[00:00:04.960] - Tony Roig
Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the podcast dedicated to your pickle improvement with a focus on your mind. My name is Tony Roig. I'm your host of the weekly podcast. It's a pleasure to be with you. Hope you're doing well. This week's regular episode, we're going to be talking about the potential for mental frustration from wanting the end goal now. We're going to be diving into how some of this is fed by what's you see out there in social media, you see in posts and things, I'm going to explain to you why that can be potentially damaging to your experience as a player and why it can lead to frustration because you're setting yourself off for disappointment, potentially, if you follow that approach to your improvement. Then I'm going to give you, during this process, I should say, I'm going to give you a more holistic way of thinking about it and a way that will actually get the job done for you. As we dive into the podcast, our fall The clinic starts now. If you're listening to it Friday, it starts, I believe, the clinic goes live on the 20th, which should be tomorrow.

[00:01:07.620] - Tony Roig
Basically, it's live now. If you haven't already signed up for the clinic, I believe you can still get a ticket. It's free and online, so go to betterpickleball.com and get your ticket for the clinic. I highly recommend you check it out. It's a very engaging.. It's a new format we're using. We made it very streamlined this year so that you can get the information on demand. And then we have some live sessions. We have three of them to make sure that you can find one that fits your schedule. So I highly recommend you check it out and learn more about this awesome sport. All right, let's dive into the main subject of this. And here's what's happening and why I wanted to do this podcast, this episode. So there's this idea that I keep seeing pop up, whether it's other voices out there in the social Social Media world, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. I don't really do a lot of X or Twitter, but it's basically Reddit, things like that. It's this idea that there's a certain player you want to be, meaning there's a, fill in the blank, blank player. So you should try and be a blank player.

[00:02:23.560] - Tony Roig
And it sounds great. I mean, wow. Okay, yeah, let's do it. I'm going to be a blank player, and I'm I'm going to be what I want. All my dreams will come true when I become a blank player. There's oftentimes not a lot of clarity on what that is and how you get there. There may be some rough sketches around it, but not a real like, Okay, I can go from where I am now to this blank player following this path. And what happens is the risk with that, with that approach or that way of thinking or introducing that way of thinking, is that it can lead to frustration. Because frustration is simply unmet expectations. So you set an expectation for yourself that, okay, I'm going to become blank player, and that's the thing. That's the key. Okay. And then Two months later, whenever you're like, Okay, I was supposed to become a blank player. Am I a blank player? What does that mean to be a blank player? And now you're frustrated because it's so amorphous. How do you become the blank player, and what does that even mean? What I'm going to suggest you throughout this podcast is that there's a way of looking at it that is much more concrete.

[00:03:39.800] - Tony Roig
It'll allow you to set expectations that are more reasonable, and frankly, more relevant to. Meaning, wherever you're at right now, it's going to be just about finding that next step along your path. What's the next thing for me to do? And then talk about just a different way of of approaching your process, which if you do it that way, the way that I'm going to propose, you'll minimize, can't say avoid, because we're all different, but you'll definitely minimize the risks that you're going to feel frustrated or disappointed in yourself engaging in this beautiful sport and your growth in it. Let's start from this premise. Let me lay it out for you. So a pickleball is about as complex activity, an activity, I'm sorry, as you can engage in. And I want to say that again because I think it's very powerful, and I'm going to go into some detail, but I want you to understand this. A pickleball is about as complex an activity as you can engage in. I'll let that sink in for a second, and I'm going to give you some details. Pickable requires physical movement. That seems like a no big deal.

[00:04:58.300] - Tony Roig
It's a huge deal. And includes your whole body. Video gaming, for instance, or chess playing, fine activities, card playing, things like that, do not require physical movement. They do not require balance, mobility, none of that. Tracking balls, things like that. None of that's involved in those activities. Again, no criticism. They're great activities, but they don't involve that. Pickleball requires interacting with objects moving through space. That includes the pickleball, your partner, and the other players. As they all move through space during a rally. You can compare that to bowling, static, golf, fairly static. Once the ball is hit and it lands, it's just sitting there. And also board games that we're talking about. They don't have that dynamic to them. So that's more taxing on you. Pickleball requires puzzle solving. Now, that's the same as a chess match or a card game. So you're having to do basically the same activities that a Bridge player, Canasta a player, a chess player, or anybody else trying to solve a crossword player, or is trying to solve a puzzle, you're doing the same thing when you play a rally, while you're moving physically and having to interact with objects moving through space.

[00:06:16.340] - Tony Roig
In pickleball, you are competing against other persons who are also vying for the win. Okay? Compared that to skiing, something like skiing, where it's you against the mountain or the course that you're going down. Fine activity, but it's not... The other skiers aren't throwing obstacles in your way as you're trying to go down the mountain, right? It's more challenging when you have other players, other participants, intentionally trying to stop you from accomplishing what you're trying to do. So that's another layer of complexity. To execute on the solution that you want, you need the mechanical components from moving your body through space relative to other objects moving through space. Again, take a moment here, guys. I mean, that's a complex thing. You're trying to solve a puzzle in motion relative to other things that are in motion at the same time. And then the last thing is that after all that, you still need to hit the ball to the spot that will accomplish what you want. Now, again, compare that to chess or card games, where there's no mechanical a clinical layer. If you want to move a pond or if you want to play a card, you just put it down.

[00:07:34.080] - Tony Roig
It's not like you have to put it down exactly a certain way and has to land a certain way or things like that. Pickleball does. So when you think about the totality of the sport that you're engaging in, It is about as complex an activity as you can get. Now, there are other sports, like tennis, things like that, that also have complexity like pickleball. So there are other activities that are complex. But when you look at the height of of complex activities, the tier, I should say, of activities. The pickleball is in the top complexity in terms of all of the pieces that are involved. And that's beautiful. I'm going to tell you, that's what keeps you coming back. Is the complexity. Now, that's also what can frustrate you, because I'm not getting all this. Okay, it's pretty complex. So let's take a little bit of a breather there and give ourselves a break. But that complexity is what makes it so damn interesting. Now, I use the word ding there. So ding interesting is the complexity. It's a different puzzle every time, different players on the court, how you're feeling that day, where you're at mechanically in the game, how you're seeing things, the strategy, the way you're understanding it, the angles, all of that stuff, all jumbled together to make this beautiful game.

[00:08:49.740] - Tony Roig
So embrace the complexity of it, but understand it in terms of how you want to engage with it as you improve as a player. Now, this is where I think we get into trouble with this idea of the trying to fit into this blank player description. It's a very complex sport, and I'm trying to become whatever this blank player is with these very broad stroke ideas. A couple of things. One is not everybody needs to play pickleball the same way. There's different ways to come at the sport. I've had several conversations recently with other coaches and other influential people in the sport, and we've had this conversation about how you can come at the soft game, hard game, combination, 50-50, things like that. And you see it even at the pro level. This last weekend, I don't think anybody had the Kawamoto sisters, the twins, winning the PPA women's division in this stacked tournament with the other major teams in there. Analee Waters, Anna Bright, who the Kawamoto sisters beat. Georgia Johnson and Tyler Black, who the Kawamoto sisters beat. Now, do the Kawamoto sisters have the tools to win? Obviously, they do. Do they play exactly the same way as Anna Lee and Anna?

[00:10:07.980] - Tony Roig
No, they do not, because they don't play with as much power. They use power, but they use more of a soft game, dinking, resetting. It was a clinic in that. So there's different ways of coming at the sport. So whenever you hear these quick sound bite, blank player stuff, be careful with it, because first of all, is that for you? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe you fit that in bold, maybe you don't. But even then, even if you fit the mold, where are you along the process of getting to that blank player position? It just doesn't... Maybe you're close, or maybe you're not. I talked about this in an episode, it was a couple of weeks ago or last week, talked about mimic coaching and mimicry coaching and some of the risks with that. And this idea that basically, do what I do. So this is what I do, and it works for me, so do exactly what I do. I'm going to suggest that's not the best approach. Why don't you find out what is going to work best for you and do that? And the way to do that is by knocking down dominoes one at a time.

[00:11:14.600] - Tony Roig
And this is the part that's really important to understand. You're in a complex environment. Forget about trying to meet some thing you saw that said something you're supposed to do in an abstract sense, right? Instead, understand you're in a complex environment, and then find the next step for you. What's the next step for you? Because that's what matters, right? Not the theory, not the noise, not the sound bites. If you care about your game and you want to improve your game, it's all about what's next for you. And I'll give you guys... Listen, this is the stuff that I know, so I'm going to tell you about it because we built it, right? But I'm going to tell you why we built it. It's called the pickleball System. It was called a system because it is, in fact, a system, and it has everything outlined in order. So basically, you have, let's say, one through six. One of the wellness checks is one through six. So what you got to do is, do you meet number one? If you meet number one, excellent. Let's move on to number two. You meet number two, thumbs up.

[00:12:25.190] - Tony Roig
Let's go to number three. Oh, number three, I need some work there. You don't have to worry about four, five, and six. And you don't have to worry about whether six is more important than three. No, because we've done that. And so you know that three is where you got to be. And there it is. Simple pimple, right? And so you're not wondering, is this for me? Is it not for me? It's not vague. It's a very clear, do this. And if you're doing it, great, then move on to the next one. If you're not doing it, hang out there until you're doing it, and then move on to the next one, and then move on to the next one. And that's how you're going to improve as a pickleball player. One dominant at a time, folks, you cannot go to the end. And this is where I think frustration builds in as well, is this idea that not only is there a vague thing that I'm supposed to do, I want it now. The way it's presented is like, just do this, just become this player. What does that mean? And even if you haven't read about it, but you're thinking that way, I just need to play like this other player in my club, or I have a vision of what I need to play like, that's frustration built in, right there.

[00:13:30.880] - Tony Roig
You can't go from where you are now to that, like in Superman big jump. We jump over the building and just get there. It's not life, not real life. So if you want to get to where you want to go as a player, meaning you want to play better. You want to understand the game better. You want to feel more confident. You want your partners to look at you and go, Oh, my God. That stuff is great. How do you do that? One dominant at a time, one step at a time. Just take that one step. What step? The step that's right for you. And there's not one step that's right for everybody. Now, there is an order of progression and priorities and things like that that makes sense. That's why we built the system. That's why we could build the system, because there's a logic to this game. There's a way that it's put together that makes sense. And if you listen to a special episode, it's like the car. There's an order to which these parts go together. You don't start with the alternator when you don't have an engine block in the car yet.

[00:14:26.920] - Tony Roig
It doesn't make sense. Same with pickle ball. You start with the big picture items You work down there and you get better at those. And then later on, there's all kinds of stuff that you can keep on adding to your game. But that's how you'll improve. And what I want to leave you with is this idea. If you're on an improvement journey, and most of you listening to this podcast are on an improvement journey. If you're on an improvement journey in your pickleball, then remember that you're playing a complex sport, a very complex sport. Be wary of sound bitey things that sound great. Listen, they sound great. When I read them, I'm like, Whoa, let's go. I like it. That's what I want. But what are we talking about? Be careful with those and put them under the light a little bit. You'll be like, I don't know how to do that. And then find the domino or the step that's right for you, this next thing that's right for you. And if we can help you with that, we'd love to. Our Pickleball System class is It's opening, I think, in a week or two.

[00:15:31.720] - Tony Roig
If you're listening to it at the time this drops. If not, you can always send us an email if you happen up on this podcast later on. But that's what we do, and we'd love to do it for you if you're open to it inside our Pickleball system. It's the best Coaching program, bar none in Pickleball. Happy to help you if we can. If you're not interested in doing the system, that is perfectly fine, too. But find the step that's right for you. Tackle that one, then take the next one, then take for the next one. That is how you will become the pickleball player that probably is already somewhere inside you. She got to let them out or her out by doing this process. And avoid the frustration of the sound bite, the frustration of trying to get to the end. Right now because you understand as an adult, that's just not how things work. I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast. I hope to see some of you at our clinic. It's like this week, next week. And then I think at the end of the month, we have our live events. I'll be live there answering questions and things like that.

[00:16:33.740] - Tony Roig
I'd love to see you there if you're interested in your improvement journey. If you want to take the next step with us in the system, that would be awesome. We'll see you inside our coaching calls then. As always, if you have a minute, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast and share with your friends. Remember, if you enjoy the podcast, they probably will, too. If your friend's on an improvement journey, this is pretty timely. If you want to share it with them as soon as you can so they take advantage of this free and online clinic that we have going on right now. Be well, and I'll see you next time if I don't see you inside the clinic. Be well.