Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeaney and Rico Garcia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jeaney and Rico, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
Our optimism comes from a blend of deeply personal experiences and shared passions. For me, Jeaney, optimism has always been a natural part of who I am—it’s my default setting. I find excitement in learning from every experience, and I’ve developed a strong sense of self through resilience, determination, and success. As the oldest sibling, a high-level competitive athlete, an Athletic Administrator, a wife for 30 years and a parent to two boys I’ve continually faced challenges head-on and emerged with a positive outlook, ready to take on what comes next.
For me, Rico, optimism didn’t come naturally—I often saw life as messy, unpredictable, and full of challenges, which didn’t leave much room for optimism. However, after helping my parents through their end-of-life experiences, I gained a new perspective. I became more accepting of life, embracing its imperfections with gratitude. Now, I focus on love, being present, and appreciating the little things that make life beautiful. And, Jeaney’s radiant, relentless, and smart positivity helps me glow!
Together, our approach to PickleballLYFE, travel, friendships, and exploring cultures is what fuels our shared optimism. We find joy in every trip we plan, every new place we discover, and every connection we make. It’s these experiences—both the beautiful and the challenging—that keep us excited about the future, knowing that life’s unpredictability is what makes it all so special.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
PickleballLYFE was born from a simple yet powerful idea: to blend our passion for pickleball, travel, and connecting with people in a way that transcends just the game. Founded by us, PickleballLYFE is a manifestation of the adventures we sought in life—combining sport, teaching, and the sheer joy of exploring new cultures with like-minded individuals. What started as a side gig has turned into an award winning tour company and a celebrated journey, creating memories for groups of people on courts around the world. For Jeaney, after 20 years of competitive running, the challenge of finding a new athletic pursuit led her to discover pickleball in 2017 while living in Honolulu. Today, she is a 5.0 Senior Pro with over 100 medals, competing regularly, but what she truly loves is sharing the pickleball lifestyle with others.
At its core, PickleballLYFE is about more than just hitting a ball across the net. It’s about creating meaningful, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Our trips are carefully curated, blending high-level pickleball instruction and tournaments with immersive cultural exploration in places like Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, and Hawaii. With a maximum of 24 participants per trip, our focus is on camaraderie and group bonding. From interactive dinners to off-court activities like exploring local art, cuisine, and nightlife, every detail is designed to build lasting friendships and connections. Rico, a 3.5 recreational player who loves improving his game with each trip, always brings a fun, quirky energy to the group, while Jeaney’s experience (especially from her perspective as a certified positive mental coach, certified pickleball instructor, and with a graduate degree in human movement) and passion for the sport inspire everyone to play their best and smile.
What makes PickleballLYFE truly unique, though, isn’t just the locations or the well-organized activities. It’s the energy, humor, and joy that we infuse into each trip. Our love for people, for teaching, and for discovering new corners of the world fuels every experience we offer. We want our participants to not only improve their pickleball game but also leave feeling like they’ve explored a new side of themselves. Whether it’s playing in round robins with local clubs, hiking to breathtaking views, or sharing laughter over a meal, each trip is designed to be a joyful celebration of life, sport, and culture. PickleballLYFE is more than just a travel company—it’s a community, a lifestyle, and an adventure waiting to happen.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back on our journey as parents, career workers, and co-founders of PickleballLYFE, three key qualities have been absolutely crucial: fun, awareness, and adaptability. These are guiding principles that have shaped how we approach life, work, and everything in between. First and foremost, fun is at the heart of everything we do. You have to truly enjoy what you’re doing, because when joy is present, everything flows more naturally. Sure, there’ll be stressful and tough times, but your goal should be something that brings you joy. Whether it’s running a business, parenting, or learning a new skill, if you can infuse fun into the process, you’ll not only be more successful but healthier and happier too. Science even backs it up—when people have fun, stress decreases, creativity increases, and we absorb information more easily. For us, starting PickleballLYFE was about sharing the fun we found in pickleball with others, and that’s why our trips are designed to be joyful experiences in exciting locales. We believe when there’s joy, everyone benefits.
The second key skill we’ve relied on is awareness—and not just awareness in the obvious sense, but a deeper, more intentional form of noticing. Whether it’s being attuned to the dynamics of a group, observing a player’s technique, or simply reading the energy of a room, awareness is about actively paying attention to what’s going on around you. For us, creating a successful trip or even a harmonious family environment requires an understanding of the people we’re interacting with—their moods, needs, and individual dynamics. In pickleball, this translates into being aware of a player’s strengths and weaknesses so you can give better coaching or foster an environment that works for the entire group. In life, it’s the same. To anyone just starting their journey, we’d say: make it a habit to be aware. It’s an invaluable skill that will help you understand situations more clearly, leading to better decisions and more meaningful interactions.
Finally, adaptability is the ability to take what you’ve learned through awareness and use it to adjust and improve. Life is unpredictable, and circumstances will often shift without warning, but success comes from being flexible and willing to pivot when needed. For us, adaptability has been vital. Whether it’s adjusting our plans when a trip itinerary changes or responding to feedback from our participants, we’ve had to stay nimble to ensure we still reach our goals. But adaptability isn’t just about making changes—it’s about knowing what to change and when to change it. You have to recognize what you can and cannot control, and then use that awareness to move forward. Our advice for anyone starting their journey? Learn to be flexible. Things won’t always go according to plan, but with a combination of fun, awareness, and adaptability, you can still achieve your goals—and maybe even discover new ones along the way.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
The challenge we’re currently facing is how to transition PickleballLYFE from a side endeavor to a more full-time, sustainable business. We want to grow at the right pace, balancing expansion with maintaining the high-quality, intimate experiences that our travelers love. It’s a delicate balance—growing too quickly could overwhelm us and compromise the personal touch we take pride in, while growing too slowly might leave us in a place where, when we’re ready to commit full-time, the business isn’t where we need it to be in terms of reputation and stability. Right now, PickleballLYFE involves a lot of our time, a limited resource that is impacted by many factors, both personal and professional.
Scaling up will mean either organizing more trips or increasing the size of our tours, but this brings other challenges. One of the biggest is trusting others to represent PickleballLYFE and host our trips with the same level of care and enthusiasm that we bring. We know there are people out there who are qualified and share our passion, but finding the right partners is a process. But we enjoy the process of developing our network of trusted ground partners at our destinations to assist in the smooth operation of our tours. It’s all about ensuring that as we scale, we stay true to the core of what makes PickleballLYFE special: fun, camaraderie, and a unique sense of adventure.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pickleballlyfe.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pickleballlyfe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pickleballlyfe
Image Credits
PickleballLYFE LLC
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