A bias towards action, JOOLA GEN3, writing prompt

today’s newsletter:

• having a bias towards action

• JOOLA event / Gen3 paddles

• SXSW recap video

• writing prompt - future self

• kitchen attack game design

• why your attitude on court matters

• song recommendation

A bias towards action

plans, dreams, goals, and ideas are worth nothing without action. Hesitation, procrastination, planning, and waiting are the enemy of action. Unless you have a really good reason to wait, just go. Alex Hormozi once stated that most of our stress comes from indecision. I couldn’t agree more. Finding out is better than not knowing at all.

JOOLA GEN3

JOOLA has released their highly anticipated Gen 3 paddles (officially on JOOLA’s website April 16th) and last month they held a 2 day media event in New Orleans and I was fortunate enough to be invited alongside many others like Chris Olson (Pickleball Studio), Pickleball Will, Braydon (Pickleball Effect), JohnKew, and Keith (Pickleball Pirates). The vlog/media event coverage is up, including some gameplay footage:

I also sat down with 5 players (Ben, CJ, Anna B., Simone, Tyson) and will release each of those conversations as well.

You can find the JOOLA discount code and product links for each model here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZFFJmAZSB2CYwHtlr1rw5Dm0zWfVHMwcMoQtboFK9wY/edit#gid=0

SXSW recap video:

writing prompt:

grab a pen and paper and find somewhere quiet to sit down and write for 5 minutes based on the following prompt:

‘If you were to place yourself into the future and your future self was reflecting on your life, what would you regret?’

kitchen attack game design

In a developing sport like Pickleball, I find practice, coaching, and skill development to be stagnant. If you’ve been watching the channel you know how strongly I feel about this. I’ve been working on this attack game influenced by the constraints-led approach and my coach, Greg Souders, from Standard Jiu-Jitsu. Everything from how to structure it to the realizations and discoveries I gained is included in the video.

why your attitude on court matters

recently, I had a friend express to me their frustration in finding partners to play tournaments with. We all have that friend (or friends). A friend with high expectations and the desire to be the best. When they expressed to me their frustration in finding partners and how they see themselves as better than their peers, here’s what I sent:

• Sometimes they (peers) don’t have to be good all the time, it just takes being good at the right times. Tournaments can be like that. You have more knowledge and info on the local guys than the tournament draw players do. If their opponents don’t expose what you know then that can be enough to make it to the next round.

• I don’t know if it’s 100% that people think you’re not good. Perhaps some people also just want to have an enjoyable tournament experience and honestly you being really hard on yourself can give the impression that you’re being hard on whoever you’re playing with. It can make other people tense. I don’t know if that’s the main factor but it’s something to take into consideration.

Coming from a career and environment like pursuing a professional career in MMA, I’ve seen this and how it plays out. I think Pickleball hasn’t just been a 2nd chance in developing a skill but also changing the way I pursue the game. This time is different. As cliche as it sounds, I’ve truly found a way to enjoy the journey. When I look back at my MMA career, I look back on how serious I took it and how few moments I truly got to enjoy because I was so determined and set to be the best that I forgot to cherish the moments with my training partners and coach. While I think that determination helped me get to where I got, I also think I could’ve reaped the same benefits with a different outlook.

my final text to them:

• You have high expectations for yourself, and that’s okay. But be strict with yourself and tolerant with others. Some (maybe most) people can’t handle that kinda intensity.

  Just focus on being a better version of yourself and that other stuff will come. Consider being more forgiving to yourself. You hear about it in the pro scene. People who aren’t fun to play with or are difficult have trouble finding partners. I’ve heard Tyson is such a supportive and encouraging teammate on the court and CJ as well. Do you have to relentlessly praise people? No, but, people get maybe 2 hours to play Pickleball, it’s something they look forward to all day, be part of the reason they look forward to it.

A lot of people want to be the best. But this is a team sport. Unless you have the perfect synergy, ability alone won’t always take you to the top.

song recommendation:

as always, thanks for stopping by.