Pickleballer in the 808: Stacy Hiramoto
Pickleballer in the 808 Stacy Hiramoto, with his wife Debbie
Honolulu—Two hours flew by and I felt like I’d just barely scratched the surface.
A few weeks ago, someone told me I needed to meet Stacy Hiramoto, and after meeting him, I totally understand why. Stacy is a busy guy. He’s dedicated to fostering the love and enjoyment of pickleball and spends a ton of time at the courts, most weekdays, helping people learn and improve their game.
He’s also busy spreading aloha to pickleball communities across the globe, connecting and creating opportunities for local pickleballers to play abroad.
Without further ado, please meet Pickleballer in the 808 Stacy Hiramoto!
Currently residing in: Honolulu.
Where did you grow up and what high school did you go to?
Kaimuki.
How did you discover pickleball and when did you start playing?
After Covid my wife’s friends from Hawaiian Airlines started playing and she said it would be good for us to have a joint activity other than eating. Haha!
What do you do outside of pickleball (work, school, hobbies, etc)?
Covid retired both of us and now we love to play pickleball and travel. We’ve met a lot of great new friends and become much closer with a lot of old friends.
I hear that you’ve been traveling to Japan to play pickleball. How did that come about? What was involved, and how did it turn out?
One night we were at Growlers listening to our good friend and fellow pickleballer Roy Yonashiro and his group DejaBlu.
Susan and Debbie and Linda started talking about Japan because they love to go shopping in Japan.
What could be better than going shopping in Japan? Going to Japan and shopping and playing pickleball and eating and riding Mario Carts all with a dollar that had almost 50% more value!
My wife and I initially took three trips to Japan to meet with several Japanese pickleballers trying to establish a relationship.
I finally took my first group. Husbands who did not play pickleball came and we had such a great time. Our hosts have since become great friends and we continue to meet and add new friends through this connection.
People we played with in Japan also come here and we try our best to return the experience they provided us in Japan!
We have taken three group trips to Japan so far and number four is planned for December.
On this last trip we played with the Assistant Prime Minister of Japan! What a great honor!
Anyone wishing to go in December is welcome to contact me. We will be playing at the Ariake Tennis Facility—a site of the Tokyo Olympics. Socializing and playing pickleball with Japanese friends who take you to their favorite Karaoke spots and restaurants is my idea of a great vacation. We are also heading for our fourth Las Vegas tournament in October. This is a close 2nd!!!
You’re been coaching sports for over 40 years at various levels and schools, and I hear that you’re involved in a pickleball PE program that’s getting off the ground. Tell us about that.
We’re still in the talking stages of getting it approved. We will also be providing instruction in addition to donating the supplies.
We have donated over 100 new pickleball paddles to four different schools trying to help their students learn how to play pickleball. We’re also looking for donations of old Pickleball paddles that people don’t use anymore to help fund this student pickleball learning process.
What do you love most about pickleball?
The fact that we are getting people out of their homes exercising and having fun playing and socializing.
We live in paradise!
We should spend more time outdoors. I used to walk 1-2 hours a day. This is much more fun.
What paddle are you currently playing with?
I designed my own paddle that is Thermoformed with a larger sweet spot which translates to less vibrations on off-center hits.
My main concern is trying to avoid arm and shoulder injuries considering my students might hit over 200 balls a day.
It is lightweight, durable and provides the perfect balance between control and power.
How often do you play?
I play six days a week but probably only 2-3 games a day.
I’m usually helping others practice.
You’re very active in the pickleball community. Anything else on your mind that you’d like to share?
In addition to the health benefits pickleball provides, the mental aspects are equally important!
I try soooo hard to remember if I just served! And changing sides after six points is such a challenge remembering which side of the court I was on! And I really have a hard time knowing the score. Being as deaf as I am….pickleball is also a great mental therapy for us senior citizens!
So in closing I would like to pass on the words of one of our group:
Don’t try so hard to win every game….don’t worry so much about how many games you won or lost today…..don’t worry if they called your shot out even though they called it out before it bounced ….you won’t remember it tomorrow anyway. and neither will anyone else! Haha!!!!
Thank you Stacy, for sharing your story and helping so many pickleballers improve their game!
