[00:00:04.120] - Speaker 1
Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. It's the podcast that is focused on your pickleball mind. I am your host of this weekly podcast, Tony Roig. It's a pleasure to be with you. I hope you're having a great week so far. This week's podcast, we're going to be visiting a topic that we've talked about a couple of times in the past, but I was reminded of it recently doing some PPA work. As you may know, we're doing some collaborations with the PPA, which is a professional pickleball association. And in doing some video review for a project I was working on, I had come across some really good interview answer by Anna Bright, I believe she's number two player in the world right now. If not, she's up there, top five for sure. She's a very good pickleball player. And she, at the end of a match, and I'll set it up for you a little bit, a little bit. But at the end of a match, she expressed some of thoughts that just reminded me of how we can have a better, a more constructive interaction with the sport that we play.

[00:01:10.290] - Speaker 1
And it reminded me also of a concept that came out of the book, Mental Emotional Training for Tennis: Compete, Learn, Honor by Coach Peter Skale, which is one of the seminal books in my journey, in my mental journey as an athlete. And I'm going to share with you some information on how to get... He did a workbook I spoke recently, and we have a code that you can use to access that. Actually, I'll go and give it to you now. So if you go down to the show notes, there's a code in there that you can use to get 50 % off. I'm pretty sure it's 50 %, but it'll be in the show notes. It's a high percentage off of his playbook. And the idea, it's actually like a workbook that you can use to help you through this process. I think you'll find it very helpful, and so I would definitely check that out. If you do decide to use Coach Pete's materials, please go to Amazon and give him a review on there. It really helps him to reach other players. As you guys know from listening to this podcast, when we ask for ratings and reviews, it just helps us reach additional players.

[00:02:12.160] - Speaker 1
It's just the way that our world is built these days. So If you can do that for him, that'd be great. The code will not work on Amazon, however, though. So the code needs to work on the site that'll be in the show notes. So what I'm going to do now is let me set it up for you, and then I'm going to play the audio from the end of the match, and then we'll break it down and talk about how that applies to us. So set up the match a little bit. Anna Bright plays with Rachel Rohrabacher, Rachel is actually a local player here in the Tampa area, I've known her for several years. I knew her when she was just getting started in pickleball, and it's been amazing to watch her rise. But Anna and Rachel play together, and they were playing against Anly, Waters, and Katherine Prento. Anly and Katherine are a dominant force in pickleball. In the women's tour, they are virtually unbeatable. You know, Anna and Rachel are the only team, really, that are within striking distance of Anly and Katherine. So Anna and Rachel had just beaten them in a prior encounter, and now they're playing them in the next match They had one game and this is in the final, so it's a gold medal match, and those are best three out of five.

[00:03:21.090] - Speaker 1
So Anna and Rachel had one game number one, and they looked like they were cruising, and then they had a roadblock in games number 2 and 3, and Anly and Katherine took those. And I'm not taking it through from Anly and Katherine. They played great. But if you watch Anna and Rachel, it just like everything changed in game 2. There's a momentum change at three, three and all of a sudden, things got away from them a little bit. Then in game 4, it looked like Anna and Rachel had found their way again. They were up 9-8 in game 4. That 9-8 score lasted like an hour. It didn't last that long, but it lasted a while. And they were stuck there. And then Anly and Katherine ended up winning that game, I believe it was 12: 10. And so you have this wrenching back and forth in a match that for these players is there. It's how they earn a living. This is not just Tuesday morning pickleball at the local Y, or at the local courts, or at a club, and things like that. It's also not an event that we're doing, like a round Robin or something, or a league that we're playing for exercise and socialization.

[00:04:29.460] - Speaker 1
This is how these folks make a living. And the result of this match impacts that particular purse, what they earn in that tournament, as well as their ability to get sponsorship and things like that. So it's important to think about that. It's relevant to think about that because it places the results of this match as perhaps a little more important in terms of their everyday existence than the results of our matches. But I want you to hear how Anna frames the situation when she's asked a question about what happened in game 4 and how she pivots the answer and provides a really good context that is going to help her be a better player and a more long-lasting athlete, and can also help us in how we deal with adversity when we're out on the court. Let's listen to the audio.

[00:05:21.260] - Speaker 2
On Championship Sunday, so Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher joining me now to pay off a great 2024 campaign. But let's go match-specific first game 4. Where did things start to get away from you there? We built ourselves a nice lead. I'm really proud of ourselves after losing games two and three for doing that. But major kudos to Anna and Katherine. They locked back in there, and then it was really neck and neck. I think the both teams were stuck on 9-8 for a long time, and they were able to get over the finish line. So major congrats to them. We've had a great season. They've had a great season. It's really special. Thank you to everyone for tuning in and watching and cheering. It's really fun. Really fun to play these matches, win or lose.

[00:05:55.830] - Speaker 1
Now, remember, this is at the end of a gold medal match where they just lost game before in a very back and forth fashion. So just keep that in mind as we think through the words that you heard from Anna just now. And then think about sometimes how we feel at the end of one game. And we were playing with our friends in a wreck situation or whatever, and we just lost the game and we feel like the world is ending, or like we screwed up, or whatever it is. And let's break down the way that Anna approached it in the different components of it, because I think it can really help us as we deal with losses, because losses will happen. So the first thing was how she pivoted. So the reporter asked a question about how What happened in game four, right? The interview he asked what happened in game 4? It's a fine question. There's nothing wrong with the question. But Anna doesn't really want to dwell on that. What happened in game 4? I missed a shot, they missed a shot, whatever. Instead, she goes very big picture, and that's taking a very long lens view of the game, which is awesome.

[00:07:07.410] - Speaker 1
She's reframing. That's the key there. That's something you can do after the end of a match is reframe. Instead of worrying so much about the volume you missed, the third shot you missed, whatever shot was that you think was the reason you lost that game, you pivot away from it to the bigger story, to the bigger picture of the situation. What she did there is then she went directly into celebrating the back and forth, celebrating the competition. And that's what Coach Peter Scales talks about in his book, which is his tenet is called Compete, Learn, Honor. That's what he developed, this framework of Compete, Learn, Honor. So competing is one thing that we do, which is we go out there and we compete, we give our best. We also understand that our opponents are out there, and they are going to compete and do what? Give their best, too. And that's the beauty of pickleball, is this back and forth battle that we have between ourselves and our opponents, us pushing them and them pushing us, which happened in this match between Anna, Rachel, Analee, and Katherine. Anna and Rachel had beaten Anly and Katherine, the prior tournament, and that was a push to Anly and Katherine saying, Hey, guys, we're coming.

[00:08:24.040] - Speaker 1
And they started out game one, won that one. Then Anly and Katherine turned it around in this match. Then in game Before Anna and Rachel dug their heels in, and they did, and they fought hard in game four. It didn't work out for them. It didn't turn out in their favor in terms of the ultimate result. But they did, in fact, push each other really hard in that game four with Anna, Lee, and Katherine coming out on top. And Anna recognizes that and respects that and says, Hey, we did some stuff, they did some stuff, and then she gives them credit. That's the other thing that's really important here. So it's recognizing the value of competition and then giving credit to your opponent, understanding understanding that your opponent is out there just like you're fighting, they're fighting, too. And so giving them credit by saying... Anna says, Anly and Katherine, they locked it down. They did what they had to do, and they got across the finish line before we did. That's pickleball, right? And So that's a really good reframing of an outcome that is adverse to us, because there will be times that you will be the victor in those situations.

[00:09:24.270] - Speaker 1
There'll be times that you'll be the loser in those situations. That is just part of life. That is part of the dynamic and pickleball. And if you're not ready to do that, then I think some reflection and things like that is helpful to you because you're playing a game, you're playing a sport, and a sport is competition. And so that recognition of her opponents and giving them credit is critical and something that we should do. There's no reason not to. Then she thanked everyone, which is fantastic. There's other pieces to the puzzle that are more than just us on the court, more than just ourselves as individuals, There's our teammate, our partner in the game, there's the opponents, there's those around us. So if you're playing an open play, for instance, there's other players who are there. So if a player behaves in a way that makes other players feel uncomfortable, that's going to reflect on not just themselves, but that's going to impact everybody around there. There's also the organizers, there's the facility managers, all those folks. All those people are necessary for you to get enjoy the game. And in Anna's case, obviously, the audience is important because they're playing professional sports, so she thanks the audience, which is awesome, recognizing the bigger picture.

[00:10:39.660] - Speaker 1
And then what I really liked was the last thing she said, I'm going to quote it, right? She said, Really fun to play these matches, win or lose. I'm going to read that one more time. Really fun to play these matches, win or lose. She's focusing on the positive, of having the opportunity to engage in this amazing sport of pickleball against the best athletes in the world, against the best players in the world, go out there, compete, give it your all. It's good win or lose. It's not good win only. And that's something that I think gets lost sometimes when we play pickleball, is we end up in this mindset of, pickleball is great, but only when we win. I'm going to tell you guys a side story here that happened at Nationals a couple of years ago. This was not in 24, it was in 23. It was a professional player. I won't say her name because I don't have her permission to share it. It was a private conversation. But she's, at the time, I would say easily top 20, maybe top 30, but top 20 female pickleball player. And I happened to run into her, and I didn't know her before, but she was sitting there next to the courts where I was playing.

[00:11:54.600] - Speaker 1
And I just came up to her and I said hello to her. And I told her that I really liked Obviously, I liked watching her play, that general stuff. But then I also told her that I appreciated her style of play because it was a style of play that I used to help our students, basically explaining how the positioning of the paddle and things like that, it was super, and really appreciate her work and things like that. And she seemed a little down. So I asked her, I said, Do you mind me? I don't want to be nosy, right? But I guess I was a little nosy. But I was like, Do you mind And then she seemed like, low down. So I said, Do you mind if I share something with you? And so I shared the idea of the bowl of ice cream. If you haven't heard the bowl of ice cream, we'll put a link down in the show notes. Check that out. But basically, the premise of it is that every time you play, it's a good day, just like Anna said, win or lose because you're playing this awesome sport.

[00:12:49.980] - Speaker 1
So when I explained to her the concept, where I shared the concept of a bowl of ice cream, there was pushback. And it was very polite pushback, very nice pushback, very friendly pushback. But the pushback was basically that that day, she did not merit a full bowl of ice cream. Why? Because she hadn't played as well as she wanted to play, right? She didn't do what she wanted to do. So she doesn't get a full bowl of ice cream. But she did. She got to give it a little bit. She was like, A little bit of ice cream. But that's not correct. And the reason it's not correct is because you still get a full bowl of ice cream just by the fact that you get to play pickle And it's going to Anna's language. It's really fun to play these matches, win or lose. It's not win only. And so when you can change your mindset away from a In order for me to enjoy this experience, I must have a W at the end of the match to a mindset of, that's a... Well, at its most basic level, the most basic would be, I'm out here playing pickle Period.

[00:14:00.480] - Speaker 1
End of story. There's nothing else. I don't need to know anything else. Then you can say, I'm out here playing pickleball with my friends. Fantastic. I don't need anything else. Then you can say, I'm out here playing pickle with my friends, getting exercise. Fantastic. Nothing else. I'm having front. I'm out here playing pickleball, having fun with my friends, getting exercise, and competing, challenging myself. That's fantastic. And you keep layering all the different element. I'm out in the sun. I got to get out of the house. Whatever it is that's important to you, whatever it is that's a plus of this, just add it to the Keep going. At the end, it's win or lose, win or lose, win or lose, because it's not win only. That's the thing we need to keep in mind. The reason it's important to keep it in mind is because our brains will force us into the win-only Yeah, because we'll feel bad when we lose. If you can just remind yourself, just quote Anna Bright. Just think yourself like, that was really good. Fill in the blanks with whatever is important to you, win or lose, at the end of your statement.

[00:14:59.840] - Speaker 1
Anyway, so I wanted to share that idea with you. Again, check out Coach Peter Scale's thinking on this. It really changes your perspective. There's those three elements or three areas of the mental part of pickleball on perspective. Coach Pete, to me, is the best, and it really helps you reframe your approach to the sport of pickleball. And what I would say to you here is, at the end of the day, when you look at Anna's words, what she's doing is she's honoring the game. And I think it's important to remember that pickleball is bigger than me, bigger than you, bigger than Anna Bright, bigger than Ben Johns, bigger than anybody who plays pickleball. The sport is bigger than any of us. So we honor the sport of pickleball. We honor our opponents, and by doing that, we actually honor ourselves at the end of the day. So anyway, hope you enjoyed that perspective on Anna Bright's wonderful words at the end of that tournament. I'll continue to look out for those types of post game interviews that are of substance and helpful to us as we continue to navigate our mental journeys together. As always, if there's any other coaching that we can do for you inside our Better Pickable Community, Remember, this podcast is part of the bigger Better Pickleball picture.

[00:16:17.740] - Speaker 1
We are happy to do that. You can go to betterpickable. Com to find camps, to find other activities that we have, other coaching opportunities that we have that you can interact with us. Around the time this podcast, not around, a little bit So if this podcast drops, we will have our pickleball system spring course opening. And if you've been waiting to do the pickleball system, it's a great time to do it because there's no time like now. That said, last thing I want to remind you of is if you enjoy the podcast, share with your friends. Remember, if you enjoy the podcast, they probably will too. Hope you have a great week, and I'll see you next week in the next episode of Pickable Therapy. Be well..