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Hello and welcome to pickleball Therapy,
the podcast dedicated to

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your pickleball improvement.

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It's the podcast dedicated
to your pickleball mind.

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I am your host of this
weekly podcast, Tony Roig.

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I am a full-time pickleball professional.

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This is what I do with all of my time is
break down pickleball, provide pickleball

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coaching, think about pickleball, how to
teach it better, and record content like

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this, YouTube videos and podcasts like
this, to hopefully bring some additional

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value, some additional knowledge to
your pickleball game, to your pickleball

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journey, to your pickleball relationship.

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In this week's podcast, I'm
going to be diving into rules.

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If you're watching on YouTube, behind me,
you'll see rules, rules,

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rules written on the board.

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And here's the thing about rules.

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It is a rules-based game, but the rules
we're going to be talking about today are

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the rules that are like
rules of the road, if you will.

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Things that you hear from players at the
court, like strategy rules, like maxims,

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things like 400 in the middle, respect the
ex, get to the MVZ, all those things are

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the type of rules we're
going to be talking about.

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And the reason is because rules
can be helpful, but they can also be

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detrimental if you're following too many
rules or if you're

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following the wrong rules.

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So in this podcast, I'm going to
give you some guidance

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as to determining what rules
to follow and what rules may be to go,

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not sure about that one.

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Let me give that some thought
before you dive right into it.

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And then in the RIF, I'm going to talk to
you about About the forest from the trees.

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Again, behind me on YouTube, you'll
see a tree and you'll see a forest.

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So we'll talk about that in the RIF.

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Let's go and dive straight into the
content of this week's podcast or

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the concept of this week's podcast.

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And what we're dealing with is we're
dealing with this idea

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of these rules, right?

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And this podcast,
the reason I wanted to talk about it this

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week is because there's been some
online chatter about rules, right?

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And about the way that
you think about rules.

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And another coach who's fairly well
followed on Facebook, wrote a couple of

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posts dealing with
what he described as binary and rigid

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rules, and that you shouldn't follow them,
so you should follow this idea that

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he referred to as strategic fluidity.

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And in those rules that he describes as
being too rigid and should

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be applied was respect the X.

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So that obviously came to my attention
because, I don't know if you know it or

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not, but we're the
originators of respect the X.

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Back in 2018, I'm pretty sure, was when
the first video on respect the X came out.

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It survived the test of time.

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It's a really great rule to understand,
great guideline to understand,

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as well as to understand when to use
it and when to break it intentionally.

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As as opposed to just reaching across
and getting balls across the middle.

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I'm not going to dive
into Respect the X here.

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If you want to know more about Respect the
X, the strategy of it, you can go to the

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In2Pickle channel and
check out our playlist.

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We have an entire
playlist on Respect the X.

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And then we're updating the Respect the X
guide that we have.

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That's a free resource that you
can get at betterpickleball.

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Com.

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So just be on the look out for that when
it comes out and you

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can get a copy of that.

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It's going to be the most comprehensive
guide on Respect the X available.

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But let's talk about this idea that there
are some rules that

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basically we shouldn't follow
rigid rules or binary types of rules.

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Here's the thing.

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The idea of fluidity and pickleball,
strategic fluidity, if you want to use the

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terminology I was using the post,
it's a fine concept.

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In theory, it sounds great.
I want to be fluid.

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I want to be adapt to everything.
Great.

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But how does that work in practice?

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How does that work when you're out
there actually trying to do it?

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Who hits the ball?

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That's what respect the X deals with.

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Respect the X, just
real briefly, respect the X is,

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helps you deal with middle ball
uncertainty when you're playing doubles,

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because that's where the problems arise.
There's never a problem.

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If the ball gets If the ball gets to
the outside of me, I know it's mine.

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If the ball gets to the
outside of you, it's yours.

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What happens with the balls in the middle?

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Who covers those?

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The ones that are coming across that
middle, that's what trouble it issues.

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That's why that saying,
the middle solves riddle.

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Why do you think that came up
because the middle is so powerful.

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All sorts of confusion in there.

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Respect the X was designed, I designed it,
I should say, back in 2018 to deal with

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that because I was playing pickleball
and that forehand in the

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middle wasn't working.

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We have a video on the In2Pickle channel
that explains It means why forehand

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in the middle is not a great rule.

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You can check that out if you
want to know more about it.

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But respect the X was designed to
deal with this middle coverage issue.

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How do you determine who gets the ball?

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All things being equal,
who should take the ball.

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I don't believe it's a rigid rule, but
it's certainly a rule that is there and

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available to you to avoid
confusion between doubles partners.

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Another rule that would be a rigid rule,
if you want to call it that, is we're

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trying to play the pickleball from the
non-volley zone line as much as possible.

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I don't believe any coach who understands
the game would disagree with that

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principle that if you can, you want to
play from the non-volley zone line,

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understanding that, strategically
speaking, the team at the non-volley zone

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line, again, all things being equal,
will defeat a team that's not

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at the non-volley zone line.

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Those are the types of rules that help
guide the way that we think about

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pickleball.

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Another rule, if you're thinking of your
assistant Remember, you're really familiar

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with this, is the idea of
keeping your opponents back.

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It's
the other side of the coin of you want to

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play the non-volley zone line is you
don't want them to, your opponents.

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The further you can keep them
back, the better off you'll be.

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Those are guidelines That's all the things
that you can use to help you determine

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the strategies for your shots.

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One more that I'll give you is angles.

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Make angles, right?
Beget angles.

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Basically, if you're going to shoot an
angle shot off, you better be

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ready for counterangles back.

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Those are all things that can
help you have a better understanding of

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the way that a pickleball rally is
constructed and how to deal

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with who takes what shot.

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So I believe it is helpful, big picture,
as a player, to have an idea of these

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rules or these guidelines that help you
determine the best shot in any given

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situation, as opposed to
a purely fluid approach that requires that

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you factor in all of the variables
in a rally before you decide what to

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hit every single shot that you hit.

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Here's the thing.

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If you looked at it scientifically, a
rally, every time that you hit a shot,

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particularly, let's say, deep in a rally,
so you're hitting the

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seventh shot in the rally.

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There are many variables that you need to
factor in or compute to

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determine the best shot.

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Most players, even the pro players,
I'm I'm working with pro players.

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Even the pro players don't try and figure
it out in the moment every single time.

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It's just too much.
We don't have enough bandwidth for that.

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Our brains don't work that fast.

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To be able to calculate exactly where the
opponents are, exactly where you and your

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partner are, exactly what shot got hit
your way, exactly what your abilities are

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with that type of shot, what you can do
with it, what you should do with

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it, what the optimal shot is.

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What most advanced players do is
they have certain patterns and

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tendencies that they bring to the table.

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Now, that's not to say that you
can't make adjustments as you go.

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You're playing a game and
you're trying something...

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You're trying strategy X, right?
But I don't use X.

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That's our strategy.
It's strategy A, right?

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And strategy A isn't working.

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So you can pivot the strategy B.

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You can modify strategy
A and make it strategy B.

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That's perfectly fine.

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But this idea that we're not going to play
based on some

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general appreciation of strategies,
general appreciation of our own strengths,

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general appreciation of our opponent's
tendencies when we play, is

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something I think is not...

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Sounds great, right?

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Fluid strategy, but in
application, breaks down.

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So when I read all this, it made me start
thinking about,

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what do you do if you're a player out
there and you're trying to

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figure this out yourself, right?

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Which you should.
I mean, this is your journey, right?

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How do I deal with this?

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What rules do I apply?
What rules don't I apply?

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So I came up with some ideas here, some
guidelines or some suggestions.

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You can call them rules if you want to.

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Which I'll help you determine what rules
How to screen rules, how to filter rules,

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and how to gatekeep, if
you will, your own journey.

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Because here's the thing, even if you're
going to discard all the

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other rules and then have...

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Here's the irony.

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So the suggestion is, let's
get rid of these rules.

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And the thing is, there's no explanation
as to why the rules shouldn't be applied,

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which is going to be
important in a second.

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You'll understand.
In a second.

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If you're going to argue against
a rule, argue against the rule.

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Why?
It doesn't make sense.

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Four hand in the middle, doesn't work.

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We explained why it doesn't work.

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We made a video on it, and here's
the reason it doesn't work.

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You can watch the video
and then make a decision.

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You know what?

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Tony's not right about that.

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I'm going with four hand in the middle.

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That's your right as a pickleball player.

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But when there's just a suggestion that
this rule shouldn't be followed because

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it's binary or because it's rigid.

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That's not a conversation.

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Then the irony of it is then it's replaced
with another rule, which is use

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fluid strategy, which is a rule.

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You do this way without any explanation of
how to do fluid strategy or how it works.

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I've already explained to you that the
problem I see with that is in application,

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I don't really know how that works.

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Also, now you have a further complication
because we're usually talking

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about doubles in these situations.

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What's my fluid strategy and what's your
fluid strategy is maybe

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two different things.

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So who gets to decide that?

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But anyway, so here's some ideas on how
you can determine what rules to follow

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and which ones not to.

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Number one is the source.

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Where does the rule or
the suggestion come from?

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In this case, I would say the suggestion
came from a well-respected coach.

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And so from a source standpoint, it's not
problematic because this coach been around

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the block, been successful
as a player and as a coach.

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And so you look at that and you go,
Okay, the source source is good.

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But there are many times, not this coach,
but there's many times when you're getting

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advice that the source is questionable.

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An example are players at your courts.

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And no offense to any
player out there, right?

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But many times players at the courts don't
have a deep enough understanding of

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pickleball to be giving
advice to other players.

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Not only that, they don't really
understand your game or what you need

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or where you're at and things like that.

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So That's the advice that you
take with a grain of salt.

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Maybe you write it down or make a note of
it and think about it later or

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double-check it if you
want to, things like that.

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But don't just take advice you hear at
the courts and just go, Boom, I'm in.

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Because I can tell you one thing.

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When I was a new player,
I got a lot of bad advice, just a lot of

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bad advice from players at the courts.

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And again, nothing against those players.
They meant well.

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They weren't trying to do anything wrong.

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But I, as a sentient human being, have
the ability to say, You know what?

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I appreciate it, but I'm not going to take
that into my game because I don't know if

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you know what you're talking about, right?

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And the other thing is, and the fact that
they're a good player, or you hear it from

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a potentially good player, doesn't
not mean anything, but doesn't just

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say, Okay, they're a good player.
They must know what they're talking about.

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Not the case.

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There's many situations where you have
players who appear to be good players

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because they are succeeding, in They're
succeeding in their area, they're

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beating other players in the area.

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But those players, once you face them to
good players in other areas,

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maybe not as good, also don't have the
understanding of the game that is going to

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be helpful to a player like you, and if
you want to really understand the game.

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So what you want to look for is you want
to look for sources who are serious about

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pickleball, who are professionals, is what
I'd recommend, and who are

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And if it's well thought out, well thought
out advice, these one-line things,

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respect the X is shorthand.

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But respect the X isn't the whole
thing because alone, it's not enough.

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To understand respect the X, you got to
understand what it is and

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also when you don't apply it.

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So when you break the
X is what we call it.

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It's just respect the X.
It's again, shorthand.

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But a lot of times these rules get
thrown out there like dogma, right?

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Do this.
But there's never any backing to it.

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There's never any like,
well, what does that mean?

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And I'll get to that in a little more in
a second because that's also important.

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But is it a well-thought-out
idea from this player?

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Or is it just something that they
heard and they're parroting to you?

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Just be careful with that.

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I can tell you that in terms of sources, I
assure you that everything that we

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provide to you a better pickleball is
well-thought-out and your source is solid.

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Anything you hear on this podcast or
Better pickleball is something you

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can take to the bank, so to speak.

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Now, this one's tricky.
The second one is tricky.

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I'm going to get to the explanation
of it in a second as the number three.

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But number two is a tricky one
because number two talks about it being

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consistent with what you already know.

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Now, that one cuts both ways
because there are times you're going to

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hear something that runs contrary
to something else that you've heard.

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And then you have to figure out, well,
oh, man, now I got conflict here.

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What do I do?

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If the original source material
came from a reputable source.

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So let's say you came to one of our
workshops, and we have another one coming

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up in September that you're
welcome to join this for.

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But you come into one of our workshops and
you hear something about the most It's the

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most important shot in pickleball
that we explain in the workshop.

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And then someone at the court
says, No, that's not right.

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This is the most important shot.

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So now you have conflict, right?

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In
that situation, you're going to discard

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the player at the courts who's telling you
different than the trusted source

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who told you the other thing.

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It also works the other way.
That's why it's tricky.

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Because you may have heard, for instance,
get to the non-visal line as soon as

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possible when the third shot is hit.

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That's a very common advice that
players get early on in their careers.

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From us, you're going to hear
something very different than that.

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Now, you have to make a decision
because you have a conflict.

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It's not like these
two are irreconcilable.

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So you will have to pick one.

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Our advice there is to pick ours because,
again, we are the more trusted source.

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We are the source that has a
better understanding of the game.

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And also, we're going to explain it
to you, which I'll get to in a second.

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And the other one is simply like, Get
up here, get up here, get up here.

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But they don't really have
a real explanation for it in that context,

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other than the understanding that the
non-bolly's in the line is good, which is

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true, but there's more context to that
when you're playing on the surf side.

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So just be cognizant.

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And I will tell you this, a lot of what we
teach at Better pickleball is

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going to be contrarian.
It seemed contrarian.

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00:14:59,885 --> 00:15:03,060
It's going to seem like, Oh, man, these
guys are going against

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what I've heard out there.

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If we are, it's because
what you've heard is wrong.

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And we're not just going to simply keep
parroting or mimicking information that is

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incorrect out there and
not give you what really matters,

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because we're serious about what we do,
and we believe that we have confidence in

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you as a, again, essentially human being,
and we want to communicate with you in

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a way that will help you with your game.

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So we're going to buck the
trends whenever it's necessary.

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00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,640
And then the third component of it is
going to be the explanation

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00:15:34,665 --> 00:15:37,360
that goes along with it.

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00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:41,540
How does it work?

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00:15:41,565 --> 00:15:44,200
How does it work under
different scenarios?

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00:15:44,225 --> 00:15:45,660
Let's explore it.

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00:15:45,685 --> 00:15:49,860
There's a term that, back in my prior
professional career, you like blackboxing.

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00:15:49,885 --> 00:15:51,240
You blackbox something.

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00:15:51,265 --> 00:15:55,680
So you take an idea or an equation or
something, and you run it through a black

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00:15:55,705 --> 00:15:58,295
box several times with different inputs.

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00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,960
And then you see what outputs come out
and see whether the thing works or not.

305
00:16:00,985 --> 00:16:03,900
If it makes sense or doesn't make sense.

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Respect the X,
I've explained it for six years.

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00:16:07,065 --> 00:16:09,020
We've explained it for six years.
It works.

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00:16:09,045 --> 00:16:13,680
It's a great guideline
to apply for doubles.

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00:16:13,705 --> 00:16:17,120
It really simplifies things,
makes things much clearer for both

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00:16:17,145 --> 00:16:20,880
players, and it still has enough
exceptions to it for

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00:16:20,905 --> 00:16:23,740
breaking the X intentionally.

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00:16:23,765 --> 00:16:28,575
It's an all-around awesome rule that stood
the test of time, and we explain it

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00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:29,820
thoroughly in all different scenarios.

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00:16:29,845 --> 00:16:36,360
And I have yet to
have someone, a coach or another player,

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00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:41,580
challenge the X
from a functional standpoint, with any

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00:16:41,605 --> 00:16:47,295
substance, with any depth, that would
Excuse me, that would undermine the

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00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:48,880
respect the ex.
And I'll tell you this.

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00:16:48,905 --> 00:16:52,160
I'm going to take a sip
of water real quick.

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00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:53,920
Had some popcorn a little bit ago.

320
00:16:53,945 --> 00:16:56,500
I think I have a little
pea stuck in there.

321
00:16:56,525 --> 00:16:57,840
I'll tell you this.

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00:16:57,865 --> 00:17:04,010
If it was shown to us that respect the ex
was flawed, we would pivot

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00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,250
because we're not interested in advocating
positions that are flawed, right?

324
00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,940
But we know it works.
That's why we keep on advocating it.

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00:17:10,965 --> 00:17:14,880
On the flip side, again, it's not a
criticism of the coach who advocated this,

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00:17:14,905 --> 00:17:19,460
but I will tell you that the post that had
this idea of strategic fluidity,

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00:17:19,485 --> 00:17:22,135
there's no real application of it.

328
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,400
It's just basically like, adapt to the
situations that are in

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00:17:24,425 --> 00:17:25,380
front of you at every time.

330
00:17:25,405 --> 00:17:30,220
We all do that, and we all want
to do it, and we all do it.

331
00:17:30,245 --> 00:17:36,375
When I drive down the road, I apply
strategic fluidity because I'm like, The

332
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,720
driver in the right lane is
coming over a little slow.

333
00:17:38,745 --> 00:17:40,415
I got to back up.
I got to break.

334
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,760
There is a merge coming in.
The light's turning red.

335
00:17:42,785 --> 00:17:44,760
All these different factors are happening.
That's strategic fluidity.

336
00:17:44,785 --> 00:17:48,000
But I also have general rules
that I apply when I drive.

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00:17:48,025 --> 00:17:51,050
I don't drive like a lunatic.

338
00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,120
I keep some distance with other cars.

339
00:17:53,145 --> 00:17:55,400
I know how to move my foot from the...

340
00:17:55,425 --> 00:17:59,940
I know that the break stops the car and
the accelerator makes the car

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00:17:59,965 --> 00:18:02,860
go faster, things like that.
Those are rules I drive with.

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00:18:02,885 --> 00:18:06,600
Within that, there's strategic fluidity,
but it's very vague to just say strategic

343
00:18:06,625 --> 00:18:12,940
fluidity in pickleball because there's
no real guidance on how to do that.

344
00:18:12,965 --> 00:18:15,380
So conceptually, on paper, fantastic.

345
00:18:15,405 --> 00:18:18,015
Application, not really
seeing how that works.

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00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,380
And that's the stuff that when you get a
rule, when you get a thing, black box it.

347
00:18:21,405 --> 00:18:22,330
How does this work?

348
00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:24,680
How is it going to work when I'm playing
with Bob, when I'm playing with Mary, when

349
00:18:24,705 --> 00:18:27,180
I'm playing with Sue,
when I'm playing with Joe?

350
00:18:27,205 --> 00:18:29,040
How does this work in practice?

351
00:18:29,065 --> 00:18:33,240
Those Those are three different ways that
you can think about rules that come in.

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00:18:33,265 --> 00:18:36,720
But be mindful of your
gateway, of your gate, right?

353
00:18:36,745 --> 00:18:40,880
Of your gatekeeper yourself, because just
having all these rules thrown at you and

354
00:18:40,905 --> 00:18:46,810
just bam, bam, bam, bam, bam
a very difficult way to play pickleball.

355
00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:52,700
It'll take you down some weird paths and
create uncertainty in you, unnecessarily.

356
00:18:52,725 --> 00:18:54,535
So hopefully these three will help you.

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00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,840
And listen, if you get posed with a rule
in the future and you don't remember, come

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00:18:57,865 --> 00:19:00,760
back to this episode, check it out, and
remind yourself of the three things,

359
00:19:00,785 --> 00:19:03,415
and then test it, see what you think.

360
00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:04,840
All right, let's dive
straight into the RIF.

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00:19:04,865 --> 00:19:10,960
So the idea of the RIF is,
sometimes when we are

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00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:16,200
playing or working on ourselves, working
on our game, sometimes we can lose

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00:19:16,225 --> 00:19:18,220
sight of the forest for the trees.

364
00:19:18,245 --> 00:19:23,940
We get so hyper-focused on a tree that
we lose sight of the bigger picture.

365
00:19:23,965 --> 00:19:28,500
And here what I'm talking about are things
like how you're going to approach a game,

366
00:19:28,525 --> 00:19:32,220
how you're going to approach your play.

367
00:19:32,245 --> 00:19:37,500
I am a huge fan of the fact that
pickleball is a complex sport,

368
00:19:37,525 --> 00:19:40,700
and it's complex in a great way.
It offers...

369
00:19:40,725 --> 00:19:46,140
It has a lot of layers to it and a lot of
pieces to it, and

370
00:19:46,165 --> 00:19:49,840
To master pickleball, if you want to think
of it that way, or to become the best

371
00:19:49,865 --> 00:19:55,440
player you can be, you're going to need to
work in a bunch of different areas, a

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00:19:55,465 --> 00:20:01,290
bunch of different parts of the
game, which altogether make for an awesome

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00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,320
pickleball playing experience for you.

374
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:11,360
As you move forward with your growth as a
pickleball player, it's helpful to think

375
00:20:11,385 --> 00:20:14,180
about yourself and the game big picture.

376
00:20:14,205 --> 00:20:19,380
And and avoid getting
hyper-focused on a particular tree.

377
00:20:19,405 --> 00:20:22,920
Now, that's not to say that if you
identify a tree in your forest that needs

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00:20:22,945 --> 00:20:28,500
work, so you need to work on a
volley, then you put working on that.

379
00:20:28,525 --> 00:20:32,560
But you don't lose sight of the rest of
the game because you're

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00:20:32,585 --> 00:20:33,570
working on one shot.

381
00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,860
So for example, you're
working on your block volley.

382
00:20:36,885 --> 00:20:40,840
And if you're a system member, you
know this process that we have inside.

383
00:20:40,865 --> 00:20:48,560
So you're working on your block volley,
and then you're going to you're going to

384
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:49,740
focus on that.

385
00:20:49,765 --> 00:20:52,220
So you're working on that
block, working on that block.

386
00:20:52,245 --> 00:20:55,770
But then you start playing and you're
forgetting about your return of serve.

387
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,400
Well, your block volley is
going to become a lot harder.

388
00:20:57,425 --> 00:20:59,380
Your return to serve starts suffering.

389
00:20:59,405 --> 00:21:03,720
So You don't want to forget the bigger
picture of the game that you're playing in

390
00:21:03,745 --> 00:21:07,160
the different parts of it
and hyper focus so much on one part of

391
00:21:07,185 --> 00:21:10,740
it that the other parts deteriorate.

392
00:21:10,765 --> 00:21:14,500
Again, to be clear, when you're
practicing, you can work on a tree.

393
00:21:14,525 --> 00:21:16,330
You can prune the tree, right?

394
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,940
You can give it extra fertilized, whatever
you got to do for that tree, that's fine.

395
00:21:19,965 --> 00:21:25,420
But when you go play, when you go engage
in the full game of pickleball,

396
00:21:25,445 --> 00:21:29,290
don't lose sight of the other parts of the
game that are just as important

397
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:30,520
to your overall performance.

398
00:21:30,545 --> 00:21:34,720
And in fact, for
which the particular tree you're working

399
00:21:34,745 --> 00:21:40,080
on will benefit from because you're also
implementing the whole forest, if

400
00:21:40,105 --> 00:21:43,700
you will, of your game when you play.

401
00:21:43,725 --> 00:21:46,360
So that's this week's podcast.
I hope you enjoyed it.

402
00:21:46,385 --> 00:21:50,735
I hope it's, again, these rules, it's
important to gatekeep and take a big

403
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,600
picture view of yourself from time to
time and when you're playing, right?

404
00:21:53,625 --> 00:21:56,560
When you're playing, make sure that you're
viewing all parts of the game and not

405
00:21:56,585 --> 00:22:01,400
letting parts that you've already perhaps
gotten better suffer because you're so

406
00:22:01,425 --> 00:22:07,290
hyper-focused on this one
potentially smaller piece of the puzzle.

407
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,840
If you enjoyed the podcast, as always,
please consider rating and reviewing it.

408
00:22:10,865 --> 00:22:14,500
It helps us reach other players just like
you who may benefit from the podcast and

409
00:22:14,525 --> 00:22:16,860
share with your friends, because if you
enjoyed the podcast,

410
00:22:16,885 --> 00:22:18,255
they probably will, too.

411
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:19,900
Be on the lookout for
the next couple of weeks.

412
00:22:19,925 --> 00:22:24,400
We have some announcements coming out, and
that therapist project will be coming up

413
00:22:24,425 --> 00:22:28,090
in the next, I would say, next two weeks.
That's the plan anyway.

414
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,120
We'll get it done and out.

415
00:22:30,145 --> 00:22:35,290
And I look forward to seeing
Therapists Inside the Therapist event.

416
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:39,810
Have a great week, and I'll see you at
the next episode of pickleball Therapy.

417
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:40,080
Be well.