Siblings On Court and Off

Jackie and Jade Kawamoto live together.

They work together.

They eat together.

Here’s the deal: Their schedules align.

And on the court they often team up together.

“Jade doesn’t like my critiques of her,” Jackie said. “But that doesn’t stop me.”

Of course it doesn’t. That’s what siblings do, right? The PPA Tour is well represented by siblings who spend time together on and off the court, so on National Siblings Day, it only makes sense to recognize them.

There are the twin sisters the Kawamotos, Lindsey and Riley Newman, Maggie and Mary Brascia, Jorja and JW Johnson, and Ben and Collin Johns.

“You know each other so well, which is a good thing, but it’s also a bad thing,” said Jade Kawamoto of her sister. “It’s good when it comes to knowing your partner’s game style, but bad because you can be mad at your partner a lot easier when it’s your sister.”

Hey, we tend to hurt the ones we love the most, and that has to be a significant challenge for brothers and sisters who play together. You never want to let your partner down, but then again, it’s a lot easier to criticize someone you know so well.

“Our teamwork is pretty much seamless,” said Collin Johns, who, when teaming up with brother Ben, has the No. 1 team in men’s pickleball. “That would be hard to duplicate with anyone else. We rarely bicker on the court. If one of us is occasionally being a pinhead, we have no problem telling each other so.”

“You know each other’s games so well that sometimes you can make moves before that person’s hitting the shot because you know what shot they’re going to hit,” said Lindsey Newman. “For Riley and I, it’s nice because we know how the other person’s going to play, so we can adjust our personal game to fit their game.”

Well, clear is kind, and it’s much easier to be clear with someone you’ve grown up with, trained with, lived with, and so on. In the case of the Kawamotos, the two not only live and work together, but they were doubles partners in college at the University of Dayton.

It’s hard to spend lots of time with the same people every day. Work environments can be difficult, so training and practicing with familiar faces on a regular basis can be a challenge.

“When we are home, we typically drill together six days a week for one, long practice session,” Collin said. “We occasionally do gym workouts together during the week as well. Off the court, we are frequently together for activities, sporting events, hiking, concerts. And we typically stay together when we are at a tournament.”

That’s a lot of together time. But it sure is rewarding when you get to experience success with someone you’re close with.

“Having my sister out there doing the same thing as me makes it enjoyable,” Jackie said. “We’re able to train together, play together and be each other’s biggest cheerleaders on the sidelines as well.”

Another sibling on the sidelines is Hannah Johns. Johns is sister to Ben and Collin and while she stays impartial as a broadcaster and sideline reporter for the PPA Tour’s tournaments, it’s only natural to cheer for family.

“Watching the boys grind their way to the top and succeed together has made me so proud,” said Hannah. “Our family has always been close, and our siblings’ triumphs and failures often feel like our own, because we are so invested in each other’s lives. It’s easy to love each other while things are going good, but most important is supporting each other through the tougher times.”

Maggie and Mary Brascia reiterated the sentiments of the Johns’ and Kawamotos, mentioning how lucky they feel to have each other to share in their pro journey.

“Maggie is my favorite partner – sorry, everyone else!” said Mary. “Maggie and our other sister, Molly, are my best friends. We played a lot of sports together growing up, and it’s so cool that we get to travel the country playing pro pickleball together now. This pickleball journey has allowed us to grow even closer! Thanks for putting up with me on the court, Maggie.”

And while siblings might be quick to criticize, one thing they all agree on is that family always has each other’s back.

I’m his [Riley’s] sister before I’m his pickleball partner,” said Lindsey. “I want the best for him.”

“It’s definitely a supportive structure we have going,” Ben said. “We train together, we play together, we talk pickleball, we make each other better. We practically live it together, and having constant support in every facet of what we do is for sure encouraging.”