What can six-time Superbowl Champion and future HOF quarterback Tom Brady teach you about pickleball?

Before the Superbowl, Tom Brady was on a program discussing what separated him from other quarterbacks and players around the league.

He wasn’t the fastest.

He wasn’t the smartest.

He didn’t always have the best talent around him.

But, he did have one thing that no one else – or at least not many else had – Game IQ.

In his words, “I knew Kansas City’s defense better than they knew themselves.”

In the video, he says how by the time he walked up to the line, he knew exactly where everyone was going to be and what part of his play was likely to work the best.

He read the defense and understood the patterns.

He was able to do this because he spent countless hours watching tape and learning how each person on the field moved in specific situations.

He made decisions quickly – or he got clobbered.

While in pickleball, we won’t have a defensive lineman chasing us down while we try to decipher what’s happening (thank God!), we do have to make quick decisions during every single rally.

Dozens of them, in fact.

First, there’s the decision of where to serve or return the ball.

Then, there’s the decision of whether to drop, drive, or lob.

Then, we have to decide which player to hit our next shot toward.

And so on.

And in each of those decisions are 2, 3, or 4 other decisions that might be better or worse given the situation we’re in.

Should you drop to the corner of the kitchen, to another player’s backhand, or drive the ball straight to force your opponent into a quick reaction?

Early on in your pickleball journey, it’s very likely that those decisions were made purely on what you felt most comfortable doing.

The goal was simply to get the ball back over the net.

As you progress, you start to make decisions based on your opponents’ weaknesses AND what you feel most comfortable hitting.

As you progress further, you realize that players often make similar choices (both good and bad) if they’re put into familiar situations over and over again.

And knowing what you know, you can build a point based on the decisions you want them to make.

For example:

“I know that if I hit to Bob’s backhand, I’m going to get an easier next ball.” or “When Cheryl moves to her right, she’s going to try and drive the ball through me.”

Over enough shots, these patterns reveal themselves every time.

The best players in the world aren’t the best just because they hit the ball harder or can put more topspin on a ball.

They are the best because they recognize those patterns in their opponents quickly and once they do, they know how to exploit them.

If Bob is no threat at all when you hit to his backhand, why would you hit it anywhere else?

If Cheryl is going to try to drive the ball through you when you get her off-balance, why are you standing in the path of the ball when she makes contact?

When you know the pattern, you can choose to put yourself in it (or take yourself out of it) more often.

THAT is the key to playing winning pickleball.

So, how do you learn these patterns and figure out what you should be doing to help get yourself into advantageous ones more often?

For Tom Brady, it was watching his opponent’s game films.

More than likely, you don’t have hundreds of hours of footage of your opponents that you can examine each day.

Nor do you likely have that kind of time.

:)

So, instead, the best way to learn the most common patterns and become able to predict what the players across from you are going to do is to:

• Watch people play.

• Watch your own play.

• Discuss it with other players.

You become a student of the game.

How to watch others play

When a great shot happens, everyone cheers.

But great shots are just a small percentage of pickleball playing.

Instead, if you want to improve your pickleball IQ, you should pay attention to what happens the most.

Where does a player return the ball most often?

When does your opponent like to attack – off the bounce, with their forehand only, never?

What shot did they struggle against recently?

Once you identify those things in one player, you’ll be able to see them in other players, too. And I’ve got news for you.

Most pickleball players aren’t actively trying to improve their games.

Of course, if you’re reading this email, that’s not you! You DO want to improve.

You’re my kind of player.

But most are just happy to show up, play a few games, and go home frustrated if things don’t go their way.

That’s an advantage for YOU.

How to watch your own play

Watching our own play and evaluating what we do best or worst can be tricky.

Most people are their own worst critics.

But there are two ways I find most effective to learning about myself.

First, I record my games.

There’s just something about recording yourself and watching it back (or having a friend or coach watch it for you) that will open your eyes to a whole new world.

Second, I take note of the times I’m flustered, confused or feel uncomfortable during play and ask myself (usually after the match), “Why did that happen?”

But, here’s the kicker - most people make the mistake of blaming it on the shot their opponent (or partner) just made.

I like to think about the 2-3 shots that led up to it.

Was the return short?

Was someone off-balance when they went for something they shouldn’t have?

Did I miss an attack opportunity by not leaning in or being aggressive enough?

So often, the “winning” shot was set up by a series of other shots that, if another decision had been made, wouldn’t have even been an option for your opponent.

How to discuss pickleball with other players

I firmly believe that, secretly, we all wish our pickleball friends would talk more about the game and strategy with us.

Like I said earlier, if you’re reading this, then you WANT to get better.

You want to know what you’re doing well and what you could improve on.

No one can better tell you that than other players, especially those players you play against most often.

The problem is, we’re not willing to ask.

After our matches, we tap paddles, say “Nice game,” and then go about our days. And if it was a bad day, we stew in our cars about it on the way home.

🤦

What would happen if you asked the person you just played against, “Hey, what did you notice about my game that made you keep hitting it here on me?”

OR an even better approach, compliment them about something they do well in their game.

“Oh man, every time you hit a drop to my backhand side, I was totally thrown off on what to do.”

This works amazingly well because a) people love to get complimented (obviously), and b) people love to reciprocate.

You just gave them a gift.

They’ll want to gift you back.

And you might just make a great friend in the process.

So, there you go - hopefully, this discussion about Tom Brady and Game IQ will help you develop a better pickleball IQ for yourself.

While it won’t help you win six Superbowls, it can help you play better pickleball today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life.

And honestly–isn’t that better than a ridiculously large Superbowl ring anyway?

:)

Til next time!

-Kyle

P.S. Remember when I mentioned watching game films on players? Funny enough, I have spent thousands of hours over the last three years collecting game film, and with ThatPickleballSchool, I break down the common patterns I see.

I call it the Pattern Recognition Library. And you can get access to it for free.