Play for Fun

Quick Look

• You are out in a park playing a game. Remember that in the back of your mind, even at a high level.
• If it is not fun you will not keep playing, and that is the whole thing.
• Coaching kids runs on the three Fs: friends, fun, and food.
• When you miss, run a routine instead of a reaction. Breathe, air stroke, look up, next ball.
• Try not to say anything negative in your own head. You might think it for half a second, but do not feed it.
• Do not let your opponent see you get frustrated.
• Measure yourself on effort and preparation, not on execution. Execution comes with reps.
• Never put your partner down. Good effort and next ball are always available.
• When your partner does something good, say it out loud.
• None of this is a golden rule. Bring your own personality into it.

Start With Why You Are Out Here

People playing pickleball are out there for fun. That should sit in the back of your mind at all times. You are out in a park, in a nice place, playing a game. I try to smile and laugh and enjoy myself, because that is a big part of recreation even at a high level.

The practical version of that argument is simple. If it is not fun, you are not going to play. Everything else on this page follows from that one line.

Coaching Kids: The Three Fs

If you are teaching kids or youth players, keep it fun. Let them play with their friends. Add a little fruit or food into the session.

Friends, fun, and food. Three Fs. That is the formula for kids, and honestly it is not far off the formula for adults either.

When You Miss

Some people get angry, get frustrated, and say things. A lot of that comes down to personality and there is no golden rule here. But this is what I do, and it works for me.

Do not narrate it negatively. I try not to say anything negative in my head. I might think it for half a second, but I do not let it become the running commentary.

Do not show it. In a game, I try not to let my opponent know I am getting frustrated. Think Pete Sampras. Flat expression, same body language whether the last ball went in or not. More importantly than hiding it from them, though, I am trying not to actually get upset in the first place.

Run the routine. Here is the sequence I use after a miss:

1. Take a breath. Half a breath or a deep one. Inhale, exhale. Breathing forces your body to relax.
2. Hit the stroke again in the air. If I missed a backhand because I did not hit through the ball enough, I take a practice stroke in the air right there. It is a correction and it is also a distraction from the miss.
3. Smile a little and look up. Not down. Where your head goes, your mood follows.
4. Get ready for the next ball.

That is it. It takes about three seconds and it keeps things fun, because I am not standing there yelling about missing a ball.

Measure Effort, Not Execution

This is the mentality I try to bring into the game. Measure yourself on the effort you put in, the preparation you put in, and the process. Execution will come as you hit more and more reps.

If you had good footwork and you took a good swing and you missed the ball, then you missed. That is fine. The parts you actually control went well. The result is downstream of thousands of reps you have not hit yet.

Judging yourself on execution in the middle of a point is judging yourself on the one thing you have the least control over right now.

When Your Partner Misses

Never put your partner down. You see it happen and it accomplishes nothing.

A few things I like to say instead:

• Good effort. It ties straight back to measuring effort over execution, and it is almost always true.
• The next ball is the one that matters. Because it is, unless it happens to be game point. It moves the focus forward instead of parking it on the miss.

The goal of anything you say to your partner after a miss is to point their attention at the next ball rather than the last one.

When Your Partner Does Something Good

Say it out loud. This one gets skipped constantly and it is free.

Be specific about it. Not just nice shot, but something like: that was a good ball up the line, I like that. Or: great drop, that ball really made them work. Naming what was good tells your partner what to do again, and it feels different from a generic compliment.

Bring Your Own Personality

None of this is a golden rule. Some people play better fired up and some play better flat. The routines here are what work for me, and I lean positive by nature.

Take the parts that fit you and leave the rest. The one part I would say is not optional is the first one: play for fun. It is a super fun game and it is worth remembering that while you are out there.

Happy pickle.

Key Takeaways

• Play for fun. If it is not fun you will stop playing, and that is the only outcome that really loses.
• Kids run on friends, fun, and food.
• After a miss: breathe, take a practice stroke in the air, smile and look up, then get ready for the next ball.
• Keep the negative commentary out of your head, and keep your frustration off your face.
• Judge your effort and preparation. Let execution catch up through reps.
• Never put your partner down. Good effort and next ball both work.
• Call out your partner's good shots specifically, not generically.
• Adapt all of it to your own personality. There is no golden rule here.