CALEDONIA, Mich — Jayce Landheer will be a freshman in a couple weeks. But instead of spending 8 hours a day in a classroom, he’ll be doing his schooling on the court.
Schooling his opponents, of course, as a pickleball prodigy.
“Honestly, it’s a lot of hard work," said Jayce. “Playing is one part of your day, but training is probably twice as much."
Being 14 makes quite the barrier for getting to practice. That's where Jenny Byxbe, proud pickleball parent, comes in.
“I’d never dreamed that this would be the case," laughed Jenny.
It all started when Jayce was on a vacation with his grandparents at 10 years old. He went to the rec center with his grandma and saw pickleball courts and gear.
"We just wanted to try it," Jayce said.
"He came home and he was talking all about pickleball," said Jenny. “I could just tell the spark was there."
He'd never felt that same drive for another sport before.
“Whenever I had practices, I was like ‘oh dang, I don’t want to go.’ But like for pickleball, I was like ‘oh yeah let’s go,'" he said.
Four years later, he'll be going to high school just part time to work toward a dream he never saw coming — becoming a pickleball pro.
“The only way you can change doubters is to work hard and be kind to them," said Jayce.
He does think he'll miss some high school memories for the sport. But he has no doubts he'll make many more on the court.
“You do miss out on making new friends, but to be honest I’ve made twice as many friends in pickleball as school," he said. “If this is what I truly want, I need to do it."
“Even though he’s had to grow up faster, it’s helped him be a kid again too. Because you can see that passion," said Jenny.
For him, pickleball was never a hobby of the hand. It was straight from the heart, says Jenny.
“His eighth grade year, he was showing a lot of disinterest in school. You could tell he was down," she said.
It would be the courts that finally brought back his smile.
“I don’t know what else there is in life that makes me feel that way," said Jayce. “If I don’t play for two days, I’m craving to play."
"In many ways, it saved Jayce," said Jenny.
While the soon-to-be freshman has much more to learn, he could teach a lesson on taking your shot.
“It’s just an honor, actually, to be able to sit by while he does what he loves," smiled Jenny.
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