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There are three YouTube videos that have
been uploaded in the last month or so, and

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they've garnered probably
around 300,000 views.

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They are, informationally,
they are excellent videos.

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But those three videos have the ability to
damage far more games than they will help.

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And today, I'm going to tell you why.

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My name is C.
J.

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Johnson, and welcome to the
pickleball Therapy podcast.

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It is the only podcast
dedicated to your pickle mind.

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And as I have been described, I am
the Sometimes Host of this podcast.

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The regular host, Tony Roig,
will be back next week.

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Now, before we jump into the
show, just a couple of things.

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We've got some big stuff coming up on
better pickle And you may or may not know,

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the Pickleball Therapy podcast is
an extension of betterpickleball.

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Com.

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We have a lot of different things going on
over there, YouTube channels, online

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classes, in-person trainings,
and all sorts of things.

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But we've got some great stuff
coming up in the next few weeks.

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So if you want to stay in the know, I'm
going to put a link

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down in the show notes.

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Click on that link, and we will make sure
that you know everything that we have

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coming up that can help
your pickleball game.

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So let's get back to the topic
that I wanted to talk about.

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It's these three YouTube videos.

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And I want to start with a story from
when I was a young golf professional.

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So my background, I have been an athlete
my entire life, and I have been coaching

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sports since I was in my early 20s.

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My first profession was
as a golf professional.

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One of the first lessons
that I got as a golf professional is My

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mentor told me, You cannot afford to
have a subscription to Golf Digest.

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You need to find out the
day that it's coming out.

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Go to the newsstand, because, of course,
nothing was digital at that point in time.

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Go to the news stand
and be the first in line to get it.

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And I was puzzled.

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I didn't know why he was
giving me that advice.

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He went on to share I needed to understand
what was in that magazine

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by reading it cover to cover,
because what was going to happen

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was my students, no matter how dedicated
they were, they weren't athletes, and they

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didn't understand how to protect their
learning journey

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in the same way that I did.

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They were going to get that golf digest
in their mailbox

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They were going to start to read it.

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They were going to go and take the tips
from the pros onto the lesson team and

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start to work on them.

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And by the time they got back to a lesson
with me, I was going to see some changes,

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and not necessarily positive changes,
inside of their golf swings.

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Because
there are certain things we can learn from

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the pros, but there are a lot of things we
can't learn from the pros.

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And unfortunately, many of us are not
taught how to differentiate

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between the two.

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That held true in golf,
that's held true in skiing,

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and that holds true in pickleball.

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So there were three videos that were
recently put out, and all by

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top-notch pros with outstanding
information about what

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they were talking about.
That's why they are the best in the world.

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They can do things
that you and I just simply can't do.

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So to make sure that we stay on track,
we need to have a way to differentiate

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what are the things that are unique to
them and what are the things

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that we can learn from them.

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One example would be in what was in some
of these videos,

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were some highly specialized shots,
specifically some attack shots.

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We all know that the
game has gotten faster.

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I think for many of us, that's creating
a sense that we're getting left behind.

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And all of a sudden, there's
this big rush to power.

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And they were talking about some of the
shots that they use to create offense.

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And in particular, actually, all three
of these shots were about offense.

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And These three shots
are unique to these three players.

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Now, two out of those three players
came from a very deep tennis background.

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In fact, many of the pros right now, the
young pros that you see,

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come from a tennis background.

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And what's important to know about that is
this, is that flick shot or that roll

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shot, they have been developing that shot
for years.

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They've probably, if they're in their
mid-20s, they probably have been

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practicing that shot for 15 plus years.

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They literally have millions
of reps that put them in a position

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to execute that shot consistently.

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So one of those particular shots
was about the slice.

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And so the slice shot would be moving the
paddle from a high position to

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a low position.

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And again, this player has
a wonderful slice shot.

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Can you develop a slice shot?

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Sure, you can develop a slice shot.

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But for it to be consistent,
you likely have to have,

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I don't know if it's a million reps,
but certainly thousands of reps.

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And most of us don't have that time to put
in our games to develop that consistently.

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So we start adding that type of shot to
our game, and it's inconsistent at best.

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In fact, we likely remember the one time
at work and forget about the 10 times

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we hit it into the net or we hit it out.

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And that's the stuff that really begins
to hurt our game and to deteriorate

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our performance.

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Another video was about a pro attacking
and being aggressive at the MVZ line.

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And she is phenomenal.

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She has got a great game to
be able to do that.

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Again, I would make the argument that she
has physical talents that

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I know I certainly don't.

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And I don't think that most players do.

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So while I might be able to
perhaps mimic the movement, once again,

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I really haven't put in the reps, and I
won't have the time to put in the reps

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to be able to execute it consistently.

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So now I add something to my game,
and It's not consistent.

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And not only have I done that,
I have likely taken time

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away from things that I could be
practicing that

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would make me more consistent consistent
and make me a better player.

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One of the things that we often see
players get caught up in

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are these magic shots, the flick,
the slice, the roll volley.

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Yet, they have an inability to hit a
consistently deep return of serve

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or to consistently hit a punch volley
at players' feet.

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Frankly, those are the shots
that the average player is going to

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play in every single game.

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The opportunity
at the rec play, or even I would suggest

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the 4-0 to 4-5 level, anything below 4-5,
the chance to hit a roll volley, maybe

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once, twice in a game at most.

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So we sometimes make decisions
based on the things we see

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or these fancy shiny pennies.

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Tony likes to call them red herring.

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We make some decisions based on these red
herring,

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and they take us away from the things that
can really help us to be the most

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consistent player that we can possibly be.

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So one of the things that I think most
pickleball athletes, and I'm calling you

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an athlete, and the reason I call you an
athlete is you are listening to a podcast

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about your pickleball mind.

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That makes you an athlete.

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That makes you somebody who's really
interested in your improvement and you're

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interested in your learning journey.

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So as a pickleball athlete,
you have responsibilities to yourself.

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You need to practice self-control and
not get caught up in the shiny penny.

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And it's easy to do.

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As an athlete, I can tell you multiple
times in my career, both as a golf

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professional, as a ski professional, as
well as as a pickleboat professional,

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where I've seen that red herring, that
really cool thing, and

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I get sidetracked on it.

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My My brain fixates on it,
and I spend time and effort

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trying to develop something that
I will never have enough time, and

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in some cases, physical ability to
be able to do consistently.

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And then I robbed myself of the skills,
the time, taking that time away.

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I I robbed myself of the time where I
could be developing the skills

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that will really help my game.

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So as an athlete, you owe it to yourself
to be protective of your learning journey.

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And here's a couple of tips
on how to do that.

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When you see
certain things come across, it could be

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your YouTube algorithm,
It could be Bob or Barbara at the courts,

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the ones who are always yapping in your
ear about, You should be doing

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this or you should be doing that.

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When that information comes your way,
discern, listen to the information.

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Take it in.

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What apply some critical thinking to it
is, first of all, ask yourself the

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question, is, is that
information complete?

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Do I have everything I need to understand
the big picture and how it

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would be applied?

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Another thing, is that information right?

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Because a lot of times,
especially at the courts,

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that information probably isn't right or
it might not be complete, one of the two.

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But the third and the most important
question is, that information right

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from my game right now, where I'm at.

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Is that piece of information going to help
me to get from where I am today to

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whatever my next goal
as a pickleball player would be?

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Answer those three questions for yourself
before you start acting

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on that information.

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That's how you protect
your learning journey.

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I've got one more suggestion for you,
and it has to do with trusted resources.

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As I said, I'm still an active coach in
three sports, and I happen to coach

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skiing, and I happen to be at one of the
premier mountains in the United States.

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We have a very large a large
ski school, and we have some of the best

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instructors in the
country, if not the world.

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Even in that setting, I am very careful
with who I listen to about

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information from my own skiing.

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I have five trusted resources who I
listen to what they say,

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I analyze what they say, I ask them
questions, and then I make decisions about

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the changes that I'm going
to make inside of my skiing.

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Even though
there's a much larger group, there's

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probably another 30 or 40 top
instructors, not just middle of the road.

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I'm talking top instructors in
the nation and the world.

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At that resort, I have a trusted circle

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of information because they're consistent.

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They're consistent in their beliefs,
they're consistent in how they present the

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information, and they're consistent in
those three things that I talked about.

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The information is right,
the information is complete.

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And if they're giving me the information
at the time, I trust

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that that information is
right for my game at the time,

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in this case, my skiing at the time.

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And if I don't feel it's right for my
skiing at the time,

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I just put it up on a shelf.

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So that's one of the things that I would
share with you as an athlete.

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That's another developed skill.

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It's a focus skill,
and it's a mindset skill.

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But it is a skill that will ultimately
help you to get to your goals the fastest.

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Because if you can stay focused
on on the things that really matter inside

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of your pickleball game, you're going
to improve at the fastest pace possible.

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So that's what I got for you today.

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Be an athlete.

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Take some personal responsibility, and
be responsible for your learning journey.

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Don't get sidetracked
on wild goose chases, and you're going to

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get to where you want to be much faster.

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Now, if this podcast resonated with you,
I'd ask that you share it with your

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pickleball playing friends, because if
you liked it, they probably will, too.

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And as usual, Reign, review the podcast.

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That helps other pickleball players to
find this podcast and

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helps them on their learning journey.

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Your regular host, Tony Wright,
will be back with you next week.

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And until then, have fun out there.