What I learned from 2 weeks with 4 pros

Jorja Johnson, Tyra Black, JW Johnson, Augie Ge. These 4 individuals make up the Premier MLP team, Dallas Flash Pickleball Club.

A couple months ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to document the team’s very first retreat together, followed by their very first event, MLP Atlanta.

You never know what you can learn from someone, regardless of age, sex, race, socioeconomic background, etc. Athletes are interesting because their work is quite different from most of us, while they spend most of their days enduring physical and mental hardship in the form of sport, the rest of us nowadays are either sitting in front of a screen, at a desk, or also engaging in physical manual blue collar work. Many of these athletes have been involved in their current craft in some form or another since they were old enough to pick up the instrument, carrying through to their early adulthood.

Professional athletes intrigue me because at one point, that was me, too. One thing my background in MMA and submission grappling provides me with is appreciation for their craft. Their dedication to this unpredictable journey that could end at any moment due to injury, or, even burnout, yet, they put all their chips in on this one endeavor. Personally, I always feared what came after the career, how do you articulate or show the value of ones athletic career in the corporate world?

While their day-to-day may differ, they undergo challenges and moments that we can learn from.

• Being a diva and having a temper on the court is a choice. Having negative emotions on the court is NOT a prerequisite for success. True champions know how to manage emotions while competing. Treat emotions like a game of poker, whoever reveals their hand first, forfeits the upper-hand. When you watch matches, notice players’ body language, how they talk to themselves, how they talk to their partner. How do they look when they’re down on points? How do they look when they’re up?

  • when the team went 0-2 on the 2nd day of matches at MLP Atlanta, no fingers were pointed, no abrupt emotional outbursts, no isolation. Despite the age differences, the emotional maturity sustained among the team.

• Tyra mentioned that she plays at the pro level for the same reason she started, because she enjoys the game. This sentiment carries significant weight as she’s been through this path before with her tennis career, and at a very high level. She has gone on to say that the negative competition experience in tennis had gradually pushed her away from the desire to continue playing. It’s easy to lose sight of the enjoyment of the game wherever you are in your journey.

• Augie Ge: this guy has shown what it’s like to be given an opportunity and make the most of it. Many people are given similar opportunities and many squander it. He truly showed up at MLP Atlanta and continues performing with each passing event. We don’t truly know what his training looks like behind the scenes but one thing is certain, if anyone calls him “lucky”, it’s only because “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
  

• The Johnsons. Family first. Granted, not every family is as fortunate to be as close and involved in eachother’s day to day such as theirs but being around them reminded me how easy it can be to take family for granted.

This post also marks the end of my time with the team. Nothing lasts forever. However, I will remain grateful for the opportunity, to be able to capture these individuals behind the scenes, moments that I felt were private, but thanks to them and their willingness to be transparent and have a camera pointed at them for 2 weeks by a complete stranger, we would go on to capture moments turned into memories.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you. ⚡️