INSTRUCTION
How to Turn Pickleball Excuses into Gold
I am going out on a limb , albeit a short one , to say that every one of us has made a pickleball excuse at some point : No warmup , too windy , hungover , waiting on new paddle , ball not a Dura / Franklin / whatever , need new prescriptions , shadow on court , partner choked , moon not in the 7th house , etc . What ’ s that all about ?
It ’ s about distancing and shielding ourselves from personal responsibility . Excuses serve to protect our egos , while alleviating the anxiety we might feel from failure . Are they healthy ? You can answer that question yourself . For my own personal pickleball growth , I have learned a lot from my excuses . And I have gotten to a place where I can catch them either in the act or afterward . At which time , I start the process of spinning them into gold .
Here ’ s an example . Player A is playing with Player B . Player B hits what was going to be an out-ball , keeping it in play . When the opponents return the ball back to Team A / B , Player A hits an easy dink into the net , and says to Player B during the game , “ You shouldn ’ t have hit that out-ball or I wouldn ’ t have made that error !”
I would say to Player A it is not constructive to blame your partner , before , after , or especially during a match . Instead , maybe Player A could spend more time practicing their dinks ? Turning their excuses into gold .
Further exploring the scenario , Player A was trying to cover up their own inadequate play and pass the blame on to someone else . And while this might make players feel good about themselves in the moment , it would not lead to their improvement as a player or endear themselves to their partners . Especially when you step into competitive play , it is vital to be 110 percent in support of your partner .
Note : If we accept the truth of our situations , we have the potential to be our own best teachers . “ Darn it , I should have made that dink .” ( Realization ) “ My bad .” ( Responsibility ) “ I am going to take time to practice more .” ( Action )
That ’ s an example of how to deal with our own excuses , but how should we respond when someone
By Rick Cipes
else makes them ? In the example above , Player B doesn ’ t respond at all to Player A ’ s slap on the wrist . Do you think this player should have apologized for hitting an out-ball ? I would say maybe an apology would be good if you ’ re dealing with an adolescent . I typically let mundane pickleball excuses from adults fly right by me , while smiling to myself because they ’ re so transparent .
These excuses come from deep within our protective psyches and it takes conscious effort to tame them . You can start by just trying to recognize excuses , in yourself and others . When you discover your own , cross-examine them , be your best teacher , and use it as a tool for selfimprovement and better pickleball play .
Hey , once again , we all got ‘ em : pre-game excuses , ingame excuses , and post-game excuses . I would suggest they don ’ t make us better players or partners , or even people , and that there is definitely “ gold in them hills !” if you dig deep . •
Rick Cipes has written for more than 40 publications , including the L . A . Times and ESPN Magazine . Join his Facebook group , the Inner Game of Pickleball , or check out his brand of fun pickleball clothing at
innergameofpickleball . com .