Ben and Julian Slive have only been playing pickleball since last May, but so far, so good.
The twins recently had a good showing in the sixth annual Franklin Delray Beach Pickleball Classic, which featured more than 700 competitors.
The Delray Beach Pickleball Club had Franklin Sports as the title sponsor for the tournament which took place at the Delray Beach Tennis Center on Atlantic Avenue.
“We are delighted to have so many players who joined us this year for the Pickleball Classic,” said Delray Beach Pickleball Club President Norm Dickman. “The growth of pickleball has led to a huge number of competing events, but Delray’s popularity as a player’s tournament continues to attract top talent from all over the country and Canada.
“The proceeds will enable us to increase our support of our numerous charity partners including the Make-A-Wish Foundation Southern Florida, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Achievement Center for Children and Families,” he said.
Among the players were 14-year-old Boca Raton twins Ben and Julian Slive, who played together in the 4.0 doubles division and attribute their success to relying on each other’s strengths — Julian’s master dinks and Ben’s hard-hitting volleys.
Ben captured gold in 10-49 (age group) 4.0 skill level, while Julian captured bronze in the same division. They both won a silver together in Men’s doubles in the 10-49 4.0 skill level.
Both are competitive tennis players in the eighth grade at AD Henderson and play for FAU High. Ben said they both had some informal exposure to the game but took it seriously in May.
“We had played once or twice at a friend’s house and as a school unit in our physical education class, but had never gotten much engaged in it or involved in it until (last year),” Ben said. “I started playing the first two times at my friends out and I thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty fun,’ but I really didn’t know how many people or how I was going to play.”
Ben said FAU High’s tennis coach Carlos Santiago plays pickleball and he recommended they start playing. They played their first tournament a couple of weeks after.
“We had very limited experience to the game, but it was a great way to meet new people,” he said, “and I think that’s when we started playing pickleball and just loved the game. We came from a tennis background, so I think we just wanted to hit the ball hard. We didn’t really know strategy at all. It was more relaxed. We didn’t know anyone and we didn’t know the game. It was the first time actually picking up our own pickleball paddle. So, we were running around trying to find a fun place to play at. We didn’t really think we’d get involved as we are now.”
Ben said when they first took up the game, they didn’t use much strategy or were confused by the rules.
“Once we got the hang of the rules, it was a little easier,” he said. “Once we started playing better players, we had no strategy at all.”
The family hails from Ohio and said every summer they go to North Ridgeville where their friend’s father, Tariq Ismail, is a professional pickleball player. He taught them various strategies and that was the first major step they took in pickleball.
“Winning in Delray was great,” Ben said. “I had to tell myself I was one of the better players in the tournament to gain some confidence and I just told myself that I had trained really hard the past few months and I just had to go out and execute.”
Ben took out a familiar foe in beating 18-year-old FAU High senior Nolan Dang in the final. He said he’s used to playing older players and will rely on his tennis tackles to hit the ball past them.
Ben topped Dang 11-4 and 11-4 in the semifinals and then won 11-3, 7-11 and 11-0 in the finals of the double-elimination tournament.
Then he teamed with his brother to finish runner-up, falling to Michael Garcia and Miguel Pimentel, who both live in West Palm Beach.
“I think we could have won the championship,” he said. “I think the stress got to us a tiny bit, especially because we were on a big court.”
Julian and his brother first started playing pickleball two summers ago just for fun and decided to take it seriously before last summer. They both played tennis for about five years.
“I think it is pretty cool that we are on path and on track to go professional,” Julian said. “There are a lot of people who play tennis that are turning to pickleball. In my opinion, in three years it will only be tennis players playing pickleball because of the stroke. Tennis is also so much harder a sport to turn pro in because of the amount of tennis players.
“I like to dink and drop it a little more,” he said. “I guess I am the more patient one. He likes to speed it up a little and go for kill, that’s why I think we are such great partners. He also has very quick hands.”
Julian said he is looking for a sponsor and it also looking to turn professional (100%). Both players have only played on hard court instead of clay.
The 2023 Franklin Delray Beach Classic included competition on 28 courts, including center stadium, where the medal matches were played.
