Pickleballer in the 808: Tracey Bennett
Pickleballer in the 808 Tracey Bennett
Honolulu—Call me lucky…I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Tracey Bennett, an avid pickleballer, an official pickleball referee, and just a gracious and kind human.
Being a ref can be tough. You have to know all the obscure rules, be dialed in 100% of the time, and have pretty thick skin. (I was a soccer ref so I speak from experience.). Yet, Tracey finds it rewarding, so much so that she prefers reffing to playing!
In addition to reffing official matches, she refs rec matches too…she reffed a game I played in and it was sooo indulgent, not having to remember the score!
Tracey is all about helping the pickleball community—it was her idea to create the “Ask a Ref” feature in our newsletter, and she eagerly answers all the vexing questions that crop up at the courts. Thank you Tracey!
Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Tracey Bennett!
Currently residing in: Honolulu, specifically Hawai’i Kai
Where did you grow up and what high school did you go to?
Grew up fishing in Miami, moved to Honolulu at 14 and went surfing after classes at Punahou.
How did you discover pickleball and when did you start playing?
A big article in the paper intrigued me, and I followed a friend to her class in 2013.
I was wearing flip flops so couldn’t play, but I borrowed a wood paddle (awful) and hit balls against the gym wall.
Returned the next week for classes. Hooked!
What do you do outside of pickleball?
I volunteer at the Hawaii Kai library bookstore (13 years).
My favorite books are biographies, self-help, historical novels, and young adult books. My recipe collection lives in 3 shoeboxes. I make killer chocolate chip cookies and spend too much time doing online jigsaw puzzles.
You’re a Level 2 (L2) pickleball referee. What was your journey to becoming a ref and what do you like about refereeing?
An acquaintance said, “You’d be a good referee.” She barely knew me, so how did she know that?
But she planted a seed.
Now I’d rather ref than compete. I love it so much, I ref regularly with my group. When players have a dust-up, they bring it to me to sort out. Love that.
I took a ref class and reffed the Hawaii Senior Games in 2018. Became an L1 in 2022. Chosen to be in Randi Levenbaum’s Pickleball Boot Camp last spring (one of 24 in the class and the only one from Hawaii), I went to Las Vegas for a week’s on-court training in September.
I won’t say it was stressful, only that during my on-court evaluation, my hands were shaking. I’d make a mistake and say, “I KNOW this stuff!”
And Randi would say, “SHOW us what you know.”
I’m now an L2 ref and a Registered Referee Trainer with the assignment to create more L1 refs in Hawaii.
How do you handle being challenged during tournaments?
First, gotta stay calm. After years of Transcendental Mediation, I’m pretty mellow.
I assess: “Did I make a mistake or is the player just blowing off steam?”
Players get amped up, and most reactions aren’t personal. For example, a player in Kona foot-faulted on his serve. “Fault!” “Ref, that did not happen! TIME OUT!"
But he was not watching his feet like I was. Every ref makes mistakes. The most common one is to call an NVZ volley foot fault when the ball has bounced.
One of our scripts is “Correction. Replay” [or whatever the call should be]. The most important thing is to stop rehashing the conflict in your head, focus, and move on.
What is the process for anyone interested in becoming a referee?
Go to https://tinyurl.com/LearnToReferee and watch the video. Join USAPickleball and check out the many resources under “Referees."
Then, contact me: Tracey2@hawaii.rr.com
What types of skills or qualities are important?
Patience (especially with yourself as you learn), plus the ability to focus and to absorb gobs of details. Reffing is complicated but learnable, one step at a time.
What do you love most about pickleball?
It’s social, it feeds my competitive spirit, and most of all, it’s fun, occasionally hilarious.
What paddle are you currently playing with?
One weighs 9 ounces for windy days, the other is 7.7 ounces.
How often do you play?
Five days a week.
Mahalo Tracey for giving us a glimpse into what it’s like to ref and for sharing your story!
