Seven countries, 12 military bases, 17 flights, 23 days: at only 19 years old, Brooke Revuelta has already had the experience of a lifetime.
Last month, Revuelta and three other American pro pickleball players joined the Armed Forces Entertainment’s Goodwill Pro Pickleball Military Tour, in association with Pro Sports MVP Entertainment and Promotions. The goal of the tour is to boost morale amongst the United States troops and their families who are currently stationed overseas. Revuelta is the youngest pro player to date to have ever joined the tour.
Turkey, Kosovo, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain were on the itinerary, and of those, all but the UK were fist time visits for Revuelta, who is originally from Miami, Florida. Revuelta was approached about the opportunity last fall and couldn’t believe her good fortune.
“I one-hundred percent feel I’m extremely lucky because I feel like it’s a rare opportunity to go and teach pickleball on military bases. Honestly, it’s unreal. I couldn’t believe it when I was there and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. I feel extremely grateful to have been on that trip” tells Revuelta, who comes from a military family.
Revuelta’s great grandfather, Major Robert Vories Abram, was a B-24 Airplane Commander in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II; her grandfather, James Newton Abram, served in the U.S. Army’s 7th Finance in Vietnam; and her stepfather, Jose Gonzalez, was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart Georgia, and the 154th Engineer Battalion while stationed in Germany.
The tour kicked off on March 1 and Turkey was the first stop. There wasn’t much opportunity for exploring in Turkey because of the difficulty in accessing the military base where they were housed, but the guide assigned to the group made the experience a memorable one.
“He was amazing,” Revuelta says about her guide. “He was helping us with everything, and they people there, they were awesome. We also got to tour their underground hospital, so I feel like that was amazing to see. It was so incredibly cool.”
At each of the bases on the tour, Revuelta and her peers would engage in everything from pickleball clinics to tournaments, to offering a chance to play with and against the pros. Troops, their families - children included - and even civilians from off the base would be among those looking to pick up some pickleball tips from the pros.
Kosovo was the second stop and Revuelta marveled at the military ‘feeling’ they were able to experience, staying in barracks rather than a hotel, and having to walk everywhere. The guide in Kosovo took them for a visit to Macedonia, which was an hour away, during some downtime, thus adding a seventh country to the trip. In Kosovo, Revuelta met a group of reservists from Idaho who all played pickleball. One member, in particular, had pickleball coaching experience and taught the rest of his troop the game.
“They even built up a court in the hangar where they fix all the helicopters, so I thought that was extremely cool to see all the stuff they do to play pickleball and to have fun,” comments Revuelta.
One base in the United Kingdom and another in Germany had approximately 60 people in attendance - some were troops, some were kids, and many were military personnel from off the base. The diversity amongst players allowed the pros to structure the day differently, with separate clinics for the adults and kids. It was especially rewarding for Revuelta to see that people in Germany who didn’t know each other came together for their pickleball event and ended up creating a group chat so that they could set up playing time in the future.
“That really warms my heart when people are actually enjoying it and having fun,” admits Revuelta, who received plenty of positive feedback from those they helped.
Many of the bases the group toured have schools on base so that the kids don’t even leave to get their education. One of Revuelta’s most memorable moments from the trip was in Germany with a little girl around the age of six.
“I had a little girl come up to me and start crying, saying that she didn’t want us to leave,” Revuelta recalls. “I know she was crying, but it was really great to see that she really enjoyed it. To give the kids something else to do that’s different than they normally have - because life on base is not super easy for them - so to give them that, I feel like it’s really special.”
Italy was Revuelta’s favorite stop on the tour, and they got to spend a day in Venice upon arrival which made it extra special. One of the bases in Italy had a smaller pickleball group, which enabled them to create a more personal experience for those present. Revuelta got to know a couple of the military wives, who shared stories from the experiences they’ve gotten to have, their travel and things they enjoyed. The wives elected to join the pros’ pickleball clinic despite never having played pickleball prior, and they had so much fun they committed to continue playing.
“We also had a guy there say that our pickleball clinic was the best entertainment they had there in 17 years,” Revuelta revealed. “So that was a really big one to hear.”
The group stayed off the base in Spain, the last stop on the tour. There were kids and adult clinics held, and the most joyful moment in Spain came when a little boy didn’t want to participate initially, but did so after watching his older brother. He decided to give it a go and once he did, he ended up being a good player.
“It was so much fun to see the joy that pickleball brings. I feel like that’s just very special, and to see that in each base was so amazing,” gushed Revuelta.
Revuelta gave away two of her paddles to some special kids she met on the tour. One was to a pair of sisters in Italy whose family was participating in the clinics put on by the pros. The sisters were too shy to participate but Revuelta took it upon herself to encourage them and gave them one of her own paddles to keep.
“I love to encourage the younger generation just because they have so much potential and there’s so much growth that’s going to happen with the sport,” explains Revuelta.
No doubt Revuelta’s affinity for giving back to the next generation partially stems from her own involvement as a member of the APP’s Next Gen National Team. The Next Gen series is geared towards developing young pickleball players to represent the United States in tournaments, including internationally, and Revuelta has benefitted from being coached and mentored by senior pickleball professionals.
“Going international with the Next Gen team actually helped because I’ve been to the part of the UK that we were in and I knew that area,” Revuelta affirms. “The coaching, I always take bits and pieces of everything that everyone’s ever told me and I use that in my coaching.
“It really helped to see myself as a role model as far as the next generation goes. When I went to go and coach the kids all of that especially helped in the kids aspect because I feel like the Next Gen in general is something for them to look up to. I know they don’t necessarily have it where they are, but I feel like it really helps to understand that part of Next Gen and the next generation of pickleball is these kids that are 16 and under. It really correlates to the growth of the sport.”
She may be the youngest pro player to have ever participated in this tour, but from her wise words, it’s clear she was an excellent choice, and the rewards and memories were granted in spades - from both sides of the pickleball paddle.
