Nicola Schoeman. Sports Mode: ON
There is a switch in Nicola Schoeman.
It’s not an alter ego. It's a different mode. Most of the time it's off.
SPORTS MODE: OFF
There's a version of Nicola that most people meet off court. Nicola is soft-spoken. A self-described homebody, who would rather be at home than anywhere else. She likes long walks, movies, music and baking.
Then, she steps onto a pickleball court. Click.
SPORTS MODE: ON
The energy rises. The competitiveness arrives. Loud. Locked in. She celebrates a win with a yell. The Nicola you meet off court can be difficult to reconcile with the one standing across the net. Where the noise disappears, instinct takes over and she is simply operating on a different level.
Earlier this year, she was crowned the World #1 DUPR Junior Female Doubles and the World #4 DUPR Junior Female Singles. People are usually blown away the first time they watch her on court. She can look intimidating. Completely consumed by the point in front of her. On court, something else takes over.
“I feel like I’m very quiet, chill,” Nicola says. “But on court, like a different side of me.”
Different is putting it lightly.
And when Sports Mode is on, you know it.
SPORTS MODE: OFF
Nicola is not walking around at this intensity all day. Quite the opposite.
Her mum, Danel, describes her as quiet, kind and soft-hearted. She likes being at home. When she travels for too long, she misses it. When she gets back, she gravitates towards the same things: family, her room, the kitchen.
“I feel like if you want to talk to me, you kind of have to come up,” Nicola says. “I feel very shy and quiet”. Until she wants to win. That is when the switch happens.
SPORTS MODE: ON
Every athlete has another level. The difference with Nicola is how deliberately she can access hers. Sports mode isn’t Nicola losing control- it's the opposite. It’s a switch and she knows how to flip it.
“When I play, it just unleashes,” she says. “I step on and I’m confident and want to win.” You can see it in her body language and in her intensity. There is no hesitation. Then, just as quickly, sports mode can disappear. That control is part of what makes her different. Because the intensity has always been there. The skill is knowing when to use it.
Her mum remembers the work, but also something else: Nicola’s instinct for competition. Even when she was young, competing in one of her first tennis events in Brisbane, she was surrounded by girls almost twice her size. Her mum remembers looking at her and wondering how she was going to get through it.
Nicola looked back. “Don’t worry, Mum, I’ve got this.”
That competitiveness is still present in Nicola today. She won her first NPL Championship with The Opals, and won finals MVP, the coveted Golden Pickle. That instinct- to absorb, adjust and compete- has followed her into pickleball. She's used to winning.
Danel remembers board games ending in tears. Family competitions becoming serious. Nicola hating to lose. The Sports Mode can apply to anything. She can turn it on when she wants to win at a card game.
Nicola laughs when asked about it.
“Of course,” she says, when asked whether she turns card games into competitions.
THE FLIP
Nicola's intensity and competitiveness started long before pickleball.She grew up in a sporting family. Her parents met playing tennis. Her brother played at a high level. Nicola began playing tennis young and, for years, the sport dictated the rhythm of family life. During COVID, training could start at 6am after waking at 5. Hours of training, before and after school, six or seven days a week. The work has never been a question.
When she found pickleball, the competition was still there. The doubles. The pressure. The desire to win. But so was the fun. And, importantly, so was the community. “I get along with everyone I play with” she says, “I’m very lucky to have found such a supportive and nice crew.”
Now, she is learning to control the parts she can control. “If something happens, I try not to let it affect me,” she says. “I just try to move on.” That mentality has become a defining part of her game. She’s always in control on court.
TWO MODES, STILL NICOLA
Today, Nicola competes constantly. The past couple of weeks, Nicola has represented Australia at the Pickleball World Cup alongside her fellow NPL athlete, Selina Turulja, winning the Gold in female Doubles. She also won an APP Bronze with Selina Turulja, both their first APP medals and won an APP Gold medal with Richard Livornese Junior. Nicola has already set herself apart. The results keep coming. A 5.772 doubles DUPR. A 5.403 singles DUPR. Another level, another tournament, another reason to switch Sports Mode on.
But for Nicola, it isn't really about staying in that mode.
Even now, with a schedule that can take her from Australia to Asia to the United States, Nicola talks less about pressure than opportunity. “I try to enjoy it. I feel very grateful to be able to do this as a career.”
She knows when to turn the switch on.
And when to turn it off.
“It’s still me. They’re both part of me.” Not an alter ego. Just Nicola - knowing exactly when to switch the flip.
Want to play? Find a pickleball court near you or read our beginner's guide to pickleball.