Making high-level pickleball EZ to understand.
My name is Edgaras Zilys — creator of itsEZ Pickleball. This is how a lifetime of sports turned into an obsession with breaking down this game.
Lithuania, two sports, one national team
Before pickleball, sports were my whole life. I grew up in Lithuania playing soccer and table tennis from around six years old — and table tennis went well enough that by twelve I'd made the Lithuanian junior national team.
When I moved to the United States at thirteen, everything changed. Soccer and table tennis fell away, and basketball took over — there was a facility just minutes from where I lived, and that decision turned into years of serious training, competing, and building my life around the game.
At eighteen I had a choice: stay in the U.S. and play Division II or III college basketball, or go back to Europe, study at an international university, and play semi-pro. I chose Europe.
Cardio with my dad became something else
Summers meant trips back to Chicago, and that's where I first noticed my dad playing pickleball. I only played singles with him for cardio — my first time on court was 2021, and I had no idea it would become my main sport.
After finishing my degree in Lithuania, I came back to Chicago. Around the same time, injuries and burnout ended my basketball career earlier than expected — at just 22.
That's when pickleball got serious. My first real tournament was actually in Lithuania, after barely practicing — a few sessions on basketball courts with no real nets and wooden paddles. I took first place. When my dad flew out for my graduation, we entered another one: doubles didn't go our way, but in singles I came back from 0–10 down in the semifinal and won the whole thing.
3.5 to 5.0 in six months
Back in the U.S., my dad and I signed up for a tournament right away — then spent about half a year playing and traveling almost every weekend.
I became obsessed with improving. Drilling in the mornings, training every day, studying patterns, trying to understand the game as fast as possible. In about six months I went from around a 3.5 level to 5.0.
Eventually I started playing with higher-level partners and made the call: I quit my full-time job in logistics and committed fully to pickleball — playing, coaching, creating content, and building something around the sport. The first few months were not easy. I struggled to make income and had to figure everything out from scratch. But I kept going.
5.5, a PPA main draw, and the next chapter
A little over a year in, I reached a 5.5 DUPR and kept building itsEZ Pickleball through educational videos, tournament content, match breakdowns, and strategy-focused content across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
About a year and a half into playing, I made my first PPA main draw in Cape Coral after running through the mixed doubles qualifiers — beating two signed pros along the way, then facing one of the top teams on tour, Eric Oncins and Jade Kawamoto. That moment made me realize: I'm getting closer.
Recently, wrist tendonitis slowed my training down. I'm in the process of recovering, rebuilding, and getting ready for the rest of 2026 and 2027. The goal hasn't changed.
Keep improving. Keep competing. Keep creating. And keep making high-level pickleball EZ to understand.
The lens I coach through.
Pattern Recognition
Seeing what actually repeats in high-level points — and teaching you to spot it in your own games.
Decision-Making
Not just what shot you missed, but why the point broke down and what choice wins it next time.
Tournament Strategy
Preparation, matchups, and in-match adjustments pulled from real tournament experience — not theory.
