March Pro Series: Wes Gabrielsen

Wes Gabrielson is a seminal person and player within the sport of pickleball. He has captured over 11 USAP National medals and many Canadian National medals as well.

Wes has and continues to partner up with other great players such as Kyle Yates, Sarah Ansboury and Erik Lange.

Having seen Wes play in person, while at USAP Nationals in Indian Wells, I can say that he demonstrates amazing court awareness and a high level of pickleball IQ and it’s evident that he values a high level of sportsmanship.

When Wes agreed to be interviewed for the Control the Kitchen blog, I hadn’t put two and two together, Wes, is the first person I’ve interviewed who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

I am also grateful to have reached out to him for an interview because now I’m going to totally use the Spanish Fighting drill.

Name: Wes Gabrielsen
Sponsored by: Selkirk Sport, Jigsaw Health, Jolt Therapy Tool, Jackrabbit E-Bike 
Paddle: Wesley Gabrielsen Signature Epic Amped (Selkirk)
Recent Achievement(s): 2022 Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductee, 2022 USAP Nationals Men's Split Age Pro Doubles - Bronze Medal w/Dave Weinbach 

Q. How long have you been playing pickleball and how did you enter the world of pickleball?

I was first introduced to pickleball in middle school PE class at Judson Middle School in Salem, Oregon. This was in 1998.

I played in middle school, high school, and college PE classes - wooden paddle with a DURA ball on the gym floor. Introduced to modern/higher level pickleball in 2011 by my mixed tennis partner and longtime/future pickleball partner Christine Barksdale. She put a Pro-Lite Magnum in my hand and we played with a Cosom indoor ball = the rest is history! I was hooked.

Q. What was your first pro tournament and when? 

2013 Tournament of Champions  - I believe this was the first ever PRO Pickleball Tournament (or at least billed as that). Was in Ogden, Utah. 4th Place Men's Doubles w/Justin Rodgers [and] Bronze Medal Mixed w/Christine Barksdale.

Q. Can you share a stand-out moment for you during that pro tournament?

My favorite result at a Pro Tournament was the 2016 Tournament of Champions in Brigham City, Utah. Won the double gold medal (Mixed Pro Gold w/Sarah Ansbour [&] Mens Pro Gold w/Kyle Yate). Was the toughest pro pickleball field to date at that point in time.

Q. How often do you drill per week versus playing competitive games (as a form of practice)?

On average I play 4 days a week. 2-3 of the days are EXCLUSIVELY DRILLING! 1 day of game play [and] the closer I get to a big tournament - I drill mostly and play [a] little rec [play]

Q. Do you have a favourite drill? If so, what is it?

Spanish fighting drill - it's the ultimate dinking drill. [It’s] a test of your mental and physical endurance. I adopted it from the tennis world.

RULES: every ball has to land in the kitchen, and every shot that goes in the court is worth a point. Whoever wins the rally collects ALL the POINTS (example = 20 shot rally winner would get 20 points!). You play a game to 100 POINTS. 

Q. Who’s your pickleball hero and why? 

Buzz Summers - he is an 87 year old 4.5+ player from Eugene, Oregon. Buzz was the University of Oregon Ducks tennis coach for over 30 years.

He picked up the game at 80 and has dominated in his age brackets ever since at Nationals especially. He gets better with age and is a favorite at our tournaments here around Oregon.

He is a hard worker and is always improving - and is VERY COMPETITIVE, but positive and complimentary to his partners and opponents. In 2016 = I got the chance to play with him in a 5.0 level men's doubles tournament and we earned a SILVER medal! Overall he is a GREAT AMBASSADOR for the sport of pickleball.

Q. Name your top 3 favourite shots? 

- Crosscourt backhand slice dink
- Backhand slice return of serve
- Mid-Court RESET

Q. Wes, you're the second “lefty” to participate in our Pro Series, do you like playing with a fellow “lefty” so that you don’t necessarily have to stack, or are you just as happy playing with a “righty” and stacking? What’s a piece of advice you can give someone who is wanting to learn the strategies of stacking? 

I haven’t played a whole lot of tournaments with another lefty, but I love playing rec with lefties. It’s always a fun challenge to play with anyone that helps take you outside of your comfort zone playing-wise, so it’s a fun puzzle to try to solve playing with another lefty.

In terms of playing with someone when you're stacking, I think each team needs to have a "court captain" so to speak that’s in charge of stacking. I always tell my students that the person on the right side of the court should ALWAYS BE the court captain to make it easier.

Q. What’s your favourite pickleball moment to date? 

Being inducted in the Pickleball Hall of Fame this past November surrounded by family, friends and the "Oregon Army". It was a special day for Oregon pickleball more so than myself. This sport has always been about the people for me.  And it was great to be able to share it with all my close friends that night.

Q. Name 3 other people you’d like to play rec games with and what is the match up?

That's a really good question. Wow! Here it goes:

Steve Paranto - my pickleball father and mentor.  He got me going on this journey.

Christine Barksdale - my pickleball sister and longtime mixed partner.  I owe a lot of my success in pickleball to her.

Yang Lu - my much better half in this world.  Pickleball has brought me so many great memories and successes, but the greatest part of my pickleball journey is that it allowed me to meet my best friend in this world.  And she is a killer player too!

Paranto and I against the Ladies!

Q. What is your favourite tournament format to play in and why? 

I love a double-elimination format, it’s what I started with and it’s what I enjoy the most. Round robins are fun and you get a lot of play, but there’s just something about the double-elimination format that’s more challenging in my mind. Although I do love rally scoring as well. It’s an ultimate pressure cooker, it helps you limit your mistakes if you want to be successful.

Q. What does the sport of pickleball need the most in order for it to get to the “next level”? (can answer from a Canadian, USA or global perspective).

Help grow professional organizations/amount of players in each country. That would lead to a more likely Olympic entry as a sport!

Q. What’s your favourite flavour of ice cream?

I’m not a big dessert person, but I do enjoy some ice cream from time to time. Salted caramel truffle is my favourite at this point. But anything fruit-flavoured I love as well.

Q. How do you recover from a day of competition in order to get ready for the next day?

In my mind, the keys to recovery are adequate hydration, in addition to significant consumption of anti-inflammatory-based foods. Adequate rest is also important as well.

Q. Do you have a favourite tournament that you attend each year?

I love nationals, as I’ve been fortunate enough to play nationals at four different venues during the course of my career. It’s something about being that national tournament that gets my Pickleball juices flowing more than anything else. The switch to Indian Wells was absolutely fabulous for the sport and I look forward to continued play at that venue.

Q. How do you prepare yourself mentally for competition? 

I get plenty of drill sessions in the week leading up to the tournament. This puts me in the right frame of mind with confidence heading into the event.  Once on the court I visualize my shot locations and go from there.

Q. In how many years do you think pickleball will be an Olympic sport? 

I think it’s a lot further off than people think. We will need to see adequate improvements with international organizations along with a more significant population of professional players from other countries before this becomes a reality. I hope to see it soon however.

Q. What’s your favourite piece of advice to give to a beginner? 

Learn how to dink first - As you progress to the higher levels of Pickleball it’s a unique sport in the fact that the better players play at a slower pace, a.k.a. more dinks. If you want to get yourself to a higher level learn how to hit that skill first, before working your way back to the midcourt and the baseline.

Q. Can you share something unique about yourself for the readers?

I was once a child model for Nordstrom's Department store in Oregon.

Bonus question(s) Round:

Q. How do you feel the influx of celebrity influence is impacting the sport?

I think it will bring more attention to the sport - which will only help it increase in popularity.

Q. There are some out there in the pickleball world who think that the APP will be the tour where up and coming pro players choose to play in until they feel “ready” to play in the PPA tour. What are your thoughts on this speculation and do you think that having two tours is sustainable over time or will one cease to exist?

I think people should be able to play where they want - I enjoy being a free agent with the ability to play whatever tournament I would like.  And will continue to do so.

This article was taken from our 'Control the Kitchen' Newsletter, if you're interested in receiving more content like this, please feel free to sign up using the subscribe section located at the bottom left of this page (or underneath the article if you're on mobile), thanks!