Go Down Swinging

The door of opportunity does not swing open forever. When presented with an opportunity, it is important to make the most of it. For instance, in the game of baseball/softball when you step into the batter’s box, you only have three strikes to make something happen for your team and reach base safely. One of the worst feelings as a baseball/softball player is striking out without even taking a swing—in other words, striking out with your bat on your shoulder because you were hesitant, tentative, and scared to swing. If you have a good pitch—a good opportunity—you have to take a swing and go for it. The same holds true for the sport of pickleball. The worst feeling on the pickleball court, in my opinion, is to lose a pickleball game when playing hesitant, tentative, or tight.

Once you are on the pickleball court, it is time to play aggressively. This doesn’t mean that you have to change your style of play and “bang” your way through every point. However, this does mean that you aggressively play your style of play and put pressure on your opponents when you can. For instance, when your opponents do pop-up a pickleball, put your best shot on the pickleball. Instead of playing afraid to make a mistake and afraid to lose, play to win and play without timidity. If you are going to go down, better to go down swinging and giving it your all!

Get more tips to play better pickleball with The Pickler’s video series, My Pro Pickleball Coach!