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Today’s ThatPickleballSchool Newsletter has four parts:

1. 99 Problems but a dink ain’t one🍾

2. He’s a Thriller on the court 🌙🚶

3. U + Me = Us (Pickleball math) 🤓

4. Kansas City, here we come 🛫

NEW VIDEO: 7 REASONS YOU POP UP DINKS

In case you missed it, my new YouTube video, “7 Reasons Players Pop Up Dinks (and how to avoid them),” has just been released, and it’s gotten a really good response so far.

Check out the video if you haven’t seen it yet!

Moves Like MJ

Ever seen yourself on film and thought, “Wait, I look like that?” Or do you have a weird habit on the court that you never knew existed until you saw it?

Think about Michael Jordan and his famous tongue-out persona. As a side note, I stick my tongue out when I play, too. I’ve done it since my basketball days.

Am I comparing myself to MJ? Yes. Actually, yes, I am. 😜

BUT, in my last tournament, I caught this clip of me playing mixed doubles and couldn’t stop laughing at what I noticed. So I asked my editor if he could create a fun video resembling a different MJ - Michael Jackson.🕺

All I can say is my editor came through.

Enjoy!

Addition by Subtraction

Two days ago, I was practicing mixed doubles. One of the people I was playing with was an ultra-talented former tennis player. Big serve, great groundstrokes, awesome power.

And she’s turning into a fantastic pickleball player. 💪

However, after playing with her several times and observing some of her matches in the past, I identified one aspect of her game that, if adjusted, could make her WAY better, instantly.

And it wasn’t any type of new shot. Instead, it was actually the elimination of a couple shots that were causing her to lose points.

So after our fourth game, I asked if it was okay to share the thought 😬

Although I was initially hesitant, she had previously been proactive about seeking help. So when I asked if I could share with her, she was very receptive.

My advice for her was to stop speeding up off the bounce and lobbing out of the air for the next month or two. Which was a little tough to say because…

I’ve always been reluctant to tell someone to stop doing something completely because this game is full of nuances, and you don't want to stifle someone's creativity or enjoyment.

AND…

There are times when off-the-bounce speed-ups and lobs are good shots.

BUT…

…after having a bigger pool of information with this one player, I realized those two shots hurt her more than anything else she did on the court.

She was winning less than 25% of the time with off-the-bounce speed-ups. And less than 15% of the time when she hit the lob.

Obviously, this was a short sample size, but still - not great.

After I made the suggestion, she stopped taking those two shots and looked like a completely different player.

Suddenly, she was very comfortable at the kitchen, being patient in a dink rally rather than getting antsy with each shot. 🐢

And not only that, but once she stopped speeding up low balls off the bounce, the other team was the one who started to make risky decisions. Funny how that works.

In closing, this experience got me thinking about you! 🫵

We all have parts of our game that actually hurt us more than help, but we often don’t take the time to recognize what those areas are.

So, I’ll leave you with this question…

What shot (or shots) in your game should you eliminate the next time you play?

Feel free to hit reply and let me know.

MY PRO JOURNEY

Right now, there’s a little tournament break, so I’m just at home, spending 100% of my time on two things.

1. Building ThatPickleballSchool &
2. On Court training

My next tournament is in Kansas City, where I’ll be playing in the PPA Selkirk Kansas City Open with Tanner Tomassi.

Here’s a look at my upcoming schedule: