I played my first Pickleball singles tournament and my right leg feels like someone took a bat to my quad. Both Butt muscles are pulled. And there’s a few knicks in my ankles. Luckily, I brought my Hyperice massage gun which helped somewhat.
Cramps!
My right leg was cramping in the second round robin warm up. If I was playing tennis I probably would have defaulted. I gutted through that match and the following six. I was able to win the first 4 and then ran into the top player. After some back and forth I decided to tank the second half of the game to save my body (assuming I made it to the medal rounds). I slapped some forehands. Hit a few tweener approaches and goofed off a bit. After I lost, I lost again to a lower ranked player for a couple reasons.
My body was feeling terrible and I thought I could get away with just “showing up.” In a way that was bad judgement on my part (happened in tennis too. I’d think the match was over in the warm up and I was too foolish to think the guy was going to surrender. The players that are scary to play sometimes, are the ones with no ego.
Like I said, I thought I could get away with just putting the ball in play instead of being aggressive.
Lesson learned!
Leave the worries for after the matches. Stay tuned on what’s going to get you the W. In tennis, I could just go to a drop shot lob kind of game against these players. In pickle, those don’t work because most players can track the dropper and it’s a tight area to pull off a lob (although I still think I can pull this off. I just have to work harder on my cut lob).
-The third reason was that the guy was ready to play. I had moments early to shut the door and on my end I hit the “pickleball wall” mentally.
Use your timeouts!
About the forehand
Important technical note for tennis players transitioning to competitive pickleball play!
The forehand.
At the moment, I’m hitting a loaded forehand (although I chipped the crap out of it most the tournament to play “safe” and I chipped the line and charged the net). A loaded forehand is a high set (setting the paddle around ear on takeback). What I’m realizing is that when I approach the contact like tennis it limits what I can do and it can be “read” or I telegraph the shot I’m hitting (but I don’t like low sets. And a lot of non-tennis playing picklers use a “block” set or a “push” forehand which you couldn’t use on the tennis court and survive. The paddle set I’m using also creates an inside swing path. This is good if all I want to do is hit straight or inside out. It doesn’t work so well for crosscourts.
Solution!
I’m going to work on an outside set (basically, I’ll hold the paddle farther away from the side of my body).
Why am I trying this?
Because I want more deception and more options.
Mostly the deception.
If I approach the ball from the outside it will give me the options to hit all the spots with topspin and also use a hidden slice forehand to change pace and I still should have the line forehand and the inside out. I can also use a side swipe inside out shot.
Important note!
You have to remember, THIS IS NOT TENNIS. When we swing from the inside path, the paddle is sideways. This is a problem. The paddle is so small that you’re using the small side. For whatever reason, in pickleball, It helps more to use the long side as you approach contact, which is why you see ATP players failing at pickleball.
One good example. Watch Tyler McGuffin. On the tennis court, he would be a 4.0 tennis player. Maybe a 4.5 at best if he put the years in that it takes to polish the swing. Yet, on the pickle ball court his swiping forehand is solid.
Another important note…
When my body recovers in a few days I have to hit the bricks again. I have to build on the soreness so it happens less. The same goes for training. If I run the stadium at Umass for two weeks and don’t go back for two week, I lose what I built and have to start from scratch. It takes about 6 to 8 weeks of commitment to pass the first phase of conditioning and there are other layers to add after a few weeks off, and 6 to 8 weeks on (which is why I don’t compete in tennis anymore. I don’t have the time to do that).
The same rule applies for tournaments.
If you play a tournament and don’t do another one for a few weeks, you lose the “competitive build.”
You start from scratch. You can do two weeks on and one week off. You can do three weeks on and one week off. It all depends on how you plan the next 6, 9, and 12 months.
For instance, I plan to play three, maybe four weekends in a row and then shut it down to rest.
Rest the body.
Rest the mind.
And let the matches “sink in” and I can evaluate my next steps.
As for my play this weekend, I feel like I played a 4 out of 10 of what I’m capable of. The good news is that my legs will recover and I will be able to play longer the next time.
Also, my goal is to punish my body for those 4 weeks to get ready for the 50 senior pro event in cape coral in march which is 8 weeks away (I’m also going to try to sneak into the Pro qualies) and I’m hoping to be at 6 out of 10 by then.
Why only 6? Rome wasn’t built in a day. Learning comes in segments. And you have to be self aware of where you are (don’t lie to yourself. It only holds you back) and where you want to be.
That’s easy right?
Wrong.
If you want to get good, you have to take one step at a time. The Pickleball process will take 12 to 18 months if you do it right. Spend a few months on each aspect. In practice and in play and in tournaments
THE FOOL FOCUSES ON RESULTS!!!!!
Results get you nowhere.
Focus on the process. Build weapons. Forge technique. Accept defeat and learn from it. And have fun in the process.
FUN!
Don’t be a stiff!
One hour of Singles-Pickleball (that takes me through 4 games to 11) is 1.5 hours of my usual tennis practice session of warm-ups and 2 sets! My tennis hitting partners and me are exhausted at the one-hour mark and remember, I’m only playing the half length of the court. In time, I’ll extend the length to 4.5 meters and later to the full-width. There’s lot of strategy taking place in Pickleball.
Another note I could add is the way the volleys are executed in pickleball compared to tennis. You have to flick the wrist horizontaly in front towards the spot you aim (like thorwing a freezbie), while in tennis you can redirect the incoming pace with a half-slice motion. No no, here, you have to put some “punch” behind the volley.