The Most Challenging Thing in Pickleball

It may surprise you, but when you read it, it probably won’t!

In today’s Bite Size Pickleball newsletter:

1. The Most Challenging Thing in Pickleball?

THE MOST CHALLENGING THING IN PICKLEBALL

OK, well, I definitely gave it away with the above illustration (not done by A.I. BTW). Yes, I feel like losing is definitely the most challenging thing in pickleball. Specifically, losing gracefully. It is a skill developed over time, or not! LOL.

You can really tell who someone is by how they behave on the court. Of course, when people win, they are on their best behavior. When they lose, look out below. I should say, that most of the people I have played with are pretty decent losers. But there are those distinct few that just are not fun to be around, or play with, when they are on the losing end of the paddle.

So, how can we all grow a little in this area?

Through anguish comes growth. That is, if you are able to recognize your anguish as it is happening or, at the very least, once you are done playing for the day. Then just take a few moments to examine it. Where does it come from? Why does it pain you so much to lose? You might think about going deep on it, because perhaps some roots need to be pulled up. Maybe you had tough parents, or coaches, who rode you too hard. Maybe you grew up in a family with several competitive siblings, or in a country where winning is absolutely everything. The bottom line is: How can you respond better to losing in the future?

TBH, I am not the perfect loser either. BUT I have grown tremendously in this area. I have played pickleball for almost five years now. When I started, it was easy to lose, because I was having so much fun. But then I started improving, and taking the game more seriously, and I would run up against roadblocks that prevented me from winning. Those were usually in the form of opponents who were better than me, or the opponent in my own mind, the self critic.

Of course, losing is a large trigger for our mental game that has the tendency to go off the rails.

In any case, in my own experience, I find that losing is a harder challenge than winning. And, once again, by losing, I mean losing gracefully. No, I don’t play to lose, ever. I am highly competitive and I want to max my talent and win. But sometimes things just aren’t rolling our way, and we would all be better off, together, on the court, if we could improve our behavior in this area.

Last weekend I got teamed with a player on a challenge court who was just not having a good day, and our opponents were having a field day targeting him. If it was normal rec play, we would’ve changed partners after they won the first two games, but this was a challenge court, and no one else was waiting, so it was me and the dude, forever, it seemed like.

I had two choices. I could walk off the court and go home, or I could recognize what was going on. And that was the challenge of losing gracefully and, most importantly, being a good partner. I give myself a B+ for sticking it out and being a decent partner.

And here’s the thing we all know. It never helps your partner play better when things aren’t going well for them and you’re putting any kind of pressure on them. And I am not just talking about verbal pressure. We all know about the eye-rolls, the head shakes, the shoulder shrugs, etc. The body language. And, my guess is, we have all been guilty of it, at one time or another.

Just recognize it when you’re doing it, or thereafter. Work to be a better partner, a better person, and leave the court how you want others to leave it. Not sh*tting on it with poor energy because, oh, poor baby, you lost. But leave it with joy for the experience, and the chance to play this amazing sport we all love so much. Because, shocker, we can’t win every game!

BITE SIZE PICKLEBALL SHOW UPDATE

One step back, two forward? LOL. Things are never as easy as they appear they might be. I cut ties with my Pickle TV relationship this week and I am now looking for a new home for the TV show I am producing and hosting. The good news is I spoke with the CEO of the PPA, Connor Pardoe, and he said he is going to hook me up with someone at PickleballTV. PickleballTV is definitely a notch, or seven, above Pickle TV (more on that below). I also have the team at Fox Sports looking at the project.

Hopefully, one of those avenues for the show will pan out. In addition, I have a Zoom meeting with some dudes at Joola on Monday, so we will see how that shakes out, and how it might fit with the show sponsorship.

In any case, I am moving forward and still working hard on the show. This week I interviewed the first-ever men’s doubles champion Scott Stover. Scott did the interview standing on the original court where the game was conceived. Scott is the coolest dude, and is pictured below on the court with his trophy.

This interview is absolute gold. People need to see it. Scott’s cousin was one of the three inventors of the sport Barney McCallum. Scott shares some great stories about the inception of the game, and Barney, and he even unveils the original pickle-ball box!

Come on! How KEEN is that??? In fact, I think it’s KEEN enough that maybe you want to share this newsletter with your pickleball friends?

I love that game tagline: “Keen competition at all levels of ability.” Scott is really proud that the “keenness” still holds true for the game today.

The bonus feature was Scott’s friend Dave, who helped with the filming on their end. Dave is a British chap who happens to be a very talented musician. He sent me a couple of really great pickleball songs! I will be sharing those in the future.

So, what went wrong at Pickle TV? What didn’t do wrong!?