Pickleball Therapy
The podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. We are here to help you achieve your pickleball goals, with a focus on the mental part of your game. Our mission is to share with you a positive and more healthy way of engaging with pickleball. Together let’s forge a stronger relationship with the sport we all love. With the added benefit of playing better pickleball too. No matter what you are trying to accomplish in your pickleball journey, Pickleball Therapy is here to encourage and support you.
Episodes
In this week's episode we go back to archives where I'll share three essential mindset tools to help you mentally prepare before stepping onto the court. This will deepen your reason for playing, and create a positive feedback loop through intentional gratitude and clarity. Listen before your next match to elevate your mental game and play with purpose.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/251-the-best-from-our-archive...
As pickleball players, we're constantly assessing our games—technique, shot selection, strategy. But how often do we stop to consider our partner, the fourth player on the court? Drawing from our upcoming book and a revealing real-world encounter, I'll show you how awareness and empathy toward our partner can reshape our entire experience.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/250-how-about-your-partner/
In this special episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Lydia Hirt, Vice President of Marketing at Life Time, to explore the explosive growth of pickleball across the country. Lydia shares her personal journey with the sport and highlights Life Time’s (LT) groundbreaking contributions—from building hundreds of courts nationwide to launching the innovative LT ball.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/1528-special-...
Pickleball, like life, is variable. Some days you go 8–0. Others, you walk off the court without a single win. And both outcomes are completely normal. The key is understanding what’s expected—not in the sense of what you hope will happen, but in terms of what statistically does happen. In this episode we explore a topic that hits close to home for any serious player: how to correctly process your results so they don’t mes...
It’s one thing to say, “That was a tough match.” It’s another to say, “I lost that game.” The difference lies in focus. When you focus entirely on your own mistakes, you erase the resilience your opponents showed, the quality of the rallies, and the spirit of the contest. In this episode we explore how our post-game reactions can either elevate or diminish not only our opponents—but ourselves.
Show Notes: https://betterpi...
"Chasing fairies" or the seductive but unproven strategies can often lead us astray on the court. From spinning dinks to rigid rules like "forehand in the middle," it's important to understand the why behind what we do on the courts. Listen to this full episode for more clarity and a grounded conversation that strengthens your mental approach to improvement.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/247-chasing-fairies/
...Ego has a sneaky way of turning every match into a personal story—even when our friends earn the win. In this episode, I challenge you to rethink how you interpret losses, especially after a comeback. When we reframe the moment, we not only grow ourselves—we honor those we play with. A must-listen for any player serious about strengthening their mental game.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/246-dont-diminish-your-...
Redlining is a hidden obstacle affecting players at every level. This episode breaks down how staying too amped up impacts performance, limits mental flexibility, and leads to critical mistakes. Learn how to recognize when you're redlining and discover practical tools to regulate your emotional energy for more consistent, composed play on the pickleball court.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/243-how-redlining-hol...
In this episode, C.J. Johnson steps in for Tony Roig and explores the mental trap of chasing flashy pickleball techniques seen online—shots that often harm more than help. Listen in for a mindset reset to help you protect your learning journey and learn how to stay consistent on the pickleball court.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/244-stop-chasing-pickleball-distractions
A pop-up is not a failure—it is a normal part of pickleball. But your brain may treat it like a threat, thanks to an ancient survival instinct called negativity bias. Once you recognize that, you can stop overreacting and start responding with perspective because not every rustle in the grass is a tiger.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/243-avoiding-negativity-bias/
Many players search for a “secret” to improve their pickleball game—but there's none. Improvement comes not from tips or tricks, but from understanding how the game works. In this episode, I'll explain why structured learning, clear decision-making, and consistent execution are the real keys to growth—and how seeing the full picture of the game can move you forward.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/242-whats-the-se...
We’ve all faced frustrating moments on the court—with partners, opponents, or fellow players. What if we could reframe those situations into a healthier, more constructive way? In this episode of Pickleball Therapy, I explore a new mindset tool I’m developing called empathetic framing. I walk you through how this simple mental shift can reduce negativity and help you stay grounded in your game.
Show Notes: https://betterpi...
This episode holds a special place. It distills three foundational mental pillars—Play, Perspective, and Progress—that have resonated deeply with players around the world. These are not just abstract concepts but practical tools that will help you not only play better, but also enjoy the game more fully and consistently.
Pillar 1: Play – Embrace the Oops Bucket
Mistakes are inevitable. Even the best players miss easy sho...
Today we dive into a topic that resonates deeply with many of us: the journey over the destination, and how our approach to it can significantly impact our enjoyment of the game.
Join the Better Pickleball Academy for the competitive play series.
In our quest for improvement, there's a pervasive trend: rapid progression promises. We've all seen them—programs promising to elevate your rating from 3.5 to 4.0 in just 30 days. ...
When we think about pickleball, there are three pillars that comes to mind which we developed a few years back; the mechanical, the strategic, and the athletic pillar.
The mechanical and strategic pillars focus on how and when to hit the ball and the athletic pillar emphasizes the synergy between body and mind. The mind is super important, but it's one-a-half of the athletic pillar, there's the other part of the athletic p...
You can't control every event in your journey, but you can control how you respond. And control goes beyond the physical aspect to include a mental dimension too.
Sometimes when things happen to us in pickleball, we tend to externalize them by blaming external factors. The idea is, you can control how you react to those events to dictate the pace and outcome of the game.
Just like holding the reins of a wagon; it's up to y...
Pickleball System Spring Boot Camp starting on March 27th; https://betterpickleball.com/march-bootcamp/
Will a smile help your pickleball game? While there might not be specific studies on the effect of smiling in sports, research shows that smiling can positively affect our attitude, calm our nerves, and enhance our overall well-being.
On this episode CJ Johnson shares a story from her visit to the BNP Paribas Open in Palm ...
We had the pleasure of featuring a pro pickleball player, Richard Livornese Jr., in this special episode. It will be interesting to listen to the discussion, not just about the mechanics of the sport, but the mental journey that accompanies it.
Richard shares insights about his pickleball journey which began four years ago during the COVID pandemic. Despite his achievements, Richard, like many of us, faced moments of doubt...
Join us for the March Bootcamp; https://betterpickleball.com/spring-bootcamp/
This week, let's dive into a concept I stumbled upon through an insightful video featuring a psychologist from Duke University. She introduces the idea of the "learning space"—the journey from not knowing to knowing.
Picture two dots on a board, one representing ignorance and the other knowledge, connected by a squiggly line. This "learning space...
Open play can be interesting with players of varying skill levels playing and enjoying the game together. But that's not always the case when dynamics of it set in and players advance in skill; exclusivity sneaks in and can lead to less inclusive play.
In this episode we discuss the state of play in terms of how players at different levels interact with each other. This arose from our state of play event that we had a coup...
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