How to Win Points You Shouldn't
Sep 28, 2023Hey!
Before we keep going, welcome back to another edition of the blog. If you’re new to the blog and want to go back and check out past editions, go here!
Today’s edition has three parts:
1. A Helpful Tip (Video) – 7 Tennis Mistakes to Avoid in Pickleball.
2. For the Pickleball Nerds – How to Win Points You Shouldn't.
3. My Journey Playing Pro – Coaching Session With Dayne Gingrich!
A Helpful Tip (Video):
Make one more ball.
There’s plenty of times players get put on the defensive, but still win the point.
How?
They play with the mindset of, make one more ball.
Too often, our opponent pushes us back off the kitchen line and we attempt perfection in moments of defense.
Perfection isn’t the goal. Survival is.
If you can just survive the next ball, and then the next, and then the next, good things happen. Do this enough times and one of two things will happen.
1. You'll get an "opportunity ball."
This is when you’re on balance and get a ball you feel more comfortable to attack or drop so you can get back up to the kitchen and neutralize the point.
2. You'll survive the point long enough, your opponent will make an error.
Now, there's psychology in this...
If you’ve played long enough you feel it. You hit overhead after overhead, and your opponent just won’t go away.
They’re annoying like a fly at the night campfire.
You feel like you should have won the point already, but instead, they "made one more ball" enough times to frustrate you into a dumb decision.
I say “you,” but I literally just did this exact thing this morning.
So what’s the point here?
Be the annoying fly!
In closing, when on the defensive, don't seek perfection. Instead, seek survival long enough to turn the point around.
Last week, I flew out to Santa Barbara and visited Top Senior Pro and well respected coach, Dayne Gingrich!
We spent 8 hours on court, in just that one day.
The short of it, mind blown. Dayne is obsessed and a true student of the game.
He opened my eyes to new strategies I hadn’t yet considered and to new techniques I thought I was doing well, but wasn't.
Since that time, I’ve already started to experiment. And gosh, it’s exhilarating and frustrating at the same time.
Exhilarating because I can see the potential. Frustrating, because I know it's going to take months to master some of these things!
In closing,
...one of my big takeaways from my time with Dayne was, we all need coaching. Whether it's pickleball, business, or some other aspect of life — we can only get so far on our own.
And I was reminded of this big time this weekend!
Until next time,
Kyle
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