I am currently writing this from my hotel room at the annual JOOLA Celebration in Orlando, Florida. The clinics wrap up tomorrow, and it’s been a great experience to be able to interact with so many amazing amateurs, and, to be surrounded by so many other great coaches. This is the first article that isn’t going to focus on pro pickleball! I will mix these more instructional pieces in too (:
Despite the challenges of being in another convention center again and playing on concrete a consecutive week (golly I miss the sun… the beautiful sun), the main battle myself and the other coaches have been fighting in the last few days is simply getting players to… not freak out. I get it! Pickleball can be hard, it can be uncomfortable, but the only way to improve is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. You should even look to embrace it!
If you’re someone who just enjoys playing for fun and who doesn’t want to level up their game, no worries! This piece may not be for you. But it’s my newsletter and I write about what I find interesting, and this is what is on my mind! Panic is the worst possible emotion to be feeling on the court. It means you’re frazzled, your judgement is clouded, your body’s reacting in a “fight or flight” manner. It’s the complete opposite of flow, the optimal state to be playing (or really doing anything) in. Anyone who has had the yips (I have!) will understand! I will write more on flow another time.
I most commonly see people panic when:
the ball gets behind them (move your feet!)
they’re in transition (that’s it… just when they’re in transition)
they find themselves in a hands exchange (let the ball come to you!)
This piece isn’t going to diagnose how to fix every technical problem but I wanted to write a few tips on how to quickly identify what you need to get better at. If you’re not seriously wanting to level up your game, no worries! I miss the days when the things I needed to work on were easy to work on! Now I only work on niche shots / situations. Take advantage!
Identify It!
The first step is to identify the situations in which you panic. Try to figure out when you tense up, when you start popping the ball up, when your limbs stop moving how you think they should. Do you start reaching? Trying to hit the ball as far out and with as straight an arm as you can? These are all tell-tales signs of panic. The best way to find these areas is to do an extended drilling session with a friend or record yourself and be honest about where you struggle.
Immerse Yourself!
Once you know when you panic, you have to subject yourself to that feeling until it becomes home. Until you can approach the same situation with a clear head and make rational decisions through it. You want the game/situation you find yourself in to “slow down”. That’s when you know you’ve made real progress. The best way to do this is to drill a lot, it’s the only way to accelerate progress and isolate a skill, or lack of one. If you aren’t great in transition, put yourself there as much as you can. If you struggle with a specific dink, do that! Immerse yourself as much as you can until your skill begins to override the panic.
Implement! Put it all Together!
If you work hard on conquering the areas of your game where panic creeps in, you’ll watch improvement happen rapidly. I’m a big believer in “trial by fire” and things only being proven through competition. If you’re someone who enjoys competitive play, play some games with friends for money (even $5) or even a tournament and try to track improvement on the specific situation(s) you’ve been working hard at maintaining composure in. Again, record some footage and evaluate it honestly.
If you’re a higher-level player reading this, don’t think that this doesn’t apply to you too. I still panic, so I know you do as well. All the tips I wrote here apply to you as well, the situations may just be harder to isolate. If you’re above a 4.5, I highly recommend drilling with three people as much as possible to try to isolate situations and accelerate the development of your game. Let me know if you guys enjoy me mixing in some of these other think-pieces when there’s a break in pro action and generally what you like to get from me! Thanks for reading and make sure to share the newsletter (and this article) with your friends if you enjoy it!