The Power of Joy with Augie Ge
With Pro Pickler Augie Ge
In today’s Bite Size Pickleball newsletter:
The Power of Joy with Augie Ge
Latest Bite Size Pickleball Podcast
The Power of Joy with Augie Ge
Pro pickleball player Augie Ge was one of the three players I discovered when I went to the PPA event in Utah over the summer. What attracted me to all three players was their sense of joy on the court. The next issue of Pickleball Magazine features the article I put together with the help of all three. In the meantime, here’s an interview with Augie on The Power of Joy.
Do you ever think about joy consciously?
I have not really thought about joy deeply or consciously. I just tend to gravitate towards things that make me happy, and competition and pickleball are two of those things! It fuels me in that regard, I always want to do things that make me happy.
What brings you joy on the court?
There are many aspects about pickleball that make me feel joy. The biggest is the social factor. Getting to hang out with friends that have a common interest of getting better at hitting a plastic ball around brings me immense joy. I love competing and thought I was done with sports after graduate school.
Describe your first pickleball “kiss.”
My first pickleball "kiss" was probably when I learned of this community of equally crazy people who find competition to be fun!
Where does your foundation of joy come from?
My foundation of overall life-joy springs from my parents. My parents have always pushed me to do what I want to do and pursue my dreams. Also, I had the pleasure of having dinner once with the legendary tennis coach Vic Braden. He said to smile on the court, and I have always let that statement grow with me on my journey.
How does your sense of joy help you on the court?
Joy helps me compete by keeping me coming back for more. It is easy to get discouraged after tough results if you are not playing with joy, but if you truly love what you are doing, and it makes you happy, then it is easy to keep coming back and improving.
What athletes exemplify joy for you?
My favorite athlete is Rafael Nadal. While he does not smile on the court necessarily, his love of the game and joy he has from tennis are undeniable.
Can joy be an avenue to peak performance?
I think joy is absolutely an avenue to peak performance. There is a wide range of motivations for athletes, and these motivations will vary by sport and by level. For pickleball, joy is certainly a motivator for many because of how fun and social it is.
Is your joy challenged when you don’t play well?
For me, in my first year of professional pickleball, there are definitely times when I would say that some results or matches might have carried more weight than others, and certainly losses sting, but truthfully the joy has always been there.
Do you practice any form of mindfulness?
I practice general meditation everyday for 3-5 minutes. On match days, I also practice visualization, dedicating time to play points and patterns out in my head, as well as some adverse scenarios and how I will react to them.
Can you draw a line between the joy you had as a child and the joy you experience now?
If anything, I have more joy now than I did when I was a child. Junior tennis was highly individualized, and it was just more difficult to deal with adversity without as much moral support from friends. With pickleball, I am lucky to have found a group of friends that have grown so close, and would even go so far as to help each other off the court, if there was ever a need.
Talk about how joy serves to help you with the challenges you face on the court.
It is a simple mindset for me when embracing challenges through joy. I tell myself that I am lucky that this is one of the challenges that I am facing because pickleball is so fun. Off the court challenges are a different story and something that I am working on :)
What should players keep in mind as they start to take their pickleball more seriously, in terms of competition?
As pickleball gets more serious and increases its stakes, along with its busy competition schedules, it can get less joyful. My advice to them is to keep respecting and trusting the process and to not attach too much of your identity to pickleball results.
