Pickleballers in the 808: David and Corina Hill

Pickleball News

Oct 16

Pickleball Power Couple + Pickleballers in the 808: David and Corina Hill

Honolulu: I remember the first time I met a pickleball couple. They were both equally enthusiastic about pickleball, seemed to have the same easygoing temperament, and by golly…they were color coordinated and matching!

I was envious. They share a love (and obsession) with pickleball and they play together!

How?

Easy. They’re unicorns.

Since then, I’ve come across a few more “pickleball” couples, and although not all of them are matching, they’re out there, dinking and laughing and not fighting.

And I still think they’re kinda unicorns for being able to play together so harmoniously.

Enter David and Corina.

They decided to try pickleball together during COVID and quickly became obsessed, even though Corina had to play with an ankle brace for the first 8 months due to an ankle injury.

They started playing in leagues and open plays around the island, and within the first year of playing, they entered a PPA tournament on the mainland and took home the Bronze in 3.5 mixed doubles!

Get to know pickleball couple and Pickleballers in the 808, David and Corina Hill, in the words of Corina:

Where did you grow up and what high school did you go to?

We both grew up in California, and met in high school. We’ve been in Hawaii since 2004.

How did you discover pickleball and when did you start playing?

We discovered pickleball during the pandemic (August 2021). I had a broken ankle and as I started to recover, I wanted to play tennis again. David suggested trying pickleball instead which would allow for a smaller court and less movement on the ankle.

I was hesitant because it was the sport known for “old people” and there wasn’t going to be much cardio. But we went to Walmart and bought a pair of the only pickleball paddles we could find at the time, the wooden ones.

One day out on the courts and we were hooked.

It was just the two of us—we didn’t have any friends that played, and for two months we just played skinny singles and tried to learn what we could from YouTube.

In October 2021, we discovered that the Oahu Pickleball Association had a league for 3.5+ players. On paper, we were definitely 3.5 players, but boy…we were quickly humbled when we played our first game and got pickled in the first five minutes.

We had no idea how to play the game, we didn’t even know how to play a doubles match. We considered quitting the league because clearly we needed lessons and practice, but we stuck with it, week after week and learned from the other players, started practicing with our team during the week, and really learned the ins and outs from YouTube tutorials.

What do you do outside of pickleball?

What is life outside of pickleball?

Pickleball is all we know and all we do LOL, but it doesn’t pay the bills. Outside of pickleball, I’m an insurance agent and David is also in insurance as an account executive. We enjoy hanging out with our friends, hosting parties and gatherings, and we love traveling.

How easy/difficult/frustrating/fun is it to play with each other?

In the beginning it was definitely difficult and challenging playing with each other, but as we discovered the partnership of pro players and understood each person’s role on the court, it became easier and a lot of fun.

I think egos play a role in the frustration of playing with your significant other, so if egos can be put aside and really understand that this is a game of partnership and teamwork, the work on the court can be easier.

People are surprised we play well together and ask us what our secret is…it really is just putting egos aside, and being each others biggest cheerleaders. Of course there are times of frustration and bickering, but when we play competitively, we play with one goal in mind—do our best, have fun and be an inspiration for other couples out there.

What’s up next for the both of you?

To continue to improve each day we play.

We’ve come a long way from being pickled in our first game…we know there is still so much growth for us. We like to challenge ourselves by playing better players, playing in tournaments and leagues.

We’re excited to go to Mexico in November to play and learn from the pros. Ben Johns’ company “Pickleball Getaways” hosts trips across different countries so you can travel, play and learn more pickleball from the best players in the world.

We hope to do more tournaments in the future and we really just want our pickleball community to grow.

Hopefully we can inspire more couples to play and win together!