Before I get into today’s newsletter, a quick note about my recent trip.

I just got back from Idaho for the launch of Selkirk’s first-ever brick-and-mortar store — and it’s legit!

Being there reminded me how grateful I am to work with Selkirk.

After spending two days with their team (and one of the founders), I left even more convinced of how much they truly care about the sport, about quality, and about growing the game in the right way.

If you ever have questions about Selkirk paddles or gear, hit me up — I’m happy to help.

And if you’re ever grabbing something from their site, here’s a code that gets you a gift card with your order:

INF-thatpickleballguy

Now, let’s get to the Tuesday Newsletter.

2 Lessons From the Best 🐐

Last week, I released the Anna Leigh Waters video and–according to the comments–it’s been super helpful for a lot of pickleball players.

Which is awesome.

Today, I want to highlight 2 lessons learned in the video that I don’t think you can get just anywhere:

#1 - Attacking Strategy

#2 - Anticipation and Court Awareness

First, let’s talk attacking.

#1 - Attacking Strategy

Anna Leigh is known for her aggressive play style, which is evident in her approach to using drops (yes, you read that right) to attack.

She doesn’t just hit the same ol’ boring drops everyone else hits. She uses drops like a weapon.

She Hits Penetrating Drops

No soft, loopy drops here.

"I'm not thinking like I'm going to try to hit a winner on this, but one of the best things about my singles game is my rolling drops."

Which is why she began incorporating them into doubles play.

These more aggressive drops:

• Set up her partner for easier poach opportunities

• Give her opportunities to follow up with aggressive volleys

• Provide opponents less time to reach the non-volley zone

• Prevent opponents from comfortably setting up their next shot

At the 8:45 mark (👈 click there to go directly to it), she discusses her 3rd (or 5th) shot drop strategy and demonstrates it for us.

Most of us are so focused on just getting it over the net that we forget that it’s a shot designed to set up the rest of the rally.

And it doesn’t have to be passive.

The main lesson: Don’t be afraid to really go for it on your drop. Get aggressive!

#2 – Anticipation and Court Awareness

This one’s a gem I’ve never heard anyone else talk about.

Anna Leigh said something like:
“Even when you’re off the ball, you should still be thinking about what you would do with that ball. You’re always in the point. You’re always expecting the next shot.”

That kind of focus does a lot of things—but let’s hit two big ones:

1. It sharpens your anticipation

2. It makes you a better partner

First, anticipation.

Picture this: your partner’s in a dinking rally. Then—bam—they speed one up. By the time you register it, the ball’s already screaming back at you. Good luck defending that.

But what if you were mentally locked in?

What if you were already thinking “speedup” before they actually did it?

Now, instead of reacting late, your paddle’s already creeping up. You’ve bought yourself an extra quarter of a second—which is everything in fast exchanges.

That’s what real anticipation looks like.
It’s not a guess. It’s a read.

And here’s the teammate part.

Let’s say you thought they were going to speed up—maybe you even flinched like it was coming—but they didn’t.

Instead of just brushing it off, you ask:
“Hey, I thought you were gonna speed up that one—what did you see that made you hold off?”

Now you’re learning.
Now you’re syncing up.

Maybe they say, “Honestly, I didn’t even think to.” Cool—now you know they tend to play more passive.

Or maybe they saw something you didn’t. Either way, you just opened the door to smarter decisions and better chemistry.

This is what the best teams do.
They study each other just like they study their opponents.

Your focus this week

Okay, this week you have two focuses:

Be more aggressive with your drops.

Guess what your partner will do before they do it.

Okay…one more thing…

If you haven’t watched the full video yet…

What are you waiting for!?!?! :-)

– Kyle

P.S. 👉 Want to see the new Selkirk Essentials line? Click here to check out this post on my Instagram