February 21, 2025 • 17 mins
In doing some video review for a project I was working on, I came across some really good interview answer by Anna Bright, a top pickleball player in the world right now.
When asked about what happened and despite losing the gold medals match, Anna expressed some thoughts that just reminded me of how we can have a better, a more constructive interaction with the sport that we play.
She focused on the bigger picture of enjoying the sport and recognizing the value of competition while maintaining a positive outlook because there's other pieces to the puzzle that are more than just us on the court, more than just ourselves as individuals.
That's a classical example of reframing. Instead of worrying so much about the volume of shots you missed, you pivot away from it to the bigger story and bigger picture of the situation.
The next time you step onto the court, reframe the challenges, celebrate the competition, and most importantly, enjoy the game. Whether you win or lose, you're always gaining something valuable.
Coach Pete's book on mental training; https://betterpickleball.com/resources/
Coach Pete's Playbook. Visit: coacheschoice.com and use Code CLH50 at checkout.
Note that the Book and Playbook are two separate resources. To get the most out of the experience, recommend ordering the Book from the link in Resources and the Playbook as described here. Please leave Amazon reviews for each of them as it helps Coach Pete reach more players with his powerful message.
Bowl of ice cream concept; https://betterpickleball.com/winning-is-a-bowl-of-ice-cream/
The Pickleball System class Spring opening; https://betterpickleball.com/system/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy,the podcast dedicated to
your pickleball improvement.
It's the podcast that isfocused on your pickleball mind.
I am your host of thisweekly podcast, Tony Roig.
It's a pleasure to be with you.
I hope you're having a great week so far.
This week's podcast, we're going to bevisiting a topic that we've talked about a
(00:24):
couple of times in the past, butI was reminded of it
recently doing some PPA work.
As you may know, we're doing somecollaborations with the PPA, which is
a professional pickleball association.
And in doing some video review for aproject I was working on, I had come
across some really goodinterview answer by Anna Bright, I
(00:45):
believe she's number twoplayer in the world right now.
If not, she's up there, top five for sure.
She's a very good pickleball player.
And she, at the end of a match, and I'llset it up for you a
little bit, a little bit.
But at the end of a match, sheexpressed some of thoughts
that just reminded me of how wecan have a better, a more constructive
(01:07):
interaction with the sport that we play.
And it reminded me also of a concept thatcame out of the book,
Mental Emotional Training forTennis: Compete, Learn, Honor by Coach
Peter Skale, which is one of the seminalbooks in my journey, in my mental
journey as an athlete.
And I'm going to share with yousome information on how to get...
(01:29):
He did a workbook I spoke recently, and wehave a code that you
can use to access that.Actually, I'll go and give it to you now.
So if you go down to the show notes,there's a code in there that
you can use to get 50 % off.
I'm pretty sure it's 50 %, butit'll be in the show notes.
It's a high percentageoff of his playbook.
And the idea, it's actually like aworkbook that you can use to
(01:50):
help you through this process.
I think you'll find it very helpful, andso I would definitely check that out.
If you do decide to use Coach Pete'smaterials, please go to Amazon
and give him a review on there.
It really helps him toreach other players.
As you guys know from listening to thispodcast, when we ask for ratings and
reviews, it just helps usreach additional players.
(02:12):
It's just the way that ourworld is built these days.
So If you can do thatfor him, that'd be great.
The code will not work onAmazon, however, though.
So the code needs to work on thesite that'll be in the show notes.
So what I'm going to do now is let me setit up for you, and then I'm going to play
the audio from theend of the match, and then we'll break it
down and talk abouthow that applies to us.
(02:32):
So set up the match a little bit.
Anna Bright plays with Rachel Rohrabacher,Rachel is actually a local player here in
the Tampa area, I've knownher for several years.
I knew her when she was just gettingstarted in pickleball, and it's
been amazing to watch her rise.
But Anna and Rachel play together, andthey were playing against Anly,
Waters, and Katherine Prento.
Anly and Katherine are adominant force in pickleball.
(02:55):
In the women's tour, theyare virtually unbeatable.
You know, Anna and Rachelare the only team, really, that are within
striking distance of Anly and Katherine.
So Anna and Rachel had just beaten them ina prior encounter, and now they're playing
them in the next matchThey had one game and this is in the
(03:17):
final, so it's a gold medal match,and those are best three out of five.
So Anna and Rachel had one game numberone, and they looked like they were
cruising, and then theyhad a roadblock in games number 2 and
3, and Anly and Katherine took those.
And I'm not taking it throughfrom Anly and Katherine.
They played great.
But if you watch Anna and Rachel, itjust like everything changed in game 2.
(03:42):
There's a momentum change at three, threeand all of a sudden, things got
away from them a little bit.
Then in game 4, it looked like Annaand Rachel had found their way again.
They were up 9-8 in game 4.
That 9-8 score lasted like an hour.
It didn't last that long,but it lasted a while.
And they were stuck there.
And then Anly and Katherine ended upwinning that game, I
believe it was 12 (04:04):
10.
And so you havethis wrenching back and forth in a
match that for these players is there.
It's how they earn a living.
This is not just Tuesdaymorning pickleball at the local Y, or at
the local courts, or at aclub, and things like that.
It's also notan event that we're doing, like a round
(04:26):
Robin or something, or a league that we'replaying for exercise and socialization.
This is how these folks make a living.
And the result of this match impactsthat particular purse,
what they earn in that tournament, as wellas their ability to get
sponsorship and things like that.
So it's important to think about that.
It's relevant to think about that becauseit places the results of this match as
(04:49):
perhaps a little more important in termsof their everyday existence than
the results of our matches.
But I want you to hear how Anna frames thesituation when she's asked a question
about what happened in game 4 and how shepivots the answer and provides a really
good context that is going to helpher be a better player and a
(05:10):
more long-lasting athlete, and can alsohelp us in how we deal with adversity
when we're out on the court.
Let's listen to the audio.
On Championship Sunday, so Anna Bright andRachel Rohrabacher joining me now
to pay off a great 2024 campaign.
But let's go match-specific first game 4.
Where did things start toget away from you there?
(05:31):
We built ourselves a nice lead.
I'm really proud of ourselves afterlosing games two and three for doing that.
But major kudos to Anna and Katherine.
They locked back in there, andthen it was really neck and neck.
I think the both teams were stuck on 9-8for a long time, and they were
able to get over the finish line.
So major congrats to them.We've had a great season.
They've had a great season.It's really special.
Thank you to everyone for tuningin and watching and cheering.
(05:52):
It's really fun.
Really fun to play thesematches, win or lose.
Now, remember, this is at the end of agold medal match where they just lost game
before in a very back and forth fashion.
So just keep that in mind as we thinkthrough the words that you
heard from Anna just now.
And then think about sometimes how we feelat the end of one game.
And we were playing with our friends in awreck situation or whatever, and we just
(06:17):
lost the game and we feel likethe world is ending, or like we
screwed up, or whatever it is.
And let's break down the way that Annaapproached it in the different components
of it, because I think it can really helpus as we deal with
losses, because losses will happen.
So the first thing was how she pivoted.
(06:38):
So the reporter asked a question abouthow What happened in game four, right?
The interview heasked what happened in game 4?
It's a fine question.There's nothing wrong with the question.
But Anna doesn't reallywant to dwell on that.
What happened in game 4?
I missed a shot, theymissed a shot, whatever.
(07:00):
Instead, she goes very big picture, andthat's taking a very long lens
view of the game, which is awesome.She's reframing.
That's the key there.
That's something you can do afterthe end of a match is reframe.
Instead of worrying so much aboutthe volume you missed, the third shot you
missed, whatevershot was that you think was the
(07:21):
reason you lost that game, you pivot awayfrom it to the bigger story, to the
bigger picture of the situation.
Whatshe did there is then she went directly
into celebrating the back and forth,celebrating the competition.
And that's what Coach Peter Scales talksabout in his book, which is his
(07:43):
tenet is called Compete, Learn, Honor.
That's what he developed, thisframework of Compete, Learn, Honor.
So competing is one thing that we do,which is we go out there and
we compete, we give our best.
We also understandthat our opponents are out there,
and they are going to compete and do what?Give their best, too.
And that's the beauty of pickleball, isthis back and forth
(08:04):
battle that we have between ourselves andour opponents, us pushing them and them
pushing us, which happened in this matchbetween Anna, Rachel,
Analee, and Katherine.
Anna and Rachel had beaten Anly andKatherine, the prior tournament,
and that was a push to Anly and Katherinesaying, Hey, guys, we're coming.
And they started outgame one, won that one.
(08:26):
Then Anly and Katherine turnedit around in this match.
Then in game Before Anna and Rachel dugtheir heels in, and they did, and
they fought hard in game four.
It didn't work out for them.
It didn't turn out in their favorin terms of the ultimate result.
But they did, in fact, push each otherreally hard in that game four with Anna,
Lee, and Katherine coming out on top.
And Anna recognizes that and respects thatand says, Hey, we did some stuff, they did
(08:51):
some stuff, and thenshe gives them credit.
That's the other thingthat's really important here.
So it's recognizing the value ofcompetition and then giving credit to your
opponent, understanding understanding thatyour opponent is out there just like
you're fighting, they're fighting, too.
And so giving them credit by saying...
Anna says, Anly and Katherine,they locked it down.
They did what they had to do, and theygot across the finish line before we did.
(09:13):
That's pickleball, right?
And So that's a really good reframing ofan outcome that is adverse to us, because
there will be times that you willbe the victor in those situations.
There'll be times that you'll bethe loser in those situations.
That is just part of life.
That is part of thedynamic and pickleball.
And if you're not ready to do that, then Ithink some reflection and things like that
(09:35):
is helpful to you because you're playing agame, you're playing a sport,
and a sport is competition.
And so thatrecognition of her opponents and giving
them credit is critical andsomething that we should do.
There's no reason not to.
Then she thanked everyone,which is fantastic.
There's other pieces to the puzzle thatare more than just
us on the court, more than justourselves as individuals, There's our
(10:00):
teammate, our partner in the game, there'sthe opponents, there's those around us.
So if you're playing an open play, forinstance, there's other
players who are there.
So if a player behavesin a way that makes other players feel
uncomfortable, that's going to reflect onnot just themselves, but that's going
to impact everybody around there.
(10:22):
There's also the organizers, there'sthe facility managers, all those folks.
All those people are necessaryfor you to get enjoy the game.
And in Anna's case, obviously, theaudience is important because they're
playing professional sports, so she thanksthe audience, which is awesome,
recognizing the bigger picture.
And then what I really liked was the lastthing she said, I'm
(10:42):
going to quote it, right?
She said, Really fun to playthese matches, win or lose.
I'm going to read that one more time.
Really fun to play thesematches, win or lose.
She's focusing on the positive, of havingthe opportunity to engage in this amazing
sport of pickleball againstthe best athletes in the world, against
(11:07):
the best players in the world,go out there, compete, give it your all.
It's good win or lose.
It's not good win only.
And that's something that I think getslost sometimes when we play pickleball,
is we end up in this mindset of,pickleball is great, but only when we win.
(11:28):
I'm going to tell you guys a side storyhere that happened at Nationals
a couple of years ago.This was not in 24, it was in 23.
It was a professional player.
I won't say her name because I don'thave her permission to share it.
It was a private conversation.
But she's, at the time, I would say easilytop 20, maybe top 30, but top 20
female pickleball player.
And I happened to run into her, and Ididn't know her before, but she was
(11:52):
sitting there next to thecourts where I was playing.
And I just came up to herand I said hello to her.
And I told her that I really likedObviously, I liked watching
her play, that general stuff.
But then I also told her that Iappreciated her style of play because it
was a style of play that I used to helpour students, basically explaining how the
(12:15):
positioning of the paddle and things likethat, it was super, and really
appreciate her work and things like that.And she seemed a little down.
So I asked her, I said, Do you mind me?
I don't want to be nosy, right?But I guess I was a little nosy.
But I was like, Do you mind Andthen she seemed like, low down.
So I said, Do you mind ifI share something with you?
(12:35):
And so I shared the ideaof the bowl of ice cream.
If you haven't heard the bowl of icecream, we'll put a link
down in the show notes.Check that out.
But basically, the premise of it is thatevery time you play, it's a good day, just
like Anna said, win or lose becauseyou're playing this awesome sport.
So when I explained to her the concept,where I shared the concept of a bowl
of ice cream, there was pushback.
(12:56):
And it was very polite pushback, verynice pushback, very friendly pushback.
But the pushback was basically thatthat day, she did not merit
a full bowl of ice cream.
Why?
Because she hadn't playedas well as she wanted to play, right?
She didn't do what she wanted to do.
So she doesn't get afull bowl of ice cream.
But she did.She got to give it a little bit.
(13:16):
She was like, A little bit of ice cream.
But that's not correct.
And the reason it's not correct is becauseyou still get a full bowl of ice cream
just by the fact that you get to playpickle And it's going to Anna's language.
It's really fun to play these matches,win or lose.
(13:38):
It's not win only.
And so when you can change your mindsetaway from a In
order for me to enjoy this experience, Imust have a W at the end of the match
to a mindset of, that's a...
Well, at its most basic level, the mostbasic would be,
(13:59):
I'm out here playing pickle Period.End of story.
There's nothing else.I don't need to know anything else.
Then you can say, I'm out hereplaying pickleball with my friends.
Fantastic.I don't need anything else.
Then you can say, I'm out here playingpickle with my friends, getting exercise.
Fantastic.Nothing else.
I'm having front.
I'm out here playing pickleball, havingfun with my friends, getting exercise,
and competing, challenging myself.That's fantastic.
(14:19):
And you keep layering allthe different element.
I'm out in the sun.I got to get out of the house.
Whatever it is that's important to you,whatever it is that's a plus of
this, just add it to the Keep going.
At the end, it's win or lose, win or lose,win or lose, because it's not win only.
That's the thing we need to keep in mind.
(14:40):
The reason it's important to keep it inmind is because our brains will force us
into the win-only Yeah,because we'll feel bad when we lose.
If you can just remind yourself, justquote Anna Bright.
Just think yourself like, thatwas really good.
Fill in the blanks with whatever isimportant to you, win or lose, at
the end of your statement.
Anyway, so I wanted toshare that idea with you.
(15:02):
Again, check out Coach PeterScale's thinking on this.
It really changes your perspective.
There's those three elements or threeareas of the mental part of
pickleball on perspective.
Coach Pete, to me, is the best,and it really helps you reframe your
approach to the sport of pickleball.
And what I would say to you here is, atthe end of the day, when you look at
(15:25):
Anna's words, what she's doingis she's honoring the game.
And I think it's important to rememberthat pickleball is bigger than me,
bigger than you, bigger than Anna Bright,bigger than Ben Johns, bigger
than anybody who plays pickleball.
The sport is bigger than any of us.
So we honor the sport of pickleball.
We honor our opponents, and bydoing that, we actually honor
(15:49):
ourselves at the end of the day.
So anyway, hope you enjoyed thatperspective on Anna Bright's wonderful
words at the end of that tournament.
I'll continue to look out for those typesof post game interviews that are of
substance and helpful to us as we continueto navigate our mental journeys together.
(16:10):
As always, if there's any other coachingthat we can do for you inside our Better
Pickable Community, Remember, this podcastis part of the bigger
Better Pickleball picture.We are happy to do that.
You can go to betterpickable.
Com to find camps, to find otheractivities that we have, other coaching
opportunities that we havethat you can interact with us.
Around the time this podcast, not around,a little bit So if this podcast drops,
(16:31):
we will have our pickleballsystem spring course opening.
And if you've been waiting to do thepickleball system, it's a great time to
do it because there's no time like now.
That said, last thing I want to remind youof is if you enjoy the podcast,
share with your friends.
Remember, if you enjoy the podcast,they probably will too.
Hope you have a great week,and I'll see you next week in the
(16:53):
next episode of Pickable Therapy.
Be well..
Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy,the podcast dedicated to
your pickleball improvement.
It's the podcast that isfocused on your pickleball mind.
I am your host of thisweekly podcast, Tony Roig.
It's a pleasure to be with you.
I hope you're having a great week so far.
This week's podcast, we're going to bevisiting a topic that we've talked about a
(00:24):
couple of times in the past, butI was reminded of it
recently doing some PPA work.
As you may know, we're doing somecollaborations with the PPA, which is
a professional pickleball association.
And in doing some video review for aproject I was working on, I had come
across some really goodinterview answer by Anna Bright, I
(00:45):
believe she's number twoplayer in the world right now.
If not, she's up there, top five for sure.
She's a very good pickleball player.
And she, at the end of a match, and I'llset it up for you a
little bit, a little bit.
But at the end of a match, sheexpressed some of thoughts
that just reminded me of how wecan have a better, a more constructive
(01:07):
interaction with the sport that we play.
And it reminded me also of a concept thatcame out of the book,
Mental Emotional Training forTennis: Compete, Learn, Honor by Coach
Peter Skale, which is one of the seminalbooks in my journey, in my mental
journey as an athlete.
And I'm going to share with yousome information on how to get...
(01:29):
He did a workbook I spoke recently, and wehave a code that you
can use to access that.Actually, I'll go and give it to you now.
So if you go down to the show notes,there's a code in there that
you can use to get 50 % off.
I'm pretty sure it's 50 %, butit'll be in the show notes.
It's a high percentageoff of his playbook.
And the idea, it's actually like aworkbook that you can use to
(01:50):
help you through this process.
I think you'll find it very helpful, andso I would definitely check that out.
If you do decide to use Coach Pete'smaterials, please go to Amazon
and give him a review on there.
It really helps him toreach other players.
As you guys know from listening to thispodcast, when we ask for ratings and
reviews, it just helps usreach additional players.
(02:12):
It's just the way that ourworld is built these days.
So If you can do thatfor him, that'd be great.
The code will not work onAmazon, however, though.
So the code needs to work on thesite that'll be in the show notes.
So what I'm going to do now is let me setit up for you, and then I'm going to play
the audio from theend of the match, and then we'll break it
down and talk abouthow that applies to us.
(02:32):
So set up the match a little bit.
Anna Bright plays with Rachel Rohrabacher,Rachel is actually a local player here in
the Tampa area, I've knownher for several years.
I knew her when she was just gettingstarted in pickleball, and it's
been amazing to watch her rise.
But Anna and Rachel play together, andthey were playing against Anly,
Waters, and Katherine Prento.
Anly and Katherine are adominant force in pickleball.
(02:55):
In the women's tour, theyare virtually unbeatable.
You know, Anna and Rachelare the only team, really, that are within
striking distance of Anly and Katherine.
So Anna and Rachel had just beaten them ina prior encounter, and now they're playing
them in the next matchThey had one game and this is in the
(03:17):
final, so it's a gold medal match,and those are best three out of five.
So Anna and Rachel had one game numberone, and they looked like they were
cruising, and then theyhad a roadblock in games number 2 and
3, and Anly and Katherine took those.
And I'm not taking it throughfrom Anly and Katherine.
They played great.
But if you watch Anna and Rachel, itjust like everything changed in game 2.
(03:42):
There's a momentum change at three, threeand all of a sudden, things got
away from them a little bit.
Then in game 4, it looked like Annaand Rachel had found their way again.
They were up 9-8 in game 4.
That 9-8 score lasted like an hour.
It didn't last that long,but it lasted a while.
And they were stuck there.
And then Anly and Katherine ended upwinning that game, I
believe it was 12 (04:04):
10.
And so you havethis wrenching back and forth in a
match that for these players is there.
It's how they earn a living.
This is not just Tuesdaymorning pickleball at the local Y, or at
the local courts, or at aclub, and things like that.
It's also notan event that we're doing, like a round
(04:26):
Robin or something, or a league that we'replaying for exercise and socialization.
This is how these folks make a living.
And the result of this match impactsthat particular purse,
what they earn in that tournament, as wellas their ability to get
sponsorship and things like that.
So it's important to think about that.
It's relevant to think about that becauseit places the results of this match as
(04:49):
perhaps a little more important in termsof their everyday existence than
the results of our matches.
But I want you to hear how Anna frames thesituation when she's asked a question
about what happened in game 4 and how shepivots the answer and provides a really
good context that is going to helpher be a better player and a
(05:10):
more long-lasting athlete, and can alsohelp us in how we deal with adversity
when we're out on the court.
Let's listen to the audio.
On Championship Sunday, so Anna Bright andRachel Rohrabacher joining me now
to pay off a great 2024 campaign.
But let's go match-specific first game 4.
Where did things start toget away from you there?
(05:31):
We built ourselves a nice lead.
I'm really proud of ourselves afterlosing games two and three for doing that.
But major kudos to Anna and Katherine.
They locked back in there, andthen it was really neck and neck.
I think the both teams were stuck on 9-8for a long time, and they were
able to get over the finish line.
So major congrats to them.We've had a great season.
They've had a great season.It's really special.
Thank you to everyone for tuningin and watching and cheering.
(05:52):
It's really fun.
Really fun to play thesematches, win or lose.
Now, remember, this is at the end of agold medal match where they just lost game
before in a very back and forth fashion.
So just keep that in mind as we thinkthrough the words that you
heard from Anna just now.
And then think about sometimes how we feelat the end of one game.
And we were playing with our friends in awreck situation or whatever, and we just
(06:17):
lost the game and we feel likethe world is ending, or like we
screwed up, or whatever it is.
And let's break down the way that Annaapproached it in the different components
of it, because I think it can really helpus as we deal with
losses, because losses will happen.
So the first thing was how she pivoted.
(06:38):
So the reporter asked a question abouthow What happened in game four, right?
The interview heasked what happened in game 4?
It's a fine question.There's nothing wrong with the question.
But Anna doesn't reallywant to dwell on that.
What happened in game 4?
I missed a shot, theymissed a shot, whatever.
(07:00):
Instead, she goes very big picture, andthat's taking a very long lens
view of the game, which is awesome.She's reframing.
That's the key there.
That's something you can do afterthe end of a match is reframe.
Instead of worrying so much aboutthe volume you missed, the third shot you
missed, whatevershot was that you think was the
(07:21):
reason you lost that game, you pivot awayfrom it to the bigger story, to the
bigger picture of the situation.
Whatshe did there is then she went directly
into celebrating the back and forth,celebrating the competition.
And that's what Coach Peter Scales talksabout in his book, which is his
(07:43):
tenet is called Compete, Learn, Honor.
That's what he developed, thisframework of Compete, Learn, Honor.
So competing is one thing that we do,which is we go out there and
we compete, we give our best.
We also understandthat our opponents are out there,
and they are going to compete and do what?Give their best, too.
And that's the beauty of pickleball, isthis back and forth
(08:04):
battle that we have between ourselves andour opponents, us pushing them and them
pushing us, which happened in this matchbetween Anna, Rachel,
Analee, and Katherine.
Anna and Rachel had beaten Anly andKatherine, the prior tournament,
and that was a push to Anly and Katherinesaying, Hey, guys, we're coming.
And they started outgame one, won that one.
(08:26):
Then Anly and Katherine turnedit around in this match.
Then in game Before Anna and Rachel dugtheir heels in, and they did, and
they fought hard in game four.
It didn't work out for them.
It didn't turn out in their favorin terms of the ultimate result.
But they did, in fact, push each otherreally hard in that game four with Anna,
Lee, and Katherine coming out on top.
And Anna recognizes that and respects thatand says, Hey, we did some stuff, they did
(08:51):
some stuff, and thenshe gives them credit.
That's the other thingthat's really important here.
So it's recognizing the value ofcompetition and then giving credit to your
opponent, understanding understanding thatyour opponent is out there just like
you're fighting, they're fighting, too.
And so giving them credit by saying...
Anna says, Anly and Katherine,they locked it down.
They did what they had to do, and theygot across the finish line before we did.
(09:13):
That's pickleball, right?
And So that's a really good reframing ofan outcome that is adverse to us, because
there will be times that you willbe the victor in those situations.
There'll be times that you'll bethe loser in those situations.
That is just part of life.
That is part of thedynamic and pickleball.
And if you're not ready to do that, then Ithink some reflection and things like that
(09:35):
is helpful to you because you're playing agame, you're playing a sport,
and a sport is competition.
And so thatrecognition of her opponents and giving
them credit is critical andsomething that we should do.
There's no reason not to.
Then she thanked everyone,which is fantastic.
There's other pieces to the puzzle thatare more than just
us on the court, more than justourselves as individuals, There's our
(10:00):
teammate, our partner in the game, there'sthe opponents, there's those around us.
So if you're playing an open play, forinstance, there's other
players who are there.
So if a player behavesin a way that makes other players feel
uncomfortable, that's going to reflect onnot just themselves, but that's going
to impact everybody around there.
(10:22):
There's also the organizers, there'sthe facility managers, all those folks.
All those people are necessaryfor you to get enjoy the game.
And in Anna's case, obviously, theaudience is important because they're
playing professional sports, so she thanksthe audience, which is awesome,
recognizing the bigger picture.
And then what I really liked was the lastthing she said, I'm
(10:42):
going to quote it, right?
She said, Really fun to playthese matches, win or lose.
I'm going to read that one more time.
Really fun to play thesematches, win or lose.
She's focusing on the positive, of havingthe opportunity to engage in this amazing
sport of pickleball againstthe best athletes in the world, against
(11:07):
the best players in the world,go out there, compete, give it your all.
It's good win or lose.
It's not good win only.
And that's something that I think getslost sometimes when we play pickleball,
is we end up in this mindset of,pickleball is great, but only when we win.
(11:28):
I'm going to tell you guys a side storyhere that happened at Nationals
a couple of years ago.This was not in 24, it was in 23.
It was a professional player.
I won't say her name because I don'thave her permission to share it.
It was a private conversation.
But she's, at the time, I would say easilytop 20, maybe top 30, but top 20
female pickleball player.
And I happened to run into her, and Ididn't know her before, but she was
(11:52):
sitting there next to thecourts where I was playing.
And I just came up to herand I said hello to her.
And I told her that I really likedObviously, I liked watching
her play, that general stuff.
But then I also told her that Iappreciated her style of play because it
was a style of play that I used to helpour students, basically explaining how the
(12:15):
positioning of the paddle and things likethat, it was super, and really
appreciate her work and things like that.And she seemed a little down.
So I asked her, I said, Do you mind me?
I don't want to be nosy, right?But I guess I was a little nosy.
But I was like, Do you mind Andthen she seemed like, low down.
So I said, Do you mind ifI share something with you?
(12:35):
And so I shared the ideaof the bowl of ice cream.
If you haven't heard the bowl of icecream, we'll put a link
down in the show notes.Check that out.
But basically, the premise of it is thatevery time you play, it's a good day, just
like Anna said, win or lose becauseyou're playing this awesome sport.
So when I explained to her the concept,where I shared the concept of a bowl
of ice cream, there was pushback.
(12:56):
And it was very polite pushback, verynice pushback, very friendly pushback.
But the pushback was basically thatthat day, she did not merit
a full bowl of ice cream.
Why?
Because she hadn't playedas well as she wanted to play, right?
She didn't do what she wanted to do.
So she doesn't get afull bowl of ice cream.
But she did.She got to give it a little bit.
(13:16):
She was like, A little bit of ice cream.
But that's not correct.
And the reason it's not correct is becauseyou still get a full bowl of ice cream
just by the fact that you get to playpickle And it's going to Anna's language.
It's really fun to play these matches,win or lose.
(13:38):
It's not win only.
And so when you can change your mindsetaway from a In
order for me to enjoy this experience, Imust have a W at the end of the match
to a mindset of, that's a...
Well, at its most basic level, the mostbasic would be,
(13:59):
I'm out here playing pickle Period.End of story.
There's nothing else.I don't need to know anything else.
Then you can say, I'm out hereplaying pickleball with my friends.
Fantastic.I don't need anything else.
Then you can say, I'm out here playingpickle with my friends, getting exercise.
Fantastic.Nothing else.
I'm having front.
I'm out here playing pickleball, havingfun with my friends, getting exercise,
and competing, challenging myself.That's fantastic.
(14:19):
And you keep layering allthe different element.
I'm out in the sun.I got to get out of the house.
Whatever it is that's important to you,whatever it is that's a plus of
this, just add it to the Keep going.
At the end, it's win or lose, win or lose,win or lose, because it's not win only.
That's the thing we need to keep in mind.
(14:40):
The reason it's important to keep it inmind is because our brains will force us
into the win-only Yeah,because we'll feel bad when we lose.
If you can just remind yourself, justquote Anna Bright.
Just think yourself like, thatwas really good.
Fill in the blanks with whatever isimportant to you, win or lose, at
the end of your statement.
Anyway, so I wanted toshare that idea with you.
(15:02):
Again, check out Coach PeterScale's thinking on this.
It really changes your perspective.
There's those three elements or threeareas of the mental part of
pickleball on perspective.
Coach Pete, to me, is the best,and it really helps you reframe your
approach to the sport of pickleball.
And what I would say to you here is, atthe end of the day, when you look at
(15:25):
Anna's words, what she's doingis she's honoring the game.
And I think it's important to rememberthat pickleball is bigger than me,
bigger than you, bigger than Anna Bright,bigger than Ben Johns, bigger
than anybody who plays pickleball.
The sport is bigger than any of us.
So we honor the sport of pickleball.
We honor our opponents, and bydoing that, we actually honor
(15:49):
ourselves at the end of the day.
So anyway, hope you enjoyed thatperspective on Anna Bright's wonderful
words at the end of that tournament.
I'll continue to look out for those typesof post game interviews that are of
substance and helpful to us as we continueto navigate our mental journeys together.
(16:10):
As always, if there's any other coachingthat we can do for you inside our Better
Pickable Community, Remember, this podcastis part of the bigger
Better Pickleball picture.We are happy to do that.
You can go to betterpickable.
Com to find camps, to find otheractivities that we have, other coaching
opportunities that we havethat you can interact with us.
Around the time this podcast, not around,a little bit So if this podcast drops,
(16:31):
we will have our pickleballsystem spring course opening.
And if you've been waiting to do thepickleball system, it's a great time to
do it because there's no time like now.
That said, last thing I want to remind youof is if you enjoy the podcast,
share with your friends.
Remember, if you enjoy the podcast,they probably will too.
Hope you have a great week,and I'll see you next week in the
(16:53):
next episode of Pickable Therapy.
Be well..
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!