Ep. 244 - Stop Chasing Pickleball Distractions

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

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
There are three YouTube videos that havebeen uploaded in the last month or so, and
they've garnered probablyaround 300,000 views.
They are, informationally,they are excellent videos.
But those three videos have the ability todamage far more games than they will help.

(00:29):
And today, I'm going to tell you why.
My name is C.J.
Johnson, and welcome to thepickleball Therapy podcast.
It is the only podcastdedicated to your pickle mind.
And as I have been described, I amthe Sometimes Host of this podcast.
The regular host, Tony Roig,will be back next week.

(00:51):
Now, before we jump into theshow, just a couple of things.
We've got some big stuff coming up onbetter pickle And you may or may not know,
the Pickleball Therapy podcast isan extension of betterpickleball.
Com.
We have a lot of different things going onover there, YouTube channels, online
classes, in-person trainings,and all sorts of things.

(01:13):
But we've got some great stuffcoming up in the next few weeks.
So if you want to stay in the know, I'mgoing to put a link
down in the show notes.
Click on that link, and we will make surethat you know everything that we have
coming up that can helpyour pickleball game.
So let's get back to the topicthat I wanted to talk about.
It's these three YouTube videos.

(01:36):
And I want to start with a story fromwhen I was a young golf professional.
So my background, I have been an athletemy entire life, and I have been coaching
sports since I was in my early 20s.
My first profession wasas a golf professional.

(01:56):
One of the first lessonsthat I got as a golf professional is My
mentor told me, You cannot afford tohave a subscription to Golf Digest.
You need to find out theday that it's coming out.
Go to the newsstand, because, of course,nothing was digital at that point in time.

(02:16):
Go to the news standand be the first in line to get it.
And I was puzzled.
I didn't know why he wasgiving me that advice.
He went on to share I needed to understandwhat was in that magazine
by reading it cover to cover,because what was going to happen

(02:39):
was my students, no matter how dedicatedthey were, they weren't athletes, and they
didn't understand how to protect theirlearning journey
in the same way that I did.
They were going to get that golf digestin their mailbox

(03:00):
They were going to start to read it.
They were going to go and take the tipsfrom the pros onto the lesson team and
start to work on them.
And by the time they got back to a lessonwith me, I was going to see some changes,
and not necessarily positive changes,inside of their golf swings.

(03:23):
Becausethere are certain things we can learn from
the pros, but there are a lot of things wecan't learn from the pros.
And unfortunately, many of us are nottaught how to differentiate
between the two.

(03:44):
That held true in golf,that's held true in skiing,
and that holds true in pickleball.
So there were three videos that wererecently put out, and all by
top-notch pros with outstandinginformation about what
they were talking about.That's why they are the best in the world.

(04:06):
They can do thingsthat you and I just simply can't do.
So to make sure that we stay on track,we need to have a way to differentiate
what are the things that are unique tothem and what are the things

(04:28):
that we can learn from them.
One example would be in what was in someof these videos,
were some highly specialized shots,specifically some attack shots.
We all know that thegame has gotten faster.
I think for many of us, that's creatinga sense that we're getting left behind.

(04:54):
And all of a sudden, there'sthis big rush to power.
And they were talking about some of theshots that they use to create offense.
And in particular, actually, all threeof these shots were about offense.
And These three shotsare unique to these three players.

(05:22):
Now, two out of those three playerscame from a very deep tennis background.
In fact, many of the pros right now, theyoung pros that you see,
come from a tennis background.
And what's important to know about that isthis, is that flick shot or that roll
shot, they have been developing that shotfor years.

(05:48):
They've probably, if they're in theirmid-20s, they probably have been
practicing that shot for 15 plus years.
They literally have millionsof reps that put them in a position
to execute that shot consistently.

(06:12):
So one of those particular shotswas about the slice.
And so the slice shot would be moving thepaddle from a high position to
a low position.
And again, this player hasa wonderful slice shot.
Can you develop a slice shot?
Sure, you can develop a slice shot.

(06:34):
But for it to be consistent,you likely have to have,
I don't know if it's a million reps,but certainly thousands of reps.
And most of us don't have that time to putin our games to develop that consistently.

(06:59):
So we start adding that type of shot toour game, and it's inconsistent at best.
In fact, we likely remember the one timeat work and forget about the 10 times
we hit it into the net or we hit it out.
And that's the stuff that really beginsto hurt our game and to deteriorate

(07:24):
our performance.
Another video was about a pro attackingand being aggressive at the MVZ line.
And she is phenomenal.
She has got a great game tobe able to do that.
Again, I would make the argument that shehas physical talents that

(07:46):
I know I certainly don't.
And I don't think that most players do.
So while I might be able toperhaps mimic the movement, once again,
I really haven't put in the reps, and Iwon't have the time to put in the reps
to be able to execute it consistently.

(08:10):
So now I add something to my game,and It's not consistent.
And not only have I done that,I have likely taken time
away from things that I could bepracticing that
would make me more consistent consistentand make me a better player.

(08:34):
One of the things that we often seeplayers get caught up in
are these magic shots, the flick,the slice, the roll volley.
Yet, they have an inability to hit aconsistently deep return of serve
or to consistently hit a punch volleyat players' feet.

(09:00):
Frankly, those are the shotsthat the average player is going to
play in every single game.
The opportunityat the rec play, or even I would suggest
the 4-0 to 4-5 level, anything below 4-5,the chance to hit a roll volley, maybe

(09:28):
once, twice in a game at most.
So we sometimes make decisionsbased on the things we see
or these fancy shiny pennies.
Tony likes to call them red herring.
We make some decisions based on these redherring,

(09:49):
and they take us away from the things thatcan really help us to be the most
consistent player that we can possibly be.
So one of the things that I think mostpickleball athletes, and I'm calling you
an athlete, and the reason I call you anathlete is you are listening to a podcast

(10:13):
about your pickleball mind.
That makes you an athlete.
That makes you somebody who's reallyinterested in your improvement and you're
interested in your learning journey.
So as a pickleball athlete,you have responsibilities to yourself.
You need to practice self-control andnot get caught up in the shiny penny.

(10:39):
And it's easy to do.
As an athlete, I can tell you multipletimes in my career, both as a golf
professional, as a ski professional, aswell as as a pickleboat professional,
where I've seen that red herring, thatreally cool thing, and
I get sidetracked on it.

(10:59):
My My brain fixates on it,and I spend time and effort
trying to develop something thatI will never have enough time, and
in some cases, physical ability tobe able to do consistently.

(11:21):
And then I robbed myself of the skills,the time, taking that time away.
I I robbed myself of the time where Icould be developing the skills
that will really help my game.
So as an athlete, you owe it to yourselfto be protective of your learning journey.

(11:48):
And here's a couple of tipson how to do that.
When you seecertain things come across, it could be
your YouTube algorithm,It could be Bob or Barbara at the courts,
the ones who are always yapping in yourear about, You should be doing
this or you should be doing that.

(12:10):
When that information comes your way,discern, listen to the information.
Take it in.
What apply some critical thinking to itis, first of all, ask yourself the
question, is, is thatinformation complete?

(12:34):
Do I have everything I need to understandthe big picture and how it
would be applied?
Another thing, is that information right?
Because a lot of times,especially at the courts,
that information probably isn't right orit might not be complete, one of the two.

(12:59):
But the third and the most importantquestion is, that information right
from my game right now, where I'm at.
Is that piece of information going to helpme to get from where I am today to
whatever my next goalas a pickleball player would be?

(13:26):
Answer those three questions for yourselfbefore you start acting
on that information.
That's how you protectyour learning journey.
I've got one more suggestion for you,and it has to do with trusted resources.

(13:46):
As I said, I'm still an active coach inthree sports, and I happen to coach
skiing, and I happen to be at one of thepremier mountains in the United States.
We have a very large a largeski school, and we have some of the best
instructors in thecountry, if not the world.

(14:08):
Even in that setting, I am very carefulwith who I listen to about
information from my own skiing.
I have five trusted resources who Ilisten to what they say,
I analyze what they say, I ask themquestions, and then I make decisions about

(14:36):
the changes that I'm goingto make inside of my skiing.
Even thoughthere's a much larger group, there's
probably another 30 or 40 topinstructors, not just middle of the road.
I'm talking top instructors inthe nation and the world.
At that resort, I have a trusted circle

(15:01):
of information because they're consistent.
They're consistent in their beliefs,they're consistent in how they present the
information, and they're consistent inthose three things that I talked about.
The information is right,the information is complete.
And if they're giving me the informationat the time, I trust

(15:22):
that that information isright for my game at the time,
in this case, my skiing at the time.
And if I don't feel it's right for myskiing at the time,
I just put it up on a shelf.
So that's one of the things that I wouldshare with you as an athlete.

(15:43):
That's another developed skill.
It's a focus skill,and it's a mindset skill.
But it is a skill that will ultimatelyhelp you to get to your goals the fastest.
Because if you can stay focusedon on the things that really matter inside
of your pickleball game, you're goingto improve at the fastest pace possible.

(16:13):
So that's what I got for you today.
Be an athlete.
Take some personal responsibility, andbe responsible for your learning journey.
Don't get sidetrackedon wild goose chases, and you're going to
get to where you want to be much faster.
Now, if this podcast resonated with you,I'd ask that you share it with your

(16:34):
pickleball playing friends, because ifyou liked it, they probably will, too.
And as usual, Reign, review the podcast.
That helps other pickleball players tofind this podcast and
helps them on their learning journey.
Your regular host, Tony Wright,will be back with you next week.

(16:54):
And until then, have fun out there.