I hear this all the time, and it drives me nuts.

I’ll see a player hit a winner—maybe an awkward flick volley or an off-speed drive mid court drive—something that clearly worked. And then, instead of celebrating, they apologize.

"Sorry, that wasn’t the right way to do it."
"I thought I was supposed to drop that shot instead."

Supposed to? According to who?

Let me tell you a quick story.

In 1954, Roger Bannister did what the world said was impossible—he broke the four-minute mile barrier. Before that, coaches, doctors, and sports scientists all agreed that the human body simply wasn’t capable.

Then, just 46 days later, John Landy broke the same barrier.

And since then, over 1,700 runners have done it, telling me that the limitation was never physical—it was mental.

In my opinion, pickleball players have their own “4 minute mile thinking.”

A long list of "Shoulds" and "Nevers" that players (and plenty of coaches) follow blindly.

• "You should always drop on the third shot."

• "You should never drive your fifth shot."

• “Just get your serve in.”

But here’s the thing–

These aren’t laws of physics—they’re oversimplifications passed down as if they’re written in stone. And my belief is, this way of thinking is holding us all back from reaching our potential.

If you watch the pros, you’ll notice that Jorja Johnson doesn’t play like Anna Leigh. And Christian Alshon doesn’t play like Riley Newman

Yet they all win, playing their own style.

Which, truthfully, is why pickleball can be difficult to teach at times.

But also why–

–I do my best to teach in principles instead of absolutes–

Because principles don’t tell you what to do.

They help you understand why something works or doesn’t work.

For fun, I asked ChatGPT to define principle-based thinking, and here’s what it came up with:

(not bad)

So basically, principles help you:

• Figure out what ACTUALLY works.

• Understand WHY it works.

• Use that knowledge to MAKE BETTER DECISIONS in the future - in a way that fits your game, rather than forcing yourself into someone else’s mold.

Now, part of me writing this is to encourage you to become a thinker out there, but also because I want you to embrace–

YOUR STRENGTHS.

See, too often, we get so focused on our weaknesses or trying to do the “RIGHT” thing that we lose track of what it is that makes us special in the first place.

Now, at the start, I told you about Roger Bannister and the four-minute mile—how what was once considered impossible became normal the moment one person proved it could be done.

So here’s my challenge to you:

What if the limits you think exist in your game aren’t real at all?

What if, instead of forcing yourself to play the ‘right’ way, you trusted your strengths, understood the principles, and created your own style of winning?

What if you thought deeply about these questions, answered them, and stepped onto the court the next time you played?

• What is it about your game that’s unique?

• What do you do really well?

• What is the most fun way for you to play?

Because when you do that, you step further into your identity as a player. And the longer I play, the more I realize that’s one of the most important puzzle pieces to playing well.🙂 

Until next time,

-Kyle

P.S. Before you go, I’ve got good some news and bad news–

The good news is the 7-Day Free Trial to That Pickleball School is still active. The Bad News is it’s only active for another 48 (ish) hours.

Sunday, at midnight, the free trial goes away for a while. Why?

Because something special is coming, something I think you’ll love.

But–you’ll only have access to it if you’re a member of That Pickleball School.

So, why not join today?

The 7-Day FREE Trial ends in: