Hi,

There are 26 days left until ThatPickleballSchool Launches on October 1st. And if you’re at all interested in signing up, make sure you’re on the priority list.

BECAUSE, in three days, I’ll be emailing that list a special early offer I think you’re going to like. 😀 

Today’s ThatPickleballSchool Newsletter has three parts: 

1. The truth about partnerships 👯

2. How to hit bombs with your serve 💣

3. APP Tour Chicago Recap 🏆

STOP BLAMING YOUR PARTNER

The truth is, when you lose, it’s your fault.

But also… it’s not.

Wait, what?

I know—stick with me here.

After playing with my buddy Tanner Tomassi in the last couple of tournaments, something clicked. Or maybe it was a reminder of something I’ve always known but tend to forget in the heat of competition.

Partnerships are everything. And good ones? They are rare.

Let me explain. Partnerships can be tricky because we often fall into the habit of blaming someone else when things go south. It’s an easy way to protect our ego.

And I’ll admit—this is one of my biggest pet peeves. You know when you ask someone how their match went, and the first thing they say is: “Man, if it weren’t for my partner, we would’ve won. They did this and that…”

It drives me crazy.

Don’t get me wrong—sometimes you’re paired with someone who just isn’t at the same skill level, and yeah, it can be tough to keep up with higher-skilled opponents.

That happens.

But even then… where’s the ownership?

Here’s the reality: when you complain about your partner to someone, most people either:

1. Don’t really care

2. Won’t think any less of you just because you lost

3. Already know your partner struggled and knew it’d be a tough match

Now, let’s flip the script.

I’ve been playing pro pickleball for a while now, and over the past three years, I’ve had the chance to play with 50 different partners.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Sometimes, you and a partner will just click as people.

2. Other times, playing together is a nightmare

3. Sometimes, your styles will complement each other

4. Other times, you completely clash

Basically, if #1 happens, that can be a solid partnership.

BUT if both #1 and #3 happen—when you vibe with their energy, competitiveness, or strategy and your games mesh well—THAT’S SPECIAL.

And rare.

I’ve found that with Tanner. 

Playing with him these past few months has been an absolute blast, and I’m grateful we crossed paths.

But here’s the thing: I don’t view this connection as "good" or "bad." It just is.

We all bring our unique personalities, experiences, and beliefs about the game to the court. Many of us started playing in different environments, shaping how we approach the game today.

In pickleball, especially doubles, there’s so much outside our control.

With one partner, you’re unbeatable. But with another – even if they are a “great player” – you’re left scratching your head wondering what went wrong.

Ultimately, it’s about playing a lot of pickleball with many different people. That’s how you figure out what you truly enjoy versus what drives you nuts in a partnership.

But through it all, there’s one thing you can control and should constantly be working on:

How to be a great partner.

And if you want an additional resource on how to do that, here’s a video for you. 🙂😁 

7 REASONS YOUR SERVE HAS NO POWER

In case you missed it, I just released a new YouTube video, “7 Reasons Your Serve Has No Power (& How to Serve Harder).”

It’s gotten a good response so far! Well, from most people 😳

User @sHslkuA has a different opinion:

Check out Tip #6. Do you agree or disagree?

And as usual, I tried to add some humor, which this person appreciated:

AND, I love this comment from Christian.

When you watch #3, read this alongside it. I was struggling a little bit as I thought through this topic, and I think he nailed it on the head to help all of our understanding:

Thanks so much to everyone who has commented so far. The video already has 21K views, so I know it resonates with a lot of people.

If you aren’t one of those 21K viewers yet, you can click here to watch it:

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RECAP OF APP TOUR IN CHICAGO

Last weekend at APP Chicago, Tanner and I had another solid run. We made it to the quarterfinals before falling short. Honestly, I was pretty bummed not making it to the semis.

After watching the match back…well, I almost threw up. Let me give you a quick rundown.

GAME ONE

In Game 1, we were dialed in and won 11-2. Everything clicked.

We stuck to the basics—dropped well, consistently made it to the kitchen, had no missed dinks, countered smartly, and capitalized on small openings.

This is becoming our thing—solid, clean play. We controlled the match and took it down with ease.

GAME TWO

Game 2 was a different story. It went back and forth all the way through.

It was tight, and then we reached that critical moment: 9-8-2 (26:01 on the video).

After watching it back? Ugh, I felt sick.

I’m talking physically sick because I knew that was a crucial moment in the match—and the mistake was on me. We had the chance to lock down Game 2 and punch our ticket to the semis for the second straight tournament.

But that’s not how it played out.

Instead, at 9-8-2, Tanner served, and I hit a decent third-shot drop—not perfect, but good enough. Looking back, we probably should’ve crashed harder based on Sobek’s positioning.

Quick tip: if you see a player hitting a backhand from net height or lower, that’s usually your cue to get aggressive and close in.

We didn’t.

I played it safe and stayed back, opting for a fifth-shot drop. It was a good one, but here’s the thing—I didn’t move in. I stayed back, admiring the shot, thinking it might not make it over.

Big mistake.

Even if I thought it was short, I should’ve moved in any way. If it hits the net, fine—we lose the rally. But the thing is, it wasn’t short. It was a perfect drop, and I should’ve followed it in, taking away Sobek’s angles.

Instead, I gave him a big target and missed the reset. That was our moment. We win that point, I’m confident we take the match.

On the very next rally, I missed a dink into the net. (I hadn’t missed a dink all day until then.)

After that, they hit a third-shot drop—an easy one for me to counter, but I sent it long. We did win the next rally, but I followed it up by leaving a dink too high. Sobek sped it up at Tanner, and just like that, we lost Game 2.

Boom. A lead and likely a win, gone in a flash.

GAME THREE

We moved on to Game 3 but didn’t play our best there either. I’m still figuring out why.

Honestly, I don’t want to rewatch that one yet—it’s too frustrating right now. I will eventually. But for now, it’s just raw.

THE TAKEAWAY FOR YOU

The mistakes I made in Game 2 and how I played in Game 3 are burned into my memory and will make me better.

When you make mistakes or lose games you think you should’ve won, remember them. Think about them and consider what you would do differently next time.

I’m a big believer in visualization. When we see what could happen, it becomes easier to make it happen. 👈

The next time that moment comes up, I’ll be ready.

Talk soon,
Kyle