Palmera Pickleball CEO Update: Progress, Pressure, and the Work That Actually Matters

So here we are again. Another update.

Not because everything is resolved, but because it is not.

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The Land: Closer, Transaction Still in Progress

We completed the survey this week and now have it in hand.

The core asset holds up. The land size checks out at just under 4.8 manzanas. It is a meaningful piece of ground for a vibing pickleball hotspot.

However, one potential hinge point was raised last week that the letter of no objection is uncertain.

If it is in place, we proceed cleanly.

If it is not, we make a decision because I'm told it could take up to 12 months to obtain. 

We are now waiting to find out any day now whether this artifact exists or not.

If it doesn't, we can walk because the seller cannot meet the terms of the agreement. That would be simple and disciplined.

Or we can lean in. Structure a promissory agreement. Increase deposit exposure. Step into a more complex title process that could hang out for around a year.

That path is not reckless, but it would present another fork in the road (do you wait for the due diligence process to complete before investing on it? ... seems like a stupid question). If the artifact isn't available today, and we decide to proceed with the purchase, it's either added risk or delay, and neither are received well at this point. 

If this deal falls apart, the real question emerges.

Do we keep pushing to build a pickleball facility in this region, somewhere between Mukul Resort and Rancho Santana along the new coastal highway, or do we widen the search? Perhaps I will relocate and build Palmera's pilot facility project in another country.

Persistence turns into stubbornness at some point. Knowing where that line sits is prudent.

Bottom line: This current land deal is one path. We will find out very soon if it is going to play through cleanly. The project itself is not dependent on it.

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The Reality of Building

If you have followed this from the beginning, you know it has not been linear.

Every step has made sense. Every delay has had logic behind it. Still, the friction accumulates.

Building a world class pickleball facility in Nicaragua has not been the straightforward process that I, perhaps foolishly, expected.

We have capital ready.

We have conviction.

We have a clear vision of what we want to build. A rock-solid, high-octane business model that we know we can execute.

What we do not have yet is the ground to put a shovel in. Solving for this remains our top priority.

That is the current state.

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Equipment: Small Details, Large Consequences

We received 200 LT48 balls this week.

The difference of the Life Time ball is immediate. (We've been training with the Selkirk Pro S1 or the Vulcan VPRO Gen2).

Higher bounce. More liveliness. Different timing.

Dinks change. Attacks off the bounce open up significantly. Groundstrokes require adjustment. Resets, which are essential to high-level play, need to be rediscovered.

That gap matters.

Another bottom line: If you're going to compete, make sure to train with the ball you'll be competing with.

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Competition: The Next Stretch

We are two weeks out from our next run:

• PPA Challenger, Opelika, Alabama
• Brick Wall Pickleball in Atlanta, GA
• PPA Atlanta

Three events in sequence.

Since the last tournament block, we have made meaningful progress. Not just in execution, but in how we train.

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The Mental Game: A Significant Piece of the Racquet Sports Puzzle

We are working our way to a professional-grade mental framework.

Not motivation. Not emotion. Discipline.

I shared this with my family, who are also my training partners:

New rule of thumb for when we are on the courts: One is only allowed to become impatient with another when the other starts complaining (about anything) or engaging in negative self-talk. Only then is it acceptable to be impatient with the person. Otherwise, we are each to be supportive, kind, and patient with one another, recognizing that there are times when someone's on-court performance is struggling. Becoming impatient or frustrated in such a scenario is not the standard I want in our family.

I see this as a necessary supportive control.

Negative self-talk is a liability. Complaining spreads quickly and becomes victimhood.

Remove those, and the rest becomes easier to manage.

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The Body: The Limiting Factor

We continue working with Kevin Malone on conditioning.

If you are logging 15 to 20 hours a week on court, the body becomes the constraint, not skill.

Without proper recovery, mobility, and load management, performance declines.

We are building systems around that and documenting what works.

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Building the Platform

In parallel, we are continuing to invest in building palmerasports.life, the future home of our online coaching system.

This is a long-cycle build.

The objective is straightforward:

• Structured coaching
• Pickleball-specific conditioning programs
• A growing library of exercise content

This will take time. Likely another year before it reaches the level we want.

We are not rushing it. If I am going to spend time and money on marketing, I have to believe in the value and user experience we deliver. If we are going to build a coaching system, we have to live it.

I see an incredible opportunity for online coaching content that can benefit pickleball players around the world. Everywhere I play, avid players talk about the wear and tear on their bodies. Many are accumulating injuries. I have also observed that the sport has an ugly player churn rate. Yes, it is popular and people get hooked, but people also get seriously injured. Most injuries are not immediate; they are commonly the result of accumulated stress from an imbalance between proper conditioning, care, and maintenance relative to the weekly load on the courts. 

So we are building it correctly.

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Where Things Stand

• Land deal is progressing, but not closed
• Design is strong and advancing (we have incredible options)
• Capital is ready
• Training is improving across the board
• Another competition trip is approaching (hungry for more of this)
• Coaching platform is under construction

We will keep moving. Deliberately. With discipline.

If you take anything from this update, it is this:

Progress in the 2020s can feel like a grind at times. It is uneven, it is frustrating, and it tests your judgment more than your effort.

But if the vision is sound (international pickleball, baby!), and you are honest about the risks in front of you, the only real mistake is forcing outcomes that are not ready.

And when the right opportunity locks in, we will move to next steps.

In the next update, I expect to have clarity about the land purchase deal... whether it is going through or not.

— Geoff

p.s. Thanks for reading.

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