One Family’s Epic Pickleball Trip
The Nicol family traveled from Hawaii to make memories in Greensboro
By Alex Abrams - Red Line Editorial
This was already shaping up to be a momentous summer for Connor Nicol and his younger sister, Sierra.
Connor, 30, recently graduated from the University of Idaho’s law school. Seventeen-year-old Sierra, meanwhile, planned to spend some time visiting colleges along the East Coast ahead of her senior year of high school.
This all sparked an idea for their father, Scott.
That’s how the family from Kula, Hawaii, found themselves on the court at the USA Pickleball Golden Ticket tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, in late May.
“This is kind of like my vacation before I really get into studying for the bar,” said Connor, who will prepare to take the bar exam later this summer.
Sierra, meanwhile, took a break from touring colleges with her family to compete in the Golden Ticket tournament. She had already visited several universities in the Boston area when her father, an avid pickleball player, suggested they also look at two schools located near each other in North Carolina — Wake Forest University and Elon University.
Both schools are only a short drive from Greensboro, which worked out perfectly for the family to mix in a stop at the Golden Ticket tournament at the Greensboro Complex.
Coming from Kula — more than 4,600 miles away from Greensboro — Scott, Connor and Sierra were the three players who traveled the farthest to compete at the Golden Ticket tournament. They arrived in North Carolina on May 29, and Connor started his busy schedule at the tournament the next day with a series of singles matches.
He played well enough in his men’s division on May 30 to qualify for the 2025 USA Pickleball National Championships, which runs from Nov. 15-23 in San Diego. He then teamed up with his father a day later to play in doubles matches together.
The father-and-son duo qualified for Nationals for a second consecutive year, giving them another chance to spend valuable time on the court together.
“We were just talking about (that). He’s like, ‘Oh, you’re going to be able to show your kids that,’” said Connor, who wore a black University of Idaho T-shirt during his matches. “I was like ‘You’re going to be able to show your grandkids that.’ This is all memory making right now.”
Connor capped his time in Greensboro playing mixed doubles with Sierra, who was competing in a pickleball tournament for the first time.
The two siblings come from a passionate pickleball family, and it all started with their father.
Scott got hooked on the sport like so many other adults across the country, and he then encouraged his children to pick up paddles a few years ago. Connor grew up playing tennis, and Sierra is mostly a volleyball player, but pickleball has given them a way to play a sport with their father.
“He loves it so much,” Sierra said, laughing. “We have a (pickleball) court at our house now. It’s insane.”
When the family has company over to their house, Sierra will often play with her father if he needs a partner for doubles matches. She joked that they can sometimes get pretty annoyed at each other during their matches.
“But with Connor, it’s usually fine,” Sierra said. “Sometimes we do get annoyed, but yeah, it’s pretty fine most of the time.”
Sierra said her mother also enjoys playing pickleball, but she prefers pickup matches at home instead of traveling across the country for tournaments.
As soon they finished competing in Greensboro, Scott and Sierra planned to continue touring colleges on the East Coast for a few more days. It made for a big family trip for the Nicols, one that spanned multiple states and several pickleball divisions.
“It was really fun,” Sierra said.
Alex Abrams has written about Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
