Breaking the Pickleball Funk
Try Huffin' n’ Puffin' and Blowin' the Funky Slump Down!
In today’s Bite Size Pickleball newsletter:
Breaking the Pickleball Funk
The Power of Joy (from Pickleball Magazine)
Bite Size Pickleball TV Show Stuff
BREAKING THE PICKLEBALL FUNK
Here is my suggestion: Huff n’ puff and blow that friggin’ funky slump down!
I was in, what I would call, for me, a mini slump last weekend, and to start this week. It’s super important you acknowledge when you’re in a slump and maintain the confidence you can work your way out of it.
How did I do it? A couple of days ago there wasn’t an attractive game on my home courts so I took it as a sign to hit the wall instead. The Wolf of Wall Ball!
I worked on several things:
Backhand dinking, over and over again. I wanted to establish the muscle memory, i.e., the confidence. This is obviously almost every player’s weak spot, even when you get into the pros. Thusly, you see them attacking that area on an opponent.
Forehand drive. I had been missing a lot of balls hit to me short on my 3rd shot, and I needed to break my mechanics down and figure out why I was blowing shots I would typically put away. My fix was realizing I needed to keep my head down as I was making contact, and following through, with the ball. It worked like a charm. I also paid particular attention to getting to the spot, well before the ball, so I could drive my shots from a position of balance. That is key, peeps!
Hand speed drill. I started seven feet from the wall, then I moved in as close to the wall as possible. A hit a bunch of backhands without letting the ball hit the ground, then forehands, then I alternated backhand/forehand, literally ending up right on top of the wall, like a pinball hitting up against a bumper: ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.
Two handed backhand drive. I just can never really thread that left side seam with a one-handed backhand when I get a shot hit to me short on the left side of the court. So I got out and worked on simulating the twoey. Again, my opponent either hits me a short, midrange attackable shot, or a dead dink there. I want to be able to fire it down the line. Here is a video example, not from my slump drill session, but a few days before my slump started.
The good news is I actually nailed a couple of these in games this past week and won the points. Which gave me confidence to try more. The better news is that after I drilled on the wall the other day, and went out and played, my game returned in fine fashion. I found joy all over again!
Speaking of Joy…
TV SHOW FRONT
I will be finishing up my Bite Size Pickleball Show first episode next week. Not sure where it’s home will be yet, but you’ll get to see it here regardless. In the meantime, I just had an awesome meeting with a super nice sports exec at Vice TV and pitched them the following for their new sports push. It went well. I now have to do what is called a “deck,” for them. Which is basically a visual and written presentation of the episodes and ideas within the show.
If you haven’t yet read my How to Play Better Pickleball book, or my 11 Ways of the Athletic Warrior: A Guide to Peak Performance, you can find them here.