NAPLES, Fla. — Brendon Long was born and raised in Naples. His father was a professional poker player, which pushed him into playing the sport as well.

He quickly became good at it, and after he finished school, he turned poker into his profession. Long traveled the country playing in different events, some as large as the World Series of Poker.

“It was just really fun,” Long said. “It was exciting, and it was good to learn and get better at things.”

After five years of professional poker, Brendon got worn down. So he put down the chips, came home, and went all in on something else. Long picked up a paddle and made it his goal to become a professional pickleball player. The sport wasn’t foreign to him. He had been playing it for years, first picking up a paddle in high school.

“My uncle knew the guy who invented the sport,” Long said. “My uncle tried to pitch it to my mom like 30 years ago.”

At that point, pickleball wasn’t the national craze it is now. Despite that, Brendon still bought a net, chalked some lines, and set up a makeshift court in his driveway. It was there where Long played for hours with his friends in high school. Little did he know, those games would be laying the foundation for a professional career.

Brendon is now playing in his second season in Major League Pickleball. He spent his first year with the Miami Pickleball Club. This season, however, he was drafted 10th overall by the Florida Smash. Now, Long is traveling the country to play in different tournaments. He trains twice a day and plays events almost every weekend.

“It’s fun,” Long said. “I like that I get to go to other places.”

Brendon says his poker days prepared him for the rigorous travel schedule of professional pickleball. He’s also not the only former poker player to now be swinging a paddle. Long says there are a number of players just like him because of some transferable traits.

“You’re not going to win every single point [in pickleball],” Long said. “But as long as you’re making the right decisions, you’re going to win in the long run. If you can’t do that in poker… you’re going to lose even more.”

Lucky for Brendon, he didn’t lose at the poker table very often and doesn’t plan on losing on the pickleball court either.

“I really like winning, and I really hate losing,” Long said. “So I want to get out there, and I want to win every single tournament that I play. That’s my goal.”