March 17, 2026
Maybe you’re one of those pickleball players who regularly tells yourself you’d be better if you lost some weight. You have tried countless times to lose those nagging, extra 15 pounds that make you feel slower on the court and a bit more fatigued after playing.
Blake McMurray was one of those players. Except we are not talking about losing just a few pounds. At 5 feet, 4 inches tall, Blake weighed over 200 pounds. She had a 3.75 DUPR but was frustrated because she knew she could be better if she shed weight.
“I couldn’t get to shots,” the 54-year-old McMurray tells me from her home in Belmont, NC. “I didn’t have stamina. I was playing three times a week and it was killing me.”
A friend who is a 5.0 player, a guy from Ecuador with whom she played, was blunt with Blake. “You’d be a better player if you lost some weight,” he told her in December 2022.” Blake didn’t get angry. She agreed and took the advice to heart.
She lost 70 pounds over the next six months.
“I ate lean proteins and low glycemic vegetables,” McMurray said. “I was able to lose 70 pounds in six months because I dialed into what I had to gain. I had a strong, ‘why,’ which was to play better pickleball. By plugging into structure, simplifying nutrition, building in accountability, and surrounding myself with others who were in pursuit [of getting in shape], I not only exceeded my goals, I improved every aspect of my life.”
She warns about losing weight in an unhealthy way. On her Facebook page earlier this week, she wrote, “If weight loss isn’t structured correctly, your body doesn’t just lose fat, it also loses muscle. And that’s a big problem. Muscle is what keeps your metabolism strong.”
Losing so much weight changed more than McMurray’s appearance. “My life before and after 50 is completely different,” she says.
So is her DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating). It’s gone from 3.75 to as high as 4.80. This despite having suffered several major injuries including a torn meniscus.
Blake was born in Bristol, Va, but has spent most of her life in North Carolina. She has been married for 31 years to her college sweetheart, Brian. They have two sons, ages 23 and 21. They all play pickleball but Blake is the best player in the family.
Blake worked in human resources for many years. She was a wife, mom, career woman. And, by her own admission, she was overweight.
“I have been obese the majority of my life,” she says. “It was so normalized in my brain that I didn’t believe I could change it. About four years ago I began to think, ‘How can I get on the court with the 4.0 players and hold my own?’ So I went on a quest.”
Besides losing the weight and becoming a 4.80 player, Blake became a certified pickleball instructor and certified metabolic health coach.
“I’ve found that by telling my story, others can see themselves in it and discover possibilities they hadn’t seen before,” Blake says. “I love learning to lead myself well as that allows me to create a life I love through intention. My goal is to pass what I learn on to others to help them improve their lives.”
Blake runs a private Facebook group called “The Becoming Collective,” where she dives deeper into growth topics. And she has a series of videos on her YouTube channel teaching the basics of mental fitness, learning to quiet self-criticism and self-sabotage.
“I love creating content that helps people realize they are not alone, that change is possible, and there is a community of people ready to welcome them when they decide they want more for themselves.”
Blake says, “If anyone is curious about how a metabolic reset can help help improve their game (or life), I offer free health assessments over the phone and Zoom. They can go to this webpage and check out the stages of metabolic dysfunction or fill out the assessment and I’ll be in touch to schedule something. https://www.jotform.com/app/260173233471147
McMurray says, “Do not give up, you can absolutely make traction in this area of your life.”
Last week when I texted McMurray a question for this story she replied, “Hiking through a jungle in Panama at the moment.”
It is safe to say that since losing 70 pounds Blake McMurray has more stamina than before. Significantly more.
Thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
· March Madness is my favorite sports event. I love a major upset, when some tiny school beats a major program. One of the few things I dislike about college hoops is those coaches who don’t pull their starters until there’s a minute left in the game even though they have a 25-point lead. I think they should play their subs at least two or three minutes while avoiding the possibility of one of their stars getting injured during garbage time.
· Memo to the driver in the black BMW who cut me off the other day: It is illegal in Arizona (and most states) to make a right turn from the right lane into the left lane.
· Memo to a lot of drivers: Whatever happened to using your turn signal?
· It’s frustrating when your doubles partner does not know how to hit a third shot drop and keeps hitting drives that your opponent easily returns with a put away. It’s worse when you get body-bagged as a result, which happened to me three times during one game on Tuesday. I may not always hit a great drop (or the new drip shot) but I do practice them almost daily and hit them during games when they are strategically the best shot.
· The reviewers on the “Pickleball Pursuit” podcast aren’t afraid to criticize a paddle company or a paddle. During his review of the JOOLA Perseus Pro V 16mm, co-host Louis Kobetz said, “Definitely not one that I think is worth the price. At all.” And, “First impressions, I think this paddle is quite underwhelming. At $300, I think it is crazy how many paddles I could recommend that are more highly performative as well as lower in cost.”
· Honest reviews like that only help pickleball players when they are paddle shopping. As opposed to a bunch of reviewers who just love every paddle. Look, I get it, an overwhelming number of paddles these days are good and many are just great. But some simply are poorly designed and overpriced. Some lose grit quickly. Reviewers need to review those as well and tell it like it is.
· The manager of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Mark DeRosa, made an inexcusable mistake by not knowing his team was not yet assured of advancing in the tournament before its shocking loss to Italy. Last Tuesday morning, DeRosa said, “Our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals,” when, in fact, it hadn’t been. Later that day the US lost to Italy, 8-6, putting its WBC fate in jeopardy. The US avoided elimination when Italy beat Mexico, but DeRosa not knowing the rules is incredible. I was wondering why DeRosa benched US stars Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh for the game vs. Italy. If I were in charge of hiring the US manager for the next WBC, DeRosa would not be considered. Come on, the manager has to know the rules! I don’t care how complicated they are.
· The real baseball season starts in 12 days and I’m pumped. Yes the season is too long and many games are still too long, though a half-hour shorter since the pitch timer was instituted in 2023. But I think baseball is a beautiful game, albeit better in person.
Hudef’s new paddle has been USAP approved. I have been playing with it and it is my new main. The Mage SCF1 (Supercritical foam) retails for $169.99 but is on sale and with my discount code, MS10, the price is $107.00. The Mage SCF1 has tremendous power but also buttery control and is very gritty.
