The Keys🔑 to Reclimbing the Mountain with ALW⛰🥇

For one, I know that I am in an unbelievably fortunate and perhaps bizarre situation in which a bronze medal is a disappointing result. But, the strangeness of the situation doesn’t change the fact that I’ve both found myself in it and chosen it- and ultimately, I am very thankful for it! As I’ve written about many times, pressure is a privilege, but… that doesn’t mean it isn’t also uncomfortable🤪😂.

Guys. I was FEELING the pressure going into Virginia Beach. I was high anxiety, trying to avoid thinking about the backlash losing would result in, doing everything I could to stay calm. I’m not one to glaze myself too hard, but I am very, very proud of myself for how I played considering all the thoughts/feelings that I was trying to keep under the surface. I’ll write further about meditation/yoga/breathwork another time, but I will just say that they were super helpful for me last week in Virginia.

While we never talked about it, I’ve absolutely no doubts that Anna Leigh was feeling the pressure too. She even said in our post-match interview how bad she wanted the title. I’ve been so impressed with AL and her team (Leigh, Steven, and Eric). It’s really cool to be around her in such a transformative time of her life, and also just amazing to witness such greatness in person.

Obviously, Anna Leigh and I played at an absurdly high level this week and found a level we perhaps haven’t before. Our average game score was 11-2🤯😳 which is just insanity. Of course, sustaining the high level will be the hard part, and the teams that beat us did not play together in this tournament. There are plenty of tests to come, but without further ado, let’s get into the three things that we focused on to find our form and how you can implement them as well.

I’ve already discussed my anxiety in Virginia Beach, but my anxiety was also super high after Cincinnati. I knew the pressure was on, and I also knew three other things:

These three things meant that Anna Leigh and I were only both in Florida at the same time for 5 total days between Cincinnati and Virginia Beach. I even changed international flights and my flight to New Jersey to get an extra 36 hours at home so we could practice twice more. It would’ve been only 3 days!

I was super anxious in Virginia Beach that we hadn’t prepared enough. But, we practiced every day we were both home, and at the end of the day, I had to acknowledge that we had done what we could and that it was what it was. Everyone is busy, everyone has pre-existing obligations, and we are all doing our best. Do your best to put yourself in an optimal possible position to win, and when match day comes, don’t sweat wishing you could’ve done more. Be in the moment- what’s the saying? Worrying is just suffering twice.

This might seem obvious, but it really is so important. There is NOTHING worse than feeling like someone is “done” with you, or has given up on you. Following the loss, AL and I remained positive as ever. We even hung out and baked cookies together (which got rave reviews from other pros, I must say).

We continued talking about random things (aka gossip, makeup, and food😭), and showed up to our practices both focused but still prioritizing having a good time. We didn’t talk about it, but the pressure was going to exist no matter we did or said. I guess we chose to not give it more life.

My birthday was on Wednesday in Virginia Beach, and I unfortunately seem to have become someone who is sad on their birthday (I even cried in the morning… RIP). A major goal of mine this year is to do everything I can to not be sad the next time October 8 rolls around. I do want to say THANK YOU to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, it really helped me get over the sadness.

You’re probably like, how does this relate to anything, Anna? Well… Anna Leigh Waters made me feel more special and loved on my birthday than anyone, and even if we stopped playing together tomorrow I would never forget it and would always be thankful. I made my first venture into the RV on that rainy, dreary day and was surprised with a huge balloon, a handwritten card, and a bag full of thoughtful, individually wrapped gifts. Truly partner and friend goals. Turned my entire day around.

I’m sharing all of this just to emphasize the importance of being positive, even when things aren’t going according to plan. This, of course, applies to far more in life than pickleball, but if you’re reading this, pickleball is probably your life☺️.

While the power of positive thinking is great and super beneficial, it’s not what’s going to win you matches. Anna Leigh, Leigh, and I all discussed what was going well and poorly very openly. We made adjustments both in how we approached certain situations and in how we needed to adjust tactically.

I’ve no doubt that AL and Leigh had many more discussions that I was not privy to, and I also spoke a lot with the people I trust for advice on my game. I had to be honest with myself about where I was not doing well and suffer through some painful footage. There’s no point in sugarcoating. Take some time away from the painful losses, but then face them head on. Hiding won’t do anything. Once you and your partner have both had the time and space to evaluate things individually, come together and agree on a few things that you can improve upon as a team. Be open, honest, and go into your next event aligned.

That’s all for this edition folks! Hope you found my tips helpful and some of the background info interesting. Of course, I do not, BY ANY MEANS, think we are invincible. That has been absolutely disproven. But I do feel that after this period of struggling a bit we have a better understanding of the strengths of our partnership and are better equipped to handle and come together in tough matches and when we are pushed. I’m excited for the test that will be Vegas.

See everyone on Monday! I will plan on covering another macro change in pickleball, probably the convergence of the men’s and women’s games, which is something I find super interesting. If you missed my last piece on macro changes in pickleball, here it is! Thanks for reading, and make sure to share with a friend if you enjoyed! Appreciate you all❤️