Hi

There are only 40 days left until ThatPickleballSchool launches on October 1st. 

Currently, I’m competing in the PPA Tour event in Utah. My mixed doubles partner is Christa Gecheva (again), and my men’s doubles partner is Marshall Brown.

More on that below!

Today’s ThatPickleballSchool Newsletter includes:

1. VIDEO BREAKDOWN: My Mixed Doubles Match vs Allyce Jones and Zane Navratil 👀

2. ICYMI: Watch the biggest win of my career 🤩

3. An update on how I’m doing at the PPA Tour in Utah ⛰️

A BREAKDOWN OF OUR MIXED DOUBLES MATCH

Last week’s newsletter was a full-on dramatic script that perhaps you still haven’t finished reading.

This week, I’m going to keep it light.

Well, as far as what’s written in this newsletter goes, anyway.

If you’d like to hear me break down the Pro Mixed Doubles Match from Kansas City, where Christa and I played (and unfortunately lost) against Allyce Jones and Zane Navratil, you can follow this link:

If you happened to miss the match vs Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova (the biggest win of my career), you can watch that one here 👇👇👇

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT PPA UTAH

Here’s a quick update on how my Pro Qualifier matches went over the last two days.

Bear with me; I’m just going to give the highlights for now because I just finished a clinic and am about to head to practice.

It’s a little hectic over here 🙂 

I played the Mixed Doubles Qualifier with Christa Gecheva again (same partner from the last tournament).

We started pretty slow in our first-round match. We were down 4-8 against a really solid team, but one we should consistently beat. After taking a timeout, I shifted my mindset and became way more aggressive to win seven straight points to take the game 11-8.

In game 2, we had another slightly slow start, but we worked our way to an 11-7 win to get to round 2.

I’ve realized that when playing Mixed Doubles, I’m currently doing something that needs to change.

In these Qualifiers, you don’t often know the people you’re playing (the fields are so huge these days), so when I start the game, I’m focused on trying to “feel the game out” a bit.

And then, there’s a moment where I say, “screw it,” and start getting more aggressive and using my athleticism to cause havoc.

Which ends up helping us win (a lot of the time).

Christa told me today I need to say “screw it” at 0-0 🤣 because it seems that mentality is when I tend to play some of my best pickleball.

Even as I write that, I think I can take it further.

It’s not just feeling the game out. I think it’s me playing too small at the beginning of matches.

I’ve decided to change that for Friday in our Main Draw Match, which will be against a top 12 seed because that’s how the qualifier teams get placed. 😓

So, there will be no time for “figuring things out” or risking playing “small.”

We (meaning I) have to start strong and fast.

It’s a great revelation, and it is fantastic to have a terrific partner like Christa, who knows me so well and can help me overcome these mental blocks.

I am so fortunate.

There’s probably a lesson in there for you in your own game. 🤔

If you find yourself losing to teams you KNOW you shouldn’t lose to, then consider how you start games. Are you too worried about feeling things out when you should be focused on getting out to an early lead?

I’d bet most of the time, that’s the case.

At the end of the day, it’s pickleball, and you’re great at it – or at least you will be. 😉

Play like it from the start, and good things will happen!

IN MEN’S DOUBLES

This one didn’t go as well as I would have liked.

It was a bummer because I was looking forward to making a run with Marshall Brown, a fantastic player.

We won our first-round match handily, then lost our second-round match 11-2 and 13-11.

We just got outplayed.

Those guys came out aggressive and were firing on all cylinders. The story of the match was that they were the first aggressors, and our counters weren’t as good as they typically are, which hurt us.

For a moment, I thought about breaking my paddle and quitting pickleball because no one wants to lose matches they feel like they should win.

I’m sure many of you have had those moments.

After taking a few deep breaths and remembering this is a journey, not just about one match, I calmed down.

Instead, I’m going to keep working on my game. Because just like all of us, I have A LOT TO WORK ON.

I’ll share more of this week’s learnings (and results) next week.

Wish me (and Christa) good luck!

-Kyle