer 2: What was that moment like for you?

Allyce Jones: Well, I wouldn’t say like that. I was like at Callie’s level, I was not at Callie’s level when I got my lesson, but it was just kind of like an eye-opening experience, like, holy cow. I had no idea. I thought I was just learning how to play pickleball a little bit better and be a good, you know, amateur level player.

Allyce Jones: But then when I came home I was like, honey, Um, I think I can hang, and he’s like, that’s why I got you the lesson. He wanted me to know that.

Interviewer 3: Well, and so that, that winning mentality right there. Right. You’re also a teacher as well as a coach. Mm-hmm. You have to have brought some of that too, to, to your professional career as well in this sport.

Interviewer 3: Right? Yeah.

Allyce Jones: Yeah, for sure. Um, part of it is because it’s a team sport and I coached obviously volleyball. And so having, um, a partner and being able to have good team chemistry and good, um, strategy together on the court definitely has helped me coming [00:04:00] into the pro level from my past experience, uh, coaching, volleyball.

Allyce Jones: For 13 years. It was a long time.

Interviewer 2: That’s great. And I mean, you know, this sport is growing so rapidly it has become such, it’s sweeping the country and the world really. We’re hearing about it constantly. We’ve got a lot of incredible pros telling their stories on our show, but what’s been your favorite part about watching this sport grow like it has?

Allyce Jones: Probably my favorite part has been watching, um, the youth come up into it as well now because it’s all it’s been lately is just like, High level tennis players come in and play pickleball, but now it’s like the younger generations are like, Hey, this is a sport that is obviously gonna be hopefully in high school and collegiate level, um, in the next 10 years.

Allyce Jones: And so it’s fun to see the youth coming in and competing, and my daughter’s one of them. So it’s pretty fun to watch her come in and compete and love the game.

Interviewer 3: And how long do you think it’ll be before we see [00:05:00] pickleball in high school and college? Because there’s other sports like surfing that have made that transition into it.

Interviewer 3: Mm-hmm.

Allyce Jones: You know, to be honest, like at least for Utah, when it came, we, we just barely got high school volleyball. And we’ve been four, uh, excuse me, four boys. And so like, and that took like at least five years. So I can see maybe, um, you know, they’ve, it comes to, down to, they’ve gotta have courts. And they gotta have land for the court.

Allyce Jones: So, I mean, I could see college going faster. I can see college going first and then it coming to high school maybe in the next five years. College, and then maybe eight years high school. That’s guess

Interviewer 3: now you see, uh, how, what is it like when you bring your kids to the games? Mm-hmm. And they just wa they just watched their mother d demolish another player.

Interviewer 3: That’s gotta be a good feeling. I never had the opportunity to do that cuz I didn’t have kids when I was playing. But it’s gotta be a good feeling.

Allyce Jones: Mm-hmm. It’s a great [00:06:00] feeling. Um, my daughter actually will sit on the bench with me and my partners usually don’t mind it. And so she’ll be sitting right next to me cheering and you’ll see her like put her hands over her mouth cuz she gets so nervous.

Allyce Jones: And I’ll look back and she’ll just be so nervous. Excited. So I love having, um, my kids watch me and my boys are loving it too. So they’ve just, uh, My biggest support. I mean,

Interviewer 2: Allyce, you’re currently ranked in the top 20 in women’s doubles and in women’s signals. Do they have a concept of just how good at this sport you are?

Allyce Jones: You’re so nice. Um, I have a l I still have a lot of work to do, like I’m not satisfied. So definitely getting back to the drawing board. Every single drill practice I do, and, um, improving every day, so I’m not satisfied with where I’m at.

Interviewer 2: That’s what makes you a pro and a competitor. Allyce Jones, PPA Professional.

Interviewer 2: Thank you so much for taking the time with us this morning to talk pickleball. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Thanks. Lovely intrigue, great stuff [00:07:00] from Allyce Jones. Just continuing to dominate on the PPA tour. I just love how, how many families, right? Because when we’re talking to these pickleball pros, it’s like, you know, we’re, what’s it like with your, with your kids and, and showing how good you are in the sport?

Interviewer 3: That’s such a cool aspect, right? Amani? Like it’s, oh, it is. I mean, I, I always. Admired those guys after games when their families come up. Yeah. When they kiss their, their, their kids and all that stuff. It’s a, it’s, it’s, it’s a special moment that they’ll never, that the kids will never forget. And obviously the adults.

Interviewer 2: I like the point that she made too, is right now we’re seeing pickleball, a lot of people coming from tennis into pickleball, but now there’s this next generation of kids and of young people that are going straight into pickleball as well, which is gonna be incredible to watch as the sport continues to grow.

Interviewer 2: We’ll send it now back to Carrie, champion.

Interviewer: Thank you so much for that, Madeline. Congratulations. I did not know the world of pickleball is picking up guys. Pickleball picking up. Congratulations to Allyce Jones. We gotta watch out for her, and I’ve just followed her on Instagram while I’m sitting here watching this interview.

Interviewer: I’m so intrigued. Now coming up, I’m more so intrigued about whether or not I gotta be honest with y’all. My Lakers can get a [00:08:00] win on Saturday. That’s tomorrow. I’m wrapping up the week and I’m talking about the Lakers. Don’t turn it off. Stay here. Support your girl back in a moment.