INSTRUCTION
Iron Sharpens Iron — Find Your Collin
The # 1 player in the world doesn ’ t play pickleball . There , I said it . Let that soak in for a moment . Ben Johns , the unanimously agreed upon GOAT of the game , doesn ’ t play pickleball . In a recent Q & A I hosted at the PPA Masters , an audience member asked , “ Ben , how often do you drill vs . play pickleball ?” His answer came swiftly . No math was required for him to deliver a resounding , “ One-hundred percent , I don ’ t play pickleball . I only drill .” I then asked , “ Who is your favorite drilling partner ?” To which he replied , “ I only have one , my brother .” Ben and Collin , two brothers , side by side , with an acute understanding of purposeful practice . Iron sharpens iron .
Who ’ s your iron ? Are you even sharpening your skills , or just enjoying the ongoing maintenance that simply playing the game can afford you ? Week after week I meet the same person . The names change but the story doesn ’ t . People want to improve so they come for a lesson . What they really want is a magic pill — one nugget of information that will radically improve their game , without the need to practice the skill until their shoes can no longer contain the kind of sweat that only real commitment can drip .
I love a good paradox and pickleball as a sport is indeed one for the ages . The immense enjoyment people get from playing pickleball is the very thing that stops people from getting better at it , and getting better at pickleball is exactly what will help you enjoy it most .
Imagine that pickleball was simply as enjoyable as tennis ( sorry Big Tennis , but you know it ’ s true ). To really enjoy tennis , it takes a lot of work . Group lessons , private lessons , drilling , and team practice are all staples in the mind of a tennis player who enjoys the game . Why ? Because that ’ s what ’ s required to be competent enough to just have a decent rally , let alone compete well .
Pickleball doesn ’ t have the inherent need for training that many other sports do , for one simple reason : it ’ s not required to thoroughly enjoy the game . That ’ s all most people want , right ? Just to have fun . Fair enough . However , if you want to find out how much fun you can have , then it means getting better .
The immense enjoyment people get from playing pickleball is the very thing that stops people from getting better at it .
By Morgan Evans
Your regular games will help you get incrementally better until you plateau and then you will likely do what most people do , play longer and / or play more often . If this describes you , then just know you ’ re really just kicking the can down the street while defying the oldest sports science principle in the book — stress + rest = growth .
Enjoyment in sports is often linked to how people experience what ’ s referred to as a “ flow state ” or “ zone .” That state of being is what happens when the level of challenge is comparable to the level of skill of the player . If the challenge is too great or the skill of a player is far beyond the difficulty of the challenge , then a person will never find “ the zone .”
I recently did some announcing for a PPA event in Mesa , Arizona , and was lucky enough to watch the Johns brothers get into the zone and stay there for seemingly an entire match . On the air I paid tribute to their opponents for the role they played . JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier are incredible players and have the potential , in my opinion , of elevating this sport in the same way that Ben and Simone Jardim have .
I often feel sorry for Ben because his equal doesn ’ t yet exist , so the closest he ’ ll get to that beautiful flow state where challenge is met with equal skill doesn ’ t happen very often at all and can only really be dealt by the hands of his brother , drilling , one-on-one . They say it ’ s lonely at the top , but at least he has a best friend along for the ride .
If you ’ re one of the 250,000 + core pickleball players who enjoy competing , then my message is this : Find your Collin , whoever they are . Learn to love the grind with them because I can assure you it ’ s coming . The day where practicing this game becomes mandatory to truly enjoy the game is coming … fast . •