Hey Pickle Fam,

Last week, a student who's a solid 4.5 competitive player called me. She had a rough session that day and came off the court saying things like "I'm SO bad. I'm a terrible pickleball player. I just suck." She suggested maybe she actually was about 2 levels down from where she typically plays, and was frustrated and largely inconsolable.

Sound familiar? I hear some version of this constantly. A bad game, a rough day of dinking, losing more games than they win, and suddenly their whole identity collapses. Not "I played badly today." But "I am bad."

Pickleball is a game of peaks and valleys. Some days you feel like you've figured it all out. And what a high. Other days you feel like you've never picked up a paddle before and there's just no finding it.

But that's pickleball baby! (insert jazz hands)

And when you're actively learning something new - changing your grip, rebuilding your reset, working on a shot you're not comfortable with yet - those valleys get even deeper. My observation is that there's a 3 to 6 month lag for a single skill to start feeling natural. That's not a sign you're slow. That's literally how motor learning works.

But none of that logic lands when you're in the middle of a frustrating session telling yourself you should quit.

So here's what I want you to start paying attention to: how are you're talking to yourself after a miss...or 10 misses?

Not to be perfect about it. Not to force toxic positivity. But to notice the difference between "that shot didn't go where I wanted" and "I'm terrible at this." One is a fact about a moment. The other is a story about your identity, and it's usually a lie.

Bad days are part of the deal. You're out here learning and growing and doing athlete things. And if you want to grow faster (and feel less terrible), learn to let them go, watch your self-talk, and try to hold the bigger picture - even when the bigger picture is hard to see from inside a rough session.

You're better than your worst day on the court. Don't let a few bad points convince you otherwise.

And that student...2 days later, they were playing just fine again. Imagine that!

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See you on the courts!

Coach Jess
Athena Pickleball 🏓✨
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