Thoughts on Competitive Play
Preparation Meets Opportunity. Winging it Meets Sudden Death.
In today’s Bite Size Pickleball newsletter:
Got Frustration?
Thoughts on Competitive Play
Video Tip of the Week
Be Kind to Dogs Week
GOT FRUSTRATION?
One of the very apparent things I have witnessed in four years of playing pickleball is that those that spend, even a little, time practicing improve so much faster than those players that just try to improve on the fly during rec play. You can tell those players a mile a way by their level of frustration. They slam another ball into the net and “arghhhhhhhhh!” at themselves like they should know better. But they don’t know better. And, thusly, they’re stuck on the court in a state of constant confusion. Chasing their tails, and wondering, “Why?”
It’s really simple. You don’t practice enough. Or at all! Even something as simple as hitting against a wall will improve your game so much faster than not hitting on a wall. It’s like I am learning to shoot the basketball, and only trying to learn to shoot during a game, rather than spending a little time practicing my shot in the backyard. Is it really a wonder why players don’t want to pass it to you? It’s the same thing in pickleball, practiced players don’t really want to pass it to you, because you haven’t devoted enough time to the craft. They have.
Again, there’s a simple solution: Carve out some time to practice. The ultimate way to do that is to find a partner at your level and get out there. Don’t ask someone who is much better than you because they’ve already put in the time and you won’t be able to challenge them sufficiently.
The choice is really yours. Stay on a plateau, or take the time to step up your game? It’s all in the adage: GOT PRACTICE?
THOUGHTS ON COMPETITIVE PLAY
In this week’s podcast, I discussed competitive play in detail. I used the analogy of being a practiced musician, and compared that to being a practiced pickleball duo. My main point was that if you’re set on competing, you can’t really do it right, unless you and your partner put in some time together on the practice court. “Winging it” typically never turns out too well. For me, trying to wing it is frustrating, because what happens is you usually wind up getting your butt kicked by a more practiced team. Not necessarily a more talented team, but a more practiced team. I invite you to listen to the Bite Size Pickleball podcast available on all the podcast servers including Apple, Amazon, Spotify or directly on the Bite Size Pickleball website. If you have yet to experience the podcasts, they’re a lot of fun.
VIDEO TIP OF THE WEEK
I have seen this mistake happen a gazillion times on the beginner and intermediate level. There is a really easy solution. Number one, know where you are on the court, at all times, and number two, take a friggin’ step, or two, back.
When I notice players making this mistake, I hammer it right at their feet.
BE KIND TO DOGS WEEK
