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Hello
and welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the

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podcast dedicated to your
pickleball improvement.

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I hope you're having a great day, a
great week, and a great holiday season.

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My name is Tony Roig.

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I am your host of this weekly podcast.

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This week's podcast, I wanted to talk to
you about finding the perfect partner.

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Been a lot of scuttlebutt out there about
Ben Jones and Colin Jones' brother not

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partnering for 2025 and Ben
looking for new partners.

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There's been a lot of
opinions being shared about who would

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be the best partner for Ben for 2025.

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I thought it was a good time to talk
a little bit about picking a partner.

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How do you pick a partner?
What do you look for?

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And things like that.

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We're going to do that in this week's
podcast as we get ready for 2025.

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Then in the RIF,
I'm going to talk to you a little bit

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about the journey and maybe what is
it that you want for yourself in 2025.

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That might help inform what
you're looking for in a partner.

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As we dive into the
podcast, These podcasts are made possible

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by the work that we do at Better
Pickleball, including the

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Better Pickleball Academy.

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If you're thinking about
2025 being a new year for you and

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something different that you want to do
for yourself in your pickle game,

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check out the Better Pickleball Academy.

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You know it's going to be good content.

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It's provided to you by the Better
Pickleball Coaching Team, so you know that

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the information in there is going to be
relevant and actionable and

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going to help your game.

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You can check that out,
the go to pickleball.

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Com, just click on Academy
and check the offerings there.

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All right, let's dive
into picking a partner.

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Again, as I mentioned at the beginning,
Ben Johns is no longer going

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to play with his brother.

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It's the end of an era, if you will.

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It's a little bit sad in the sense that
they're brothers, they

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get to play together.
That's cool.

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But I think for Ben and Colin, I
imagine they love pickleball,

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but Pickleball is their business.

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I don't know Ben that well.

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I know him saying hello to him at
tournaments and things like that.

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But I actually know Colin reasonably well.

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I met Colin when he was first
starting out playing pickleball.

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He started playing here in the Bay Area.

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He used to play at a club called Bardemont
here, and with Damon, Marissa, and the

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folks there, with Tom DiCaprio, myself,
some of the other players that would

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go out there and play with Colin.

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Obviously, he was athletics very gifted.

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He came from tennis, was a very, very good
tennis player, so he picked

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up pickleball pretty quickly.

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I've stayed in touch with
him from time to time.

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He's a great thinker of the game.

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He's been at our summit a couple of
years, sharing some ideas and things.

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He doesn't mind using terms that are
not sexy or clickbaity, like we do.

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One of the summits he presented was
basically about discipline and how

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discipline is important
at all levels of play.

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You can imagine a conversation about
discipline doesn't get a lot of views, it

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doesn't get a lot of traction, but
it's a conversation that actually

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will make a difference to you.

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I have a lot of respect for Colin and for
Ben, obviously, as

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ambassadors for our sport.

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The conversation that we've been seeing on
Facebook and videos and things,

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everybody's been jumping on this podcast.

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I think that Thomas at the Dink was
maybe the one to break the story.

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But the idea is that Ben is
looking for a partner for 2025.

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So all these ideas about different players
that Ben can partner with and different

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advantages and things like that.

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Why not use this opportunity to explore
what it is to...

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What criteria we can to find a partner?

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You can use this.

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If you play rec play,
you can use it conceptually.

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I'll share a personal story about a rec
game that I played a few days ago, the day

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before Chris It was Christmas Eve morning.

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We played in a mixed group, and
I played with different partners.

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They're all cool, but there was one
partner in particular who,

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the way we jive on the court, helped us
prevail in that match, and

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I'll share I'll go with you.

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You can use it in rec play in terms of how
you approach different partners

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that you're playing with.

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But if you're going to play competitively,
whether in tournaments or league or

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anything like that,
this is a way to think about

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how to select a partner
that makes the most sense for you.

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Because here's the thing, when you think
about pickleball doubles,

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it's a team sport.

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I would submit to you, it's as much a team
sport as any

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sport that you think of traditionally
being a team sport, like

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basketball and things like that.

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You need the performance
of the individual player.

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You need the basketball player who can
either rebound, dribble, pass, shoot, do

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the individual acts that
make that basketball player

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a good basketball player.
Same thing in pickle ball.

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You want to be able to hit your dink, hit
your serve, hit your return, hit

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your volleys, things like that.

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But there's the second element to it in
doubles, which is how well do

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you play with your partner?

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Court coverage, assignments, strategy,
supporting each other, things like that.

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When
you think about playing with another human

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being, partnering with another human being
on a pickleball court, what is it that

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makes for a good partnership?

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The number one thing that I have on
here is shared goals on the list.

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Shared goals basically means that
are you both looking for the same thing.

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For instance, let's say that
you both want to dominate.

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You and your partner, your objective is,
we just want to beat everybody in our

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league or whatever you're playing in.
That's our objective.

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If that's your goal, that's your
objective, then what does that translate

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to in preparation for that event?

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It translates into
drilling a lot, practicing a lot, really

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honing your skillset, getting together and
working on playing together as partners,

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working on timeouts, working on all sorts
of things, the elements that will

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take you to your shared goals.

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In that situation, if you both share that
goal, then that's going

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to be a good partnership.

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What if you both want to
participate in those types of Events like

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tournaments and league, but
it's more about the experience.

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Tournament could be you want to travel.

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League play could just mean,
I just want to go Tuesday.

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I want to compete at a reasonably high
level, but I'm not that concerned

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about whether we win or not.

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Then, as long as you and your partner are
on the same page, that works too, because

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you're both seeking the same thing.

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When issues arise is when there's a
split in goals between the two partners.

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You have one partner that wants to kick
ass, take names, to just destroy

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everybody, and the other partner is there
to spend time with their

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friend, just enjoy the moment.

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In that case, that's where you could have
just a falling out, if you will, because

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you have different interests
in why you're going to that.

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For instance, the US Open is coming up
in 2025, like it does every year.

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There's different players trying to find
partners, and there's different

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reasons to go to the US Open.

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Maybe you just want to go to Naples and,
again, enjoy the experience

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and do the best you can.
That's fine.

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Maybe you want to, again, go down there
and you want to compete for a medal, and

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anything less than a medal
isn't satisfactory to you.

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I don't know if that's a good
metric for yourself, because,

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anyway, that's another conversation.

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But if you and your partner are on the
same page, at least you can put

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in the work necessary to do that.

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Number one, in terms of picking
a partner, would be shared goals.

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You can do this in rec play because if you
step out on the court in open play and you

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know that this player is
a win-it-all cosplayer.

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It's not to say you have to become a
win-it-all cosplayer if that's not your

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way of looking at things, but at least
you know where they're coming from.

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At least you can like, Okay,
I know what to expect here.

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You You're not going to be
surprised when the other player gets upset

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when your team misses a
shot or something like that.

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You know what you're
getting into, I guess.

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The second factor that I think is It's a
critical one, but it's a little

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mushy, and it can be overlooked.

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I'm calling it compatible play energy.

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This is basically how the players
navigate the game from an energy approach.

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The best way to think about this is
let's assume that you miss an easy ball.

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How does your partner react to that?

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Or when your partner misses an easy ball,
how do you react to that?

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Are you supportive of each other, tapping
paddles, or is it one player misses the

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shot and the other player feels like,
Oh, my God, my partner's mad at me?

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How are you navigating the
energy of that situation.

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Same thing.

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When you're playing pickleball, you're
going to have situations where

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you are ahead, and so it's good.

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Are you basically Are you both letting
your foot off the pedal, so to speak, and

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just coasting, and then they get in
trouble, or are you both keeping each

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other in the right balance between not
maybe obsessing too much, but also not

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Distancing, not distancing yourself,
but basically getting off the core.

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You're already at lunch thinking about
what you're going to have at

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the order from the menu.

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And the same thing when you're behind.

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You're behind, you're down 9:00 to 4:00.

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Are you both
going to keep battling, or will one of the

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players go, Well, it's 9:00, it's time to
just wrap this up and let's get moving,

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and the other player is still battling?

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That's not a good...

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That's not very compatible, right?

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How How you approach the game from an
energy standpoint as you flow through

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different situations,
the more compatible you are, the

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better the partnership is going to be.

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Again, going back to rec play,
if you're playing with somebody

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who you know is not going to give their
all when you're down, I'm not saying just

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roll up your bags and go home, but either
you can try and reach them somehow, or

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you just adjust your play accordingly and
You know you have another match waiting

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for you as soon as you
put your paddle down.

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You're not trying to give it your all
because your partner is not

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going to give it their all.

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Then that's not going to feel good for you
when you're out there hustling and your

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partner is just like,
Whatever happens, happens.

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That situation when you're super So
compatible play energy is another factor

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that I think is really important when
you're talking about partnerships.

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Then the last one is complementary skills.

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Now, this one applies more to
competitive situations, although in

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rec, again, you can just be aware of it.

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But complementary skills are,
let's say you had two players that are

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super hyper aggressive, attacking
everything all the time, and that's

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probably not going to be ideal.

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Or if you have two players
who are super passive.

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And there's nothing wrong
with passive, by the way.

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I I'm going to use that term negatively.

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Just players who just want to set up and
want to keep the rally extended,

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but don't really have anybody who...

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Neither one of them really ever looks
for the kill shot when it's available.

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Neither one of those
is going to be optimal.

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Optimal would be where you We have one
player who is

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more of a setup a player, like plays a
really controlled patient game, and

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then another player who's the finisher.

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When you look at the top two teams in both
men and women's, you look at Ben and Colin

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Johns over the last couple
of years, last few years.

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That has been Colin is the setup player.

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Colin plays defense.

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It's almost everything soft.

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He'll speed up a ball once in a blue moon.

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Then Ben's the A passive player.

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Colin is going to play a nice
patient game and let Ben be Ben.

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Same thing with Analee
Wotos and Katherine Prentau.

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You have Katherine Prentau
is the setup player.

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She'll attack a ball here and there, but
for the most part, that's not her role.

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Her role is to play really good defense,
anchor that right side, and then let

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Analee, she plays left too, but anchor the
side she's on, and then Analee will

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basically be the one to finish.

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Those are the teams that are the most
successful out there when they're playing.

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Complimentary skills can be
a is a helpful factor to consider.

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Now, that said, that's when you're looking
at it cold, objective, just off the

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court, objectively looking at it.

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When you're talking about playing with
friends and traveling

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and things like that, there's a whole
slew of other factors to consider.

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For instance, say you
want to play a tournament circuit.

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You've decided, 2025, I'm going to go play
six tournaments in five states

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plus mine, something like that.

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Well, you need to find a player, or a
couple of players maybe, who want the same

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thing, who are willing to travel to those
places, who are willing to commit the time

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and money and energy to go to these
places and play in these tournaments.

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Without that, the rest
of it just falls apart.

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It doesn't matter.

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Another thing I would suggest, and you can
put this under compatible play energy,

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but do you want to be with that person?
Enjoy them.

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If you don't enjoy their
company, if you don't enjoy going to lunch

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after you played or dinner or seeing
them in the morning before you...

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Whatever.
It's not the same as for pros.

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It's business, right?

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So pros can just say, Okay,
we're going to play together.

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Some pros don't They don't practice that
much together because they're not near

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each other and things like that,
so they practice when they can.

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But for the most part, it's just,
I'm here, let's play a couple of games,

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and then they're ready to play
the next day in their tournament.

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There's other factors that you can
consider in your in your decision making

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00:14:32,525 --> 00:14:36,640
that are not strategically driven or are
not driven in terms of what's going to

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give me the highest chance for success in
this partnership from a pickleball

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standpoint, but are certainly super
important in terms of

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making your decision.

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But the key takeaway here is
doubles pickleball is a team sport.

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Your performance as a doubles team will
be greatly impacted by the

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chemistry between you and your partner.

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00:15:05,045 --> 00:15:11,860
The better you play together, the
more likely it is that you will

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be successful as a doubles team.

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And in the RIF, I'll share a personal
story, and then I'll ask you a question

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just to get your brain thinking about it,
about what it is that you want for

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yourself in terms of a
partnership for 2025.

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00:15:28,045 --> 00:15:33,960
As we dive into the RIF,
if you are looking to purchase any gear in

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00:15:33,985 --> 00:15:40,180
2025, paddles or anything like that,
please consider going to our equipment

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00:15:40,205 --> 00:15:42,740
partner, that is Pickleball Central.

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00:15:42,765 --> 00:15:46,920
You'll get the best service, the best
pricing, the best every best, fill

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00:15:46,945 --> 00:15:49,140
in the blank, in the industry.

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00:15:49,165 --> 00:15:54,900
And you also help support this podcast and
the other initiatives that we have to help

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00:15:54,925 --> 00:15:58,740
strengthen pickleball through the
transfer of pickleball knowledge.

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00:15:58,765 --> 00:16:03,560
There is a link and a code, and the code
actually adds a discount when applicable.

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00:16:03,585 --> 00:16:08,180
It doesn't apply to all products or
some products that don't have discounts.

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00:16:08,205 --> 00:16:13,935
But when there is a discount available,
you will get it by using this code.

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00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,440
Rather than give you the code and the link
and make you write it down and things

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00:16:17,465 --> 00:16:19,520
like that, just go to betterpickleball.

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00:16:19,545 --> 00:16:21,880
Com, click on the top bar.

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00:16:21,905 --> 00:16:23,440
There's a button for resources.

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00:16:23,465 --> 00:16:26,815
You click there, then
that'll open up a page.

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00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,020
You'll see, pickleball Central
has its logo right there.

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00:16:29,045 --> 00:16:33,040
You click on Central, and
that'll take you to their page.

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00:16:33,065 --> 00:16:35,920
The code will be available
to you at betterpickupall.

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00:16:35,945 --> 00:16:39,540
Com/resources because the
code does change over time.

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00:16:39,565 --> 00:16:42,620
If you do that, we certainly
would appreciate it.

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00:16:42,645 --> 00:16:48,640
Your pricing is the same, knowing that
you're supporting, hopefully, among

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00:16:48,665 --> 00:16:50,740
your top three content creators.

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00:16:50,765 --> 00:16:52,440
All right, let's go into the RIF.

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I'll share a personal story, and then
we'll talk about you thinking

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for you for 2025 on this line.

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The personal story is we were playing and
played with several different players,

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and I enjoy to play with all players.
They're all different.

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I know them very well, so
I know their tendencies.

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I like to rib them, especially when we're
playing this situation where

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we're just mixing around.

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But anyway, I know them all.

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But there was one player in particular who
I was playing with, and we

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were ahead in the match.

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We were rally scoring to 21.

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We were up, but we were getting...

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The The other team was catching up with
us, and we were starting to

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falter some on the serve side.

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00:17:34,245 --> 00:17:42,290
The thirds weren't crisp anymore, and
we were getting smashed pretty early on.

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But we were getting smashed
because we were rushing.

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We were hitting the third, and
then we were just running in.

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I was doing it some.
My partner was doing it.

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I would submit more than I was in terms of
running up, and then we were

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00:17:52,905 --> 00:17:54,940
just getting smacked with balls.

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I went to my partner and I said, Hey, why
don't we just

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slow things down a little bit?
Our ourselves.

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00:18:00,485 --> 00:18:05,495
Let's work on our third, a fifth, a
seventh, but let's control our tempo.

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If you've listened to this podcast before,
you know that tempo is such a powerful

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part of our performance in this sport.

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00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,560
We started to control our tempo,
and then we really locked it down.

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00:18:16,585 --> 00:18:18,420
We really locked the game down.

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00:18:18,445 --> 00:18:22,840
We forced a couple of errors by our
opponents on the return side

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because we changed our approach.

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00:18:24,825 --> 00:18:29,530
They couldn't just hit one and done
and pass us on their fourth or six.

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00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,010
They had to keep working.
So we forced some errors.

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00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,080
And then when we were able to make our way
up there, we made our way up to the

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00:18:35,105 --> 00:18:37,290
non-volley zone line under control.

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00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:42,040
We overcame our positional disadvantage,
put pressure on them, and then

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00:18:42,065 --> 00:18:44,215
we're able to close out the match.

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00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,400
And the reason I'm sharing this with you
is, you're welcome to take the strategy

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00:18:47,425 --> 00:18:49,040
part away as well, the tempo and all that.

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00:18:49,065 --> 00:18:52,860
But the real reason I'm sharing with you
is in terms of this

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00:18:52,885 --> 00:18:56,880
podcast, the content of this podcast, is
that

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00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,800
this is a player who I've played with
before and who is open to

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00:18:59,825 --> 00:19:02,770
strategic recommendations.

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00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,720
And that's something that I am
particularly good at.

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00:19:06,745 --> 00:19:11,570
That's actually one of my strong suits
is strategic adjustments in game.

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00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:16,320
And so to be playing with a player who I
know I can make recommendations to and

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00:19:16,345 --> 00:19:19,360
who will take those recommendations.

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00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,375
It's not to say the player
needs to blindly do what I say.

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00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:23,200
That's not the point.

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00:19:23,225 --> 00:19:27,015
But at least listen to what I'm
saying and go, Okay, let's try it.

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00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:27,440
That makes sense.

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00:19:27,465 --> 00:19:29,760
And then we try it, and then this
player was like, Oh, that really worked.

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00:19:29,785 --> 00:19:32,280
I'm like, Yeah, it's a thought out.

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00:19:32,305 --> 00:19:33,620
I'm just thrown out there.

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00:19:33,645 --> 00:19:36,940
And so it changes my dynamic.

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00:19:36,965 --> 00:19:42,960
It makes me more engaged as well, because
now I can bring to bear the parts of

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00:19:42,985 --> 00:19:45,360
the game that I am particularly good at.

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00:19:45,385 --> 00:19:49,050
It makes my play better.

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00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:53,180
He plays better, I play better,
and our team plays better.

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00:19:53,205 --> 00:19:56,700
Again, not just because of the strategic
considerations, those are important,

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00:19:56,725 --> 00:20:01,360
but also because we
end rowing in the same direction.

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00:20:01,385 --> 00:20:07,180
There's openness and willingness to
receive the information,

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00:20:07,205 --> 00:20:11,940
process it, and then apply it,
making us a much more formidable opponent.

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00:20:11,965 --> 00:20:18,740
That's my personal story on how
the strategy is important, but also the

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00:20:18,765 --> 00:20:24,220
way it impacts the team and the
playing together part of it.

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00:20:24,245 --> 00:20:28,290
It's as important as just
the strategic piece of it.

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00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:34,290
For 2025, what I would suggest you do in
terms of partnerships are

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00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,860
give this some thought.
How are you as a partner?

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00:20:38,885 --> 00:20:42,220
In terms of what is it
that you're looking for?

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00:20:42,245 --> 00:20:44,760
What's your energy when you play?

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00:20:44,785 --> 00:20:46,520
Are you a supportive partner?

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00:20:46,545 --> 00:20:49,160
Are you bringing your
partner down, potentially?

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00:20:49,185 --> 00:20:50,700
It happens.

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00:20:50,725 --> 00:20:56,135
We've had students' stories that they've
shared with us about not realizing

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00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:57,770
what they were doing to their partners.

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00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:01,520
Then once they realized it, they were
like, Oh, I don't want to do that.

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00:21:01,545 --> 00:21:04,940
Then they adjusted their behavior.

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00:21:04,965 --> 00:21:07,280
One tip I'll give you is a tip that C.
J.

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00:21:07,305 --> 00:21:14,010
Johnson, my co-coach, always shares at the
camps, which is consider turning

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00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,500
inward when you're on the court.

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00:21:16,525 --> 00:21:20,840
Think about like you just finished a rally
and your partner missed a

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00:21:20,865 --> 00:21:23,535
shot, and you're not upset.
You're fine.

356
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,620
Everything's fine.
But you turn to the outside.

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00:21:25,645 --> 00:21:28,800
Basically, you turn your body toward the
sideline instead of toward the

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00:21:28,825 --> 00:21:30,140
middle, towards your partner.

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00:21:30,165 --> 00:21:34,375
It's possible that your partner could
misinterpret that situation

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00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,520
because you're turning away, and maybe you
turned in a way that looked like you were

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00:21:37,545 --> 00:21:41,700
rolling a shoulder or you were rolling
your head or something like that.

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00:21:41,725 --> 00:21:45,135
So your partner is
feeling self-conscious because they just

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00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:46,880
They pop the ball up or they
missed an easy shot or whatever.

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00:21:46,905 --> 00:21:49,120
So they see an eye roll that obviously,
you can't see because you're

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00:21:49,145 --> 00:21:50,500
looking away from them.

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00:21:50,525 --> 00:21:54,660
But those things, the
mind can play tricks.

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00:21:54,685 --> 00:21:57,660
That is avoided when you
turn toward the middle.

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00:21:57,685 --> 00:22:01,880
So you turn toward the middle, you make
eye in contact with your partner, maybe

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00:22:01,905 --> 00:22:04,900
smile at them, tap their paddle,
let them know everything's okay.

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00:22:04,925 --> 00:22:08,135
Changes everything.
Changes the feeling of that.

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00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,520
If you just get into the habit of turning
toward the middle rather than turning

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00:22:11,545 --> 00:22:14,320
toward the outside,
you'll turn to the middle, both

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00:22:14,345 --> 00:22:16,375
when it's maybe not necessary.

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00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:17,400
I mean, it's always good
to turn to the middle.

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00:22:17,425 --> 00:22:18,810
No downside to it.

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00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,120
But maybe your partner just did a
fantastic shot and you

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00:22:21,145 --> 00:22:22,260
turn to the middle, great.

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00:22:22,285 --> 00:22:27,330
But you'll also be turning to the
middle by extension or by habit.

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00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,320
You'll turn to the middle when your
partner also makes a mistake, and so

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00:22:30,345 --> 00:22:32,900
everything will be better then as well.

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00:22:32,925 --> 00:22:35,660
So consider doing that for 2025.

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00:22:35,685 --> 00:22:41,800
Then give some thought to how you come to
the game as a partner, and perhaps what it

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00:22:41,825 --> 00:22:45,570
is that most works with you
in terms of your partners.

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00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,040
That will help you when you're in a
situation where you want to identify a

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00:22:49,065 --> 00:22:53,160
partner to play with in some a competitive
setting, and also help you navigate rec

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00:22:53,185 --> 00:22:57,080
play, because when you're in rec play,
you can better deal with those partners

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00:22:57,105 --> 00:23:02,000
who maybe don't exactly jive with your
approach, like your energy on the court

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00:23:02,025 --> 00:23:05,760
and things like that, and you go out on
the court prepared and ready to deal with

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00:23:05,785 --> 00:23:08,700
that, it makes it easier to navigate.

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00:23:08,725 --> 00:23:11,330
That's a good tip for you there for 2025.

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00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:19,260
Next week's podcast,
I'm going to play with the idea of

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00:23:19,285 --> 00:23:21,980
your journey, your pickleball journey.

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00:23:22,005 --> 00:23:27,520
The Better pickleball Coaching team said,
We need something written on this, so I

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00:23:27,545 --> 00:23:31,240
wrote something about it, and
I We said, Well, that's a really good

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00:23:31,265 --> 00:23:37,335
thing to share with the podcast as well,
the idea of your journey and when are you

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00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:38,810
going to get to where you
got to go in your journey.

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00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,140
So make sure you tune in next week for
that episode of pickleball Therapy.

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00:23:42,165 --> 00:23:45,495
If you have a minute to rate and review
the podcast, always helps us reach

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00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:46,880
additional players just like you.

400
00:23:46,905 --> 00:23:49,840
Remember the pickleball Central
link if you can use that.

401
00:23:49,865 --> 00:23:51,460
And then our event coming up.

402
00:23:51,485 --> 00:23:58,090
We have an event coming up on January
16th, which is going to be a really cool,

403
00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:02,720
basically, New Year in a You concept, but
it's actionable stuff

404
00:24:02,745 --> 00:24:03,980
that you can actually do.

405
00:24:04,005 --> 00:24:07,660
So like roughly 10 minutes a day,
and you'll see changes in your game.

406
00:24:07,685 --> 00:24:11,040
So be on the lookout for registration for
that, and join us for that

407
00:24:11,065 --> 00:24:13,735
event on January 16th.

408
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,460
If you enjoyed the podcast,
remember to share with your friends.

409
00:24:16,485 --> 00:24:19,140
If you enjoyed the podcast,
they probably will, too.

410
00:24:19,165 --> 00:24:24,280
Hope you have a great week, a happy
New Year, and I will see you in 2025.

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00:24:24,305 --> 00:24:24,520
Be.