November 4, 2025 • 29 mins
In this special episode, I sit down with longtime friend and fellow coach, Scott Golden, to explore The Tao of Pickleball, his new book co-authored with Jeff Morris. We uncover how Eastern philosophy and mindful practice can transform your approach to the game. Join us as we discuss patience, trust, and the process of growth on and off the court.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/1535-special-episode-tao-of-pickleball-a-chat-with-scott-golden
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Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the podcastdedicated to your pickleball improvement.
I hope you're doing well.
This is a special episode of a podcast.It's double special.
Special episode because it's special, butalso extra special because I get to
chat with my good friend, Scott Golden.Scott, how are you doing today?
I'm doing great.
Anytime I can get on a podcastwith Tony, it's a good day.
I would agree with that.I'll second that one, Scott.
(00:26):
It's a good day whenyou get to chat with me.
So as Scott and I had known each otherProbably about close to 10 years now.
We were just chatting a little bit beforewe started recording and just
going over some memory lane stuff.
So Scott, why don't you share witheverybody a little bit of
your background in pickleball?
And then we're going to dive right intothis awesome book that you and your
(00:47):
co-author have put out,and let's dive into it.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I think it's important for people tojust get a little bit of background
on the person you're talking to.
So my name is Scott Golden.
I started playing pickleball about10 years ago, coming up on 10.
And you were one of the first peoplethat I actually played back in the day.
We were talking about Hiawasi, Georgia.
(01:07):
I had such fond memories of thosetournaments back then because the sport of
pickleball back then, obviously, like youand I both know, was not what it is today.
Things have changed drastically,which is not necessarily a bad thing.
But back then, we really went to playpickleball tournaments for the community
to see people that we needed tocatch up with and wanted to see.
(01:28):
Plus the competition back then, we did itfor a lot of pride, and it wasn't as much
about money andpolitics and things like that.
But my journey has been avery interesting journey.
I think just like you, we've evolved inthe sport and we've found where we fit.
And for me, I started at 32 years old.
(01:48):
I'm now 41 years old.
And I feel like I knew pretty early on.
I'll tell you when I knew, I went to atournament in Indiana,
and I was playing in a 5.
0 men's in a singles bracket.
There was five of us.
Four of those five were former collegetennis players, and they kicked my ass.
I mean, these guys beat me 15-3, 15-5.
(02:12):
I think I won one game, 16-14.
I barely squiged it out.
And I got lucky on a coupleof netcords and stuff.
But I realized then I need totransition into some other things.
And so through my processing of the sportand just seeing where the future was, I
eventually transitionedinto to full-time coaching.
And that has led me intosome awesome opportunities.
(02:35):
And so I live in South Florida now,where I always laugh at people.
I moved to Florida from Alabamabecause that's where all the rich
people are and can afford lessons.
So it wasn't that Inecessarily love Florida.
It's just I moved to where thehotbeds were for a pickleball.
Florida is definitely oneof three or four, right?
(02:55):
Arizona, Texas, maybe, a couple of others.
But that's awesome, Scott.
It's been my pleasure to knowScott for a number of years.
We've met in different tournamentsand just as colleagues.
And so what was interesting is, if youlisten to the podcast, you know that we
just came out withPickleball Therapy, the book.
Hub, which is our effort to add somepositive information out there about the
(03:20):
mental aspects of pickleball,a different way of thinking about it.
I want to say it was probably 10 days ortwo weeks ago, Scott reaches out to me and
sends me a message and goes, Hey,can we talk on the podcast about a book
that I put out with Jeff Morris, right?That's correct.
Jeff Morris, called The Tau of Pickleball.
(03:40):
And I was like, Okay,let me take a look at the book and see
what it's about and see if it makessense for it to be on the podcast.
And it definitely does.
I think it's a reallynice, really good book.
Really interesting angles from Easternphilosophy, bringing those
concepts into pickleball.
And so, Scott, why don't you tell us alittle bit about the journey on the book
(04:03):
and how you and Jeff, what you guys aretrying to do with the
book and things like that.
And then we can talk a littlebit about what's inside the book.
And I am going to tell you a spoiler.
I'm going to recommend that if you'relistening to this podcast, I strongly
recommend that you read thePickleball Therapy, the book.
I think it's really helpful to you.
But it doesn't pretend to be the only bookon the subjects and the only thing you
should read, because some conceptsin that book might resonate with you.
(04:25):
I can tell you some concepts in the towelof Pickleball resonated with me,
not just as a coach, but alsojust as a human and as a player.
Some of those concepts are helpful.
So I'm going to recommend...That's a spoiler.
I'm going to recommend that you checkout the towel of Pickleball as well.
But Scott, tell us a little bit about thebook process a little bit, and then we can
dive into some of theconcepts in the book.
I'd love to.
But, Tony, before I get into that, I dowant to also just say thank you to you
(04:46):
because I believe there'stwo ways of looking at life.
One is a very narrow-minded perspectivewhere you're trying to
keep everybody else out.
And then there's a word that we use thesedays that I think is a really, it's a
popular word, but it's really somethingthat I've learned to embrace,
which is collaboration.
And so when you learn to collaborate withpeople in your influence, you can actually
(05:07):
do some really powerful things outin the industries that you're in.
And so I just want to say thank youbecause you looked at it from from a
collaborative standpoint,which I do the same thing.
When I reached out to you,I didn't realize that you would just
come out with that book as well.
So to me, I was like, oh, this is anamazing opportunity for both of us to
(05:27):
share with the audience what we'vebeen doing behind the scenes.
And so for me, thisjust made perfect sense.
You and I go way back, way before weever wrote books or started podcasts.
And so for me, this isa really exciting thing.
So the reason that this book exists, thetowel pickleball for me in my life is
because through the coaching in Florida, Imet a guy named Jeff Morris,
(05:52):
who came down from Canada.
He actually lives full-time in Canada.
He comes down for the winter.
I gave him one quick lesson.
It was actually a clinic, I think.
He wasn't even the individual lesson.It was just a part of...
He was part of a clinic.
He liked my style of coaching, I guess.
So at the end of that lesson, about twoyears ago, he just said, hey,
can I get your phone number?
I'm going to be coming down next year.
(06:13):
Maybe we can link back up.
So I gave him my phonenumber, brushed it off.
Never thought I'd actually even talk toJeff again, probably, is
what I'm imagining I thought.
And then fast forward,about a year and a half ago, he reached
out and he said, Hey, I am a a black beltin different styles of mixed martial arts.
(06:35):
I believe that there's a lot ofcorrelation between
pro players and what they do on the mentalside of the game that
make them successful.
And then he said, Obviously, you aren't ablack belt, but you have a very
technically sound understandingof high-level pickleball.
You've been around the game for 10 years.
I think if we married those two thingstogether, we could create something that
(06:58):
the beginner beginner to intermediateplayer could really
have some advantages if they readthis book over their opponents.
And so I said, in my mind, I'm like, Thisis what I've always wanted to do, but
never really had that opportunity.
And so for me, teaming up with Jeff wasa really great chance for me to do that.
(07:21):
Yeah, and that's awesome that you guys,again, the word collaboration, right?
You guys, Jeff had a vision.
Jeff knew you, knew yourstrengths, you knew his strengths.
You talked about it, you got together, andnow you put something
out there that adds...
It's a positive contribution to the sportthat we love, the sport that
we're dedicated to, right?
Both you and I, and Jeff, obviously,in the aspect of writing the book.
(07:45):
But it's awesome thatyou guys wrote the book.
What I want to do, if you're good with it,Scott, is I want to wet the
appetite a little bit out there.
So I'm going to read a section from thebook, a small section that you wrote.
I don't remember exactly what chapter it'sin, but I think it's really applicable to
a lot of It's going to resonate with a lotof the listeners because it's a lot of the
language that we use, a lot of thisconcept, just express
(08:08):
a little differently.
So allow me to read this to you,and then we can chat about it.
So this is from Scott.
So the way the book is written is,and I think this is fair, Scott.
So Jeff basically wrote thechunks, the chapters.
And then Scott, what Scott did was, I'mguessing you consulted
and talked about it, too.
But there's these sections at the end ofeach chapter where Scott comes in there
(08:29):
and says, okay, From my pick-upexperience, here are things that are
relevant in terms of this overall concept.Is that fair?
That's more than fair.All right.
This is from one of Scott's sectionsat the end of one of the chapters.
The thing is, the section is entitled PushIt says, Go frustration and keep going.
It says, It's easy to get discouraged whenresults don't match your expectations,
(08:51):
but setbacks are part of the journey.
The key is to stay committed toimprovement even when progress feels slow.
Growth isn't always linear.
Sometimes you'll strugglebefore making a breakthrough.
Warriors aren't the ones who never lose.
They're the ones who refuse to quit.
Stay patient, trust the process,and keep pushing forward.
Now, I'm going to tell you, Scott, thatlisteners to the podcast are going to be
(09:12):
like, All right, Scott, did you hackTony's computer and pull some stuff from
Tony's computer and put in your thing?
Obviously, that did not happen, guys.I'm just saying.
But the language is...
What's interesting is to see howyou and Jeff on one side, and then me, CJ,
and the better pickleball team on theother side, totally independent processes,
totally independent petri dishes of thispickleball experience as coaches,
(09:37):
arrive in the same exact place.
This idea of trust the process,be patient, take the next step.
That's all you can do.Take the next step.
The journey idea, this idea that you're ona journey and stay committed to your
progress throughout that journey.
I think it's just...
(09:57):
How do I say this?
It's like I think sometimes for players,Scott, it feels like
they're not going anywhere.
They're stuck and all these things.
And you and I, as coaches, we observethem from the outside of the barrel.
We're looking at them goinglike, No, you're making progress.
I see it.I see it.
I see that you're not the sameplayer you were two months ago.
But in their mind, they're like theperson who lives in the household, right?
(10:21):
And so they don't see the growthof the child or something, right?
But then the cousin visits or the unclevisits, and they're like, Oh,
my God, kids gotten way bigger.Same thing, right?
But they don't see theprogress that they're making.
Tell me a little bit about that.
How do you deal with that withyour students, your experience, and
(10:43):
how did you come to this conclusion interms of trusting the process, as opposed
to what I think a lot of players lookfor, which is the results, right?
That's what everybody wants,is that I just want to win.
Absolutely.
So one, I just want to start by sayingthat I think I can speak on
this topic just like you can.
Because we've been through it ourselves.
We have lived this out, this journey ofthe last 10 years of our lives, seeing not
(11:07):
just the improvements, but the journeybeing the best part of the
success that we've had.
For me, if I was only results-driven in mylife, I don't think I would be nearly
as happy with the last 10 years.
I think for me, seeingwhere I started as a 3.
0 player with no racket sport background,just really falling in love with
(11:30):
the sport that I became addicted to.
I can't say it any other way.
It was just an addiction that was reallya positive one in my life 10 years ago,
but wanting to be a pro player so badly.
And I've had very few big successeson the actual pickleball court.
For example, I've never beat Ben Jones, orI've never been on center stage
(11:52):
playing for the biggest tournament.
But I've had some small wins.
I took a game off of J.W.
Johnson and Jay Devillierbefore they were huge names.
Before anybody really knew who J.D.
Was, he was playing in Utah with J.
Deville, and I was able to win one game.
We won 12-10.
We barely pulled it out.
(12:13):
But that was just part of my journeyof seeing like, you know what?
I can have the results when I put the workin and I'm willing to commit
to that journey long term.
But with this mindset ofhow of pickleball and pickleball therapy,
the books that we're putting out,for you and I, I believe, because we've
(12:35):
done so much coaching over the years,if we just teach somebody how to hit a
drop shot in a one hour lesson and theynever come back, I can almost guarantee
that they won't see the benefitsof the long term success.
They have to be committed to putting thatinto action over and over and over again
(12:56):
until they're able to say, You know what?
Where I started and where I amtoday are two different places.
But if I had not stuck to that and notjust really committed to those things,
I would not be where I am today.
And so for me, this book, PickleballTherapy, the Tau of Pickleball, is
our effort to give people toolson the mental side, not just the physical
(13:20):
side, because we can teachpeople how to hit a drop shot.
It's interesting that you mentioned that,Scott, because I think so many players get
so So caught up on the third shot drop.
And I want to chat about that a little bitmore with you because
I'm going to put you on the spotbecause we didn't rehearse any of this.
So I'm going to ask you to see what youthink about it because I'll tell you where
(13:40):
I'm on the third shot drop forthe vast majority of players.
But let's play on that, becauseyou're absolutely correct.
Players get very hyper-focusedon wanting a third shot drop.
And I don't have anythingagainst the third shot drop.
It's fine.It's a good shot.
But there's so many other things thatwould provide I would submit to you, 70
(14:02):
plus % of players out there would get alot more out of
their experience as pick-up players,but also just their performance.
They'll play better if they spent thatthird shot drop time on the
mental part, on understanding.
And not just...There's part of it...
One of it's the mental part, which ishow you process information, right?
(14:23):
How you...
As you know, the Pickleball Therapy bookis focused on perspective, which I think
is very similar to the towel of pickle,which is like providing a
sound or perspective withinwhich to experience the sport.
But part of it is alsojust understanding what
the game is about, morethan like How to hit an exact shot over to
(14:47):
the right, over to the left, and notreally understanding how that fits
into the bigger picture of the sport.
So I don't know if that makes sense withwhat you're trying to communicate, Scott.
No, it definitely does.
I can use an example.
When I was younger, I used tolike to put puzzles together.
And when I was putting those puzzlestogether, sometimes I would be
hyper-focused on the little piecesfitting, and I wouldn't step back and look
(15:11):
at the bigger picture of what I hadaccomplished or what I
was actually looking at.
And sometimes what I would have to do isjust pause,
take a break from it, and come back, andjust stand over the puzzle
and see the bigger picture.
And then it would unlock things for me.
I would start to all of a sudden,you have to follow what I'm saying.
It's the flow would re-kick in andit would land three or four in a row.
(15:35):
And it's like you pickup that momentum again.
I don't think pickleball is any different.
We hit walls and we hit plateaus.
I think part of that journey andunderstanding is bigger than just learning
how to, like you said,hit that third shot drop.
It's how does that shot fit into wherethat person is at their
(15:57):
particular game right now?
I don't teach beginners about third shotjobs right now because at the level that
they're currently playing at, it's notgoing to be the piece of that
puzzle that fits properly.
I'm going to have to force that,and it won't be a good fit for them.
So I know you're like this, too.
I evaluate each player and where theycurrently are and how to piece that puzzle
(16:20):
together properly for what they currentlyneed, not just forcing a third
shot drop on them or whatever.
Yeah, it's actually right that youmentioned that, because I think,
particularly in the current ecosystem AndI started in 2015.
I believe Scott started in 2016,so roughly the same time frame.
When we started, you had like,Third Shot Sports, you had Primetime
(16:42):
Pickleball, you had, I think Ceeja wasalready on Better
Pickleball, Joe Baker videos.
There was a few things that you could go,and I'm probably missing somebody, but
there was a few, Pickleball411, my Pickable channel.
There's a few things that you could lookat on YouTube, but nowhere near, not even
like, I don't know, like2% of you can access today.
And so I think that's one of the...
I just did a piece that I thinkyou'll appreciate, Scott, trying to...
(17:08):
I was trying to understand some commentsto a YouTube video, and I don't mind
players can comment whatever they want.
It doesn't bother me as a person, but Itry and figure it out because I want to
understand what's happening with them.
I want to use that information totry and figure out, okay, what
is it that's holding you back?
And I'll tell you the story.
(17:29):
So what happened wasI did a video on errors from rushing.
So rushing through shots, rushing throughvolleys or dinks and things like that.
And one of the ones I talked about waswhat I experience very commonly with
students is where they're rushing throughtheir return to serve and they end up
missing it because they have no controlover the shot because
they're running through it.
So I'm like, why don'tyou move to the ball?
(17:50):
I think that was a John Wood and the coachthat said, you want to be quick
but not in a hurry or something.
Basically, don't rush.
Be quick, but don't rush.
Anyway, so that was the whole premise.
So a commenter came in, and I thoughtthis comment was perfectly fine.
The question was Zane Abertil, for thosethat don't know, he was a pro player.
(18:12):
Zane Abertil just did a videoabout how you basically run...
If you hit a drive, you get set up.
But when you're hitting your return serve,you run through which one's correct.
Perfectly fine question, right?
Perfectly fine question.
Because I understand that we live in auniverse where both of
those premises can be true.
They can coexist.
They don't negate each other.
If you understand who Zane istalking to, who I'm talking to.
(18:37):
But then after that, there are thesecomments that players are like,
Do what Zane says.
He's the pro, and he's whatever.
And I'm just like, Which just doesn't makesense, because then the question I ask is,
Okay, what happens when Ben Jones put outhis video and says something
different than Zane?
You're going to follow that becauseBen's better than Zane, right?
But here's the point of it is,It feels like a lot of pickleball players
(19:02):
out there are untethered, andI'll explain that in a second.
So basically, they don't have an anchorthat anchors their
understanding of the game and theirprocess or their approach to
their improvement journey.So they end up untethered.
And so basically, whatever the algorithmfeeds them, they just go,
okay, that's what I'll do.Okay, that's what I'll do.
(19:23):
And you hit the nail on the head just now,Scott, by talking about how
the information they may be receiving,the information they are
receiving may be correct.
It's like, okay, that is goodinformation if you're a 4.
5 player.That is good information if you're a 4.
0 plus player.That is good information, whatever.
And the player who's looking at it is a 3.
(19:44):
5 player, or a 3.2 player, or a 3.
6 player.
And so you get players who can hit threedinks in a row, and all of a sudden
they're like, Oh, I needto start spending my dinks.
And you're like, Why?
What's that going to do for you?
It's interesting dynamicthat you see out there.
But I think that idea, Scott, that youjust mentioned about understanding where
(20:04):
you are and being able to get what'srelevant to you is really important.
Scott, I'd like to read one more sectionfrom your part of the book, if you're good
with it, and then we can chat about it.Absolutely.
All right.So this comes from Staying in the Present.
Now, I'm going to paraphrase a little bitof it because I think it's broader than
(20:25):
you gave yourself credit for here, Scott.
I think the concept thatyou talk about is broader.
What Scott was talking about, soit's called Staying in the present.
He's talking about facing a top player.
Nerves can take over and causeyou to play below your potential.
I've been there myselfand things like that.
I agree with you.
But I want to broaden it because I thinkthe concept that I'm going to
explain in a second, that Scott...
No, not explain, that I'm going to read ina second that Scott explains,
(20:47):
is applies to when sometimes you'replaying that really fearsome player in
your community, it can also be justwhen you're in a downward spiral.
So you're in a game that you've been upand now they're coming back, or you're
down big in game, so you start getting,you're freaking out or whatever.
You start getting tense.
And so here's what Scott says, the bestway to handle it, it being the overload,
(21:08):
the nerves, the pressure, right,is to focus on what you can't control.
Your shot selectionPositioning and execution.
If you stay locked in on your game plan,the score will take care of itself.
And that's a beautiful wayof looking at it, Scott.
So that's why I wanted togive you credit for it.
But it's a broader concept than justplaying a better player, because it
applies pretty much anytime that you're feeling...
(21:30):
Things are not going yourway for whatever reason.
It's control the controllables, right?
And those are things you can decide,like where am I going to aim my shot?
How high over the net, to theleft, to the right, whatever.
I can't control the outcome.
I can't control the score, right?
I can control the shotsin the middle there.
So talk to us a littlebit about that, Scott.
Let's play on that a little bit becauseI think that's such a powerful concept.
(21:51):
I think players get lostin this idea of like...
And the way I explainit, Scott, just so you...
I don't know if you and I have ever hadthis conversation, but I always tell
players, I'm like, You cannot goout on on the court and win a game.
That's just not a thing.And they get it.
When they think about it, they'relike, Yeah, what am I supposed to do?
Yeah, what are you doing?You're just going to go win?
Great.Go win the game.
Have fun.
What you can do is you can say, I'mgoing to do this, I'm going to do that.
(22:12):
I'm going to do that.
And then that increases yourchances of winning that game.
But anyway, let's talk aboutthat a little bit, Scott.
So I love just listening to you just talkabout that subject because this is
something that is very important to me inmy own personal playing journey
is sometimes we as people, people, ashumans, can let nerves or fear take over.
(22:35):
And then all of a sudden the focusbecomes, how do I just keep my hand from
trembling while I'm going to hit the ball?
Or, oh my gosh, I don't want to embarrassmyself in front of these people or the
people on the other side of the net becomethe bigger issue than you
actually playing in the flow.
And so this concept of what I'm going touse the word is the flow,
(22:57):
is finding this flow state where it reallydoesn't matter what's
going on on the other side.
It doesn't matter what your partner isdoing, what they're saying or whatever.
It's the ability for you to find yourinner peace and the
flow state is a mindset.
It's not a physical.
It's so funny because when I've played inlike, tournaments where I'm
in the gold medal match.
(23:17):
Mind you, the way tournaments work, right?
If you've never played a pickleballtournament, it's a little different than
other sports in the fact that for protennis, they play one match a day, and
then it might go for 2-3 hours, but thenthey're done and they can go home
to the hotel and relax and recover.
But in pickleball,and it's changing at the pro level, but if
you go to an amateur tournament, you'repretty much there from Friday morning, if
(23:42):
you play singles, all theway through Sunday evening.
If you're doing well, you're going to bethere till night,
nighttime, all three days.
So it's very taxing onyour body and on your mind.
But if you happen to make it all the wayto the gold medal match, you find a flow
at some point because you don't You don'tusually get to the gold medal match
until you found that type of flow.
(24:04):
And what I found is when I'm in thatmental state where I can control only my
decisions, my choices, and it reallydoesn't matter what's going on around me,
everything seems to fallin the place naturally.
It's like I'm hittingdrops, I'm hitting dinks.
And when I finish that tournament, I'll bein the car driving home, Tony,
I'll be like, I don't even rememberhitting 50 drops or 60 dinks.
(24:29):
It's almost like a dream state.
But I won that gold andI came out victorious.
So what I'm getting at is finding thatflow and not letting the external factors
play a role is very, very powerful.
And I think pickleball therapy be yourbook, the Dauph Pizzabal, my
book that we came out with.
It's all an effort to try to help peoplefind that flow state in their mind.
(24:54):
Yeah, I agree.
I think if you come at the sport,The better you prepare, the better you...
Ahead of time, right?
The better you prepare ahead of timementally before things get going, because
when things are going,it's like, forget about it.
It's nuts, right?So you got to prepare ahead of time.
The more work you putin, whether it's reading.
(25:15):
Again, I'm going to recommend to anybodylistening to this, if you're serious about
your mental side of your game,get both books, read both books.
You're talking about a total investment.I don't know what the total is.
Is it 50 bucks, 60?But I don't care.
It's a dumb number, right?
Your paddle costs five timeswhatever this is going to cost you.
Read the books and you'regoing to get the benefit of it.
Scott, I don't want to give away moreabout the book because we've given
(25:36):
enough little samplers out there.
I think that's plenty.
I'm going to recommend tofolks, you can go to Amazon.
You can find Scott and Jeff's book onAmazon right now, TAO of Pickleball.
We'll put a link down in the show notes,but you can just go straight
to Amazon, get it there.
Leave a review for it, folks.
It's really important that you leavereviews for the book, please, both on the
(25:59):
TAO of Pickleball as well as PickleballTherapy, the book, if you end up with that
book as well, because it helps ourbooks then reach other players.
Otherwise, other players don't ever seethat just because they didn't
listen to this podcast.We're not engaged with them directly.
So if you can do that,that would be amazing.
And then, Scott, I want toleave him one more thing.
If you're down, well, anywhere in theworld is fine, but if you're down in South
(26:22):
Florida and they want to train with thegreat Scott Golden, what's the best way
for someone to get a hold of you andget some training in with Scott Golden?
Awesome.
Tony, before I say that, just thank youagain for having me on your podcast.
I really appreciate yourwillingness to bring me on.
It's so great to catch upwith you after all this time.
We've been friends for almost 10 yearsnow, and it's just really fun catching up
(26:44):
and talking about ournew stuff we have going.
The best way to get a hold of meon social media is on Instagram.
It's simple GoldenboyPickleBall.
Facebook, it's eitherGoldenboyPickleBall or Scott Golden.
You can't miss my page.
It's all pickleball stuff.
You'll know exactly where it is.
And then that's pretty much it.
I really think that your audience is goingto benefit from reading Pickleball
(27:07):
Therapy and the Dallas Pickleball.
Honestly, I travel a lot, and I lovenothing more than putting in the
headphones, listening to an audio book.
Also, some people like paperback.
So if you like the paperback, order thatand just spend time, 15 minutes
every night just reading one chapter.
It'll do a world of wonders for yourpickleball game because
you and I talk off camera.
(27:28):
People spend too much time thinking aboutthe physical side of the
game, the technical side.
But without the mental side, if you doplay tournaments, you will not go very far
in your pickleball journey unless you aredeveloping that mental side as
much or more than the physical.
I'm going to broaden that, Scott, becauseI'm going to suggest,
(27:49):
I don't care if you're playing rec,whatever you're playing, if you get a
better mental approach to yourpickleball, you're going to play better.
We like to say, you'll feel better.I think that's good enough.
We could end on feel better and be done.That's great.
But you're going to play better, too.
And that's really apragmatic piece to it that I think is
overlooked by players in their journey.
(28:13):
But Scott, it's always great to see you.
We're going to stay intouch more frequently.
We already agreed to that.
I'll see you when I'mdown in South Florida.
We're going to get together.
And when you're in Tampa, we'regoing to come across and say hello.
Again, we'll put linksdown below to both books.
You can check them out.
And As always, consider ratingand reviewing the podcast.
If you enjoyed this podcast and you thinkone of your friends can benefit from
(28:36):
either the Pickleball Therapy book, theTAO of Pickleball, or preferably both
books, share this podcast with themso they can get the benefit of that.
Scott, always great to see you, mybrother, and congratulations
to you and Jeff on the book.
It's a great effort anda lot of success with it.
Same to you, Tony.Take care, bud.
Welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the podcastdedicated to your pickleball improvement.
I hope you're doing well.
This is a special episode of a podcast.It's double special.
Special episode because it's special, butalso extra special because I get to
chat with my good friend, Scott Golden.Scott, how are you doing today?
I'm doing great.
Anytime I can get on a podcastwith Tony, it's a good day.
I would agree with that.I'll second that one, Scott.
(00:26):
It's a good day whenyou get to chat with me.
So as Scott and I had known each otherProbably about close to 10 years now.
We were just chatting a little bit beforewe started recording and just
going over some memory lane stuff.
So Scott, why don't you share witheverybody a little bit of
your background in pickleball?
And then we're going to dive right intothis awesome book that you and your
(00:47):
co-author have put out,and let's dive into it.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I think it's important for people tojust get a little bit of background
on the person you're talking to.
So my name is Scott Golden.
I started playing pickleball about10 years ago, coming up on 10.
And you were one of the first peoplethat I actually played back in the day.
We were talking about Hiawasi, Georgia.
(01:07):
I had such fond memories of thosetournaments back then because the sport of
pickleball back then, obviously, like youand I both know, was not what it is today.
Things have changed drastically,which is not necessarily a bad thing.
But back then, we really went to playpickleball tournaments for the community
to see people that we needed tocatch up with and wanted to see.
(01:28):
Plus the competition back then, we did itfor a lot of pride, and it wasn't as much
about money andpolitics and things like that.
But my journey has been avery interesting journey.
I think just like you, we've evolved inthe sport and we've found where we fit.
And for me, I started at 32 years old.
(01:48):
I'm now 41 years old.
And I feel like I knew pretty early on.
I'll tell you when I knew, I went to atournament in Indiana,
and I was playing in a 5.
0 men's in a singles bracket.
There was five of us.
Four of those five were former collegetennis players, and they kicked my ass.
I mean, these guys beat me 15-3, 15-5.
(02:12):
I think I won one game, 16-14.
I barely squiged it out.
And I got lucky on a coupleof netcords and stuff.
But I realized then I need totransition into some other things.
And so through my processing of the sportand just seeing where the future was, I
eventually transitionedinto to full-time coaching.
And that has led me intosome awesome opportunities.
(02:35):
And so I live in South Florida now,where I always laugh at people.
I moved to Florida from Alabamabecause that's where all the rich
people are and can afford lessons.
So it wasn't that Inecessarily love Florida.
It's just I moved to where thehotbeds were for a pickleball.
Florida is definitely oneof three or four, right?
(02:55):
Arizona, Texas, maybe, a couple of others.
But that's awesome, Scott.
It's been my pleasure to knowScott for a number of years.
We've met in different tournamentsand just as colleagues.
And so what was interesting is, if youlisten to the podcast, you know that we
just came out withPickleball Therapy, the book.
Hub, which is our effort to add somepositive information out there about the
(03:20):
mental aspects of pickleball,a different way of thinking about it.
I want to say it was probably 10 days ortwo weeks ago, Scott reaches out to me and
sends me a message and goes, Hey,can we talk on the podcast about a book
that I put out with Jeff Morris, right?That's correct.
Jeff Morris, called The Tau of Pickleball.
(03:40):
And I was like, Okay,let me take a look at the book and see
what it's about and see if it makessense for it to be on the podcast.
And it definitely does.
I think it's a reallynice, really good book.
Really interesting angles from Easternphilosophy, bringing those
concepts into pickleball.
And so, Scott, why don't you tell us alittle bit about the journey on the book
(04:03):
and how you and Jeff, what you guys aretrying to do with the
book and things like that.
And then we can talk a littlebit about what's inside the book.
And I am going to tell you a spoiler.
I'm going to recommend that if you'relistening to this podcast, I strongly
recommend that you read thePickleball Therapy, the book.
I think it's really helpful to you.
But it doesn't pretend to be the only bookon the subjects and the only thing you
should read, because some conceptsin that book might resonate with you.
(04:25):
I can tell you some concepts in the towelof Pickleball resonated with me,
not just as a coach, but alsojust as a human and as a player.
Some of those concepts are helpful.
So I'm going to recommend...That's a spoiler.
I'm going to recommend that you checkout the towel of Pickleball as well.
But Scott, tell us a little bit about thebook process a little bit, and then we can
dive into some of theconcepts in the book.
I'd love to.
But, Tony, before I get into that, I dowant to also just say thank you to you
(04:46):
because I believe there'stwo ways of looking at life.
One is a very narrow-minded perspectivewhere you're trying to
keep everybody else out.
And then there's a word that we use thesedays that I think is a really, it's a
popular word, but it's really somethingthat I've learned to embrace,
which is collaboration.
And so when you learn to collaborate withpeople in your influence, you can actually
(05:07):
do some really powerful things outin the industries that you're in.
And so I just want to say thank youbecause you looked at it from from a
collaborative standpoint,which I do the same thing.
When I reached out to you,I didn't realize that you would just
come out with that book as well.
So to me, I was like, oh, this is anamazing opportunity for both of us to
(05:27):
share with the audience what we'vebeen doing behind the scenes.
And so for me, thisjust made perfect sense.
You and I go way back, way before weever wrote books or started podcasts.
And so for me, this isa really exciting thing.
So the reason that this book exists, thetowel pickleball for me in my life is
because through the coaching in Florida, Imet a guy named Jeff Morris,
(05:52):
who came down from Canada.
He actually lives full-time in Canada.
He comes down for the winter.
I gave him one quick lesson.
It was actually a clinic, I think.
He wasn't even the individual lesson.It was just a part of...
He was part of a clinic.
He liked my style of coaching, I guess.
So at the end of that lesson, about twoyears ago, he just said, hey,
can I get your phone number?
I'm going to be coming down next year.
(06:13):
Maybe we can link back up.
So I gave him my phonenumber, brushed it off.
Never thought I'd actually even talk toJeff again, probably, is
what I'm imagining I thought.
And then fast forward,about a year and a half ago, he reached
out and he said, Hey, I am a a black beltin different styles of mixed martial arts.
(06:35):
I believe that there's a lot ofcorrelation between
pro players and what they do on the mentalside of the game that
make them successful.
And then he said, Obviously, you aren't ablack belt, but you have a very
technically sound understandingof high-level pickleball.
You've been around the game for 10 years.
I think if we married those two thingstogether, we could create something that
(06:58):
the beginner beginner to intermediateplayer could really
have some advantages if they readthis book over their opponents.
And so I said, in my mind, I'm like, Thisis what I've always wanted to do, but
never really had that opportunity.
And so for me, teaming up with Jeff wasa really great chance for me to do that.
(07:21):
Yeah, and that's awesome that you guys,again, the word collaboration, right?
You guys, Jeff had a vision.
Jeff knew you, knew yourstrengths, you knew his strengths.
You talked about it, you got together, andnow you put something
out there that adds...
It's a positive contribution to the sportthat we love, the sport that
we're dedicated to, right?
Both you and I, and Jeff, obviously,in the aspect of writing the book.
(07:45):
But it's awesome thatyou guys wrote the book.
What I want to do, if you're good with it,Scott, is I want to wet the
appetite a little bit out there.
So I'm going to read a section from thebook, a small section that you wrote.
I don't remember exactly what chapter it'sin, but I think it's really applicable to
a lot of It's going to resonate with a lotof the listeners because it's a lot of the
language that we use, a lot of thisconcept, just express
(08:08):
a little differently.
So allow me to read this to you,and then we can chat about it.
So this is from Scott.
So the way the book is written is,and I think this is fair, Scott.
So Jeff basically wrote thechunks, the chapters.
And then Scott, what Scott did was, I'mguessing you consulted
and talked about it, too.
But there's these sections at the end ofeach chapter where Scott comes in there
(08:29):
and says, okay, From my pick-upexperience, here are things that are
relevant in terms of this overall concept.Is that fair?
That's more than fair.All right.
This is from one of Scott's sectionsat the end of one of the chapters.
The thing is, the section is entitled PushIt says, Go frustration and keep going.
It says, It's easy to get discouraged whenresults don't match your expectations,
(08:51):
but setbacks are part of the journey.
The key is to stay committed toimprovement even when progress feels slow.
Growth isn't always linear.
Sometimes you'll strugglebefore making a breakthrough.
Warriors aren't the ones who never lose.
They're the ones who refuse to quit.
Stay patient, trust the process,and keep pushing forward.
Now, I'm going to tell you, Scott, thatlisteners to the podcast are going to be
(09:12):
like, All right, Scott, did you hackTony's computer and pull some stuff from
Tony's computer and put in your thing?
Obviously, that did not happen, guys.I'm just saying.
But the language is...
What's interesting is to see howyou and Jeff on one side, and then me, CJ,
and the better pickleball team on theother side, totally independent processes,
totally independent petri dishes of thispickleball experience as coaches,
(09:37):
arrive in the same exact place.
This idea of trust the process,be patient, take the next step.
That's all you can do.Take the next step.
The journey idea, this idea that you're ona journey and stay committed to your
progress throughout that journey.
I think it's just...
(09:57):
How do I say this?
It's like I think sometimes for players,Scott, it feels like
they're not going anywhere.
They're stuck and all these things.
And you and I, as coaches, we observethem from the outside of the barrel.
We're looking at them goinglike, No, you're making progress.
I see it.I see it.
I see that you're not the sameplayer you were two months ago.
But in their mind, they're like theperson who lives in the household, right?
(10:21):
And so they don't see the growthof the child or something, right?
But then the cousin visits or the unclevisits, and they're like, Oh,
my God, kids gotten way bigger.Same thing, right?
But they don't see theprogress that they're making.
Tell me a little bit about that.
How do you deal with that withyour students, your experience, and
(10:43):
how did you come to this conclusion interms of trusting the process, as opposed
to what I think a lot of players lookfor, which is the results, right?
That's what everybody wants,is that I just want to win.
Absolutely.
So one, I just want to start by sayingthat I think I can speak on
this topic just like you can.
Because we've been through it ourselves.
We have lived this out, this journey ofthe last 10 years of our lives, seeing not
(11:07):
just the improvements, but the journeybeing the best part of the
success that we've had.
For me, if I was only results-driven in mylife, I don't think I would be nearly
as happy with the last 10 years.
I think for me, seeingwhere I started as a 3.
0 player with no racket sport background,just really falling in love with
(11:30):
the sport that I became addicted to.
I can't say it any other way.
It was just an addiction that was reallya positive one in my life 10 years ago,
but wanting to be a pro player so badly.
And I've had very few big successeson the actual pickleball court.
For example, I've never beat Ben Jones, orI've never been on center stage
(11:52):
playing for the biggest tournament.
But I've had some small wins.
I took a game off of J.W.
Johnson and Jay Devillierbefore they were huge names.
Before anybody really knew who J.D.
Was, he was playing in Utah with J.
Deville, and I was able to win one game.
We won 12-10.
We barely pulled it out.
(12:13):
But that was just part of my journeyof seeing like, you know what?
I can have the results when I put the workin and I'm willing to commit
to that journey long term.
But with this mindset ofhow of pickleball and pickleball therapy,
the books that we're putting out,for you and I, I believe, because we've
(12:35):
done so much coaching over the years,if we just teach somebody how to hit a
drop shot in a one hour lesson and theynever come back, I can almost guarantee
that they won't see the benefitsof the long term success.
They have to be committed to putting thatinto action over and over and over again
(12:56):
until they're able to say, You know what?
Where I started and where I amtoday are two different places.
But if I had not stuck to that and notjust really committed to those things,
I would not be where I am today.
And so for me, this book, PickleballTherapy, the Tau of Pickleball, is
our effort to give people toolson the mental side, not just the physical
(13:20):
side, because we can teachpeople how to hit a drop shot.
It's interesting that you mentioned that,Scott, because I think so many players get
so So caught up on the third shot drop.
And I want to chat about that a little bitmore with you because
I'm going to put you on the spotbecause we didn't rehearse any of this.
So I'm going to ask you to see what youthink about it because I'll tell you where
(13:40):
I'm on the third shot drop forthe vast majority of players.
But let's play on that, becauseyou're absolutely correct.
Players get very hyper-focusedon wanting a third shot drop.
And I don't have anythingagainst the third shot drop.
It's fine.It's a good shot.
But there's so many other things thatwould provide I would submit to you, 70
(14:02):
plus % of players out there would get alot more out of
their experience as pick-up players,but also just their performance.
They'll play better if they spent thatthird shot drop time on the
mental part, on understanding.
And not just...There's part of it...
One of it's the mental part, which ishow you process information, right?
(14:23):
How you...
As you know, the Pickleball Therapy bookis focused on perspective, which I think
is very similar to the towel of pickle,which is like providing a
sound or perspective withinwhich to experience the sport.
But part of it is alsojust understanding what
the game is about, morethan like How to hit an exact shot over to
(14:47):
the right, over to the left, and notreally understanding how that fits
into the bigger picture of the sport.
So I don't know if that makes sense withwhat you're trying to communicate, Scott.
No, it definitely does.
I can use an example.
When I was younger, I used tolike to put puzzles together.
And when I was putting those puzzlestogether, sometimes I would be
hyper-focused on the little piecesfitting, and I wouldn't step back and look
(15:11):
at the bigger picture of what I hadaccomplished or what I
was actually looking at.
And sometimes what I would have to do isjust pause,
take a break from it, and come back, andjust stand over the puzzle
and see the bigger picture.
And then it would unlock things for me.
I would start to all of a sudden,you have to follow what I'm saying.
It's the flow would re-kick in andit would land three or four in a row.
(15:35):
And it's like you pickup that momentum again.
I don't think pickleball is any different.
We hit walls and we hit plateaus.
I think part of that journey andunderstanding is bigger than just learning
how to, like you said,hit that third shot drop.
It's how does that shot fit into wherethat person is at their
(15:57):
particular game right now?
I don't teach beginners about third shotjobs right now because at the level that
they're currently playing at, it's notgoing to be the piece of that
puzzle that fits properly.
I'm going to have to force that,and it won't be a good fit for them.
So I know you're like this, too.
I evaluate each player and where theycurrently are and how to piece that puzzle
(16:20):
together properly for what they currentlyneed, not just forcing a third
shot drop on them or whatever.
Yeah, it's actually right that youmentioned that, because I think,
particularly in the current ecosystem AndI started in 2015.
I believe Scott started in 2016,so roughly the same time frame.
When we started, you had like,Third Shot Sports, you had Primetime
(16:42):
Pickleball, you had, I think Ceeja wasalready on Better
Pickleball, Joe Baker videos.
There was a few things that you could go,and I'm probably missing somebody, but
there was a few, Pickleball411, my Pickable channel.
There's a few things that you could lookat on YouTube, but nowhere near, not even
like, I don't know, like2% of you can access today.
And so I think that's one of the...
I just did a piece that I thinkyou'll appreciate, Scott, trying to...
(17:08):
I was trying to understand some commentsto a YouTube video, and I don't mind
players can comment whatever they want.
It doesn't bother me as a person, but Itry and figure it out because I want to
understand what's happening with them.
I want to use that information totry and figure out, okay, what
is it that's holding you back?
And I'll tell you the story.
(17:29):
So what happened wasI did a video on errors from rushing.
So rushing through shots, rushing throughvolleys or dinks and things like that.
And one of the ones I talked about waswhat I experience very commonly with
students is where they're rushing throughtheir return to serve and they end up
missing it because they have no controlover the shot because
they're running through it.
So I'm like, why don'tyou move to the ball?
(17:50):
I think that was a John Wood and the coachthat said, you want to be quick
but not in a hurry or something.
Basically, don't rush.
Be quick, but don't rush.
Anyway, so that was the whole premise.
So a commenter came in, and I thoughtthis comment was perfectly fine.
The question was Zane Abertil, for thosethat don't know, he was a pro player.
(18:12):
Zane Abertil just did a videoabout how you basically run...
If you hit a drive, you get set up.
But when you're hitting your return serve,you run through which one's correct.
Perfectly fine question, right?
Perfectly fine question.
Because I understand that we live in auniverse where both of
those premises can be true.
They can coexist.
They don't negate each other.
If you understand who Zane istalking to, who I'm talking to.
(18:37):
But then after that, there are thesecomments that players are like,
Do what Zane says.
He's the pro, and he's whatever.
And I'm just like, Which just doesn't makesense, because then the question I ask is,
Okay, what happens when Ben Jones put outhis video and says something
different than Zane?
You're going to follow that becauseBen's better than Zane, right?
But here's the point of it is,It feels like a lot of pickleball players
(19:02):
out there are untethered, andI'll explain that in a second.
So basically, they don't have an anchorthat anchors their
understanding of the game and theirprocess or their approach to
their improvement journey.So they end up untethered.
And so basically, whatever the algorithmfeeds them, they just go,
okay, that's what I'll do.Okay, that's what I'll do.
(19:23):
And you hit the nail on the head just now,Scott, by talking about how
the information they may be receiving,the information they are
receiving may be correct.
It's like, okay, that is goodinformation if you're a 4.
5 player.That is good information if you're a 4.
0 plus player.That is good information, whatever.
And the player who's looking at it is a 3.
(19:44):
5 player, or a 3.2 player, or a 3.
6 player.
And so you get players who can hit threedinks in a row, and all of a sudden
they're like, Oh, I needto start spending my dinks.
And you're like, Why?
What's that going to do for you?
It's interesting dynamicthat you see out there.
But I think that idea, Scott, that youjust mentioned about understanding where
(20:04):
you are and being able to get what'srelevant to you is really important.
Scott, I'd like to read one more sectionfrom your part of the book, if you're good
with it, and then we can chat about it.Absolutely.
All right.So this comes from Staying in the Present.
Now, I'm going to paraphrase a little bitof it because I think it's broader than
(20:25):
you gave yourself credit for here, Scott.
I think the concept thatyou talk about is broader.
What Scott was talking about, soit's called Staying in the present.
He's talking about facing a top player.
Nerves can take over and causeyou to play below your potential.
I've been there myselfand things like that.
I agree with you.
But I want to broaden it because I thinkthe concept that I'm going to
explain in a second, that Scott...
No, not explain, that I'm going to read ina second that Scott explains,
(20:47):
is applies to when sometimes you'replaying that really fearsome player in
your community, it can also be justwhen you're in a downward spiral.
So you're in a game that you've been upand now they're coming back, or you're
down big in game, so you start getting,you're freaking out or whatever.
You start getting tense.
And so here's what Scott says, the bestway to handle it, it being the overload,
(21:08):
the nerves, the pressure, right,is to focus on what you can't control.
Your shot selectionPositioning and execution.
If you stay locked in on your game plan,the score will take care of itself.
And that's a beautiful wayof looking at it, Scott.
So that's why I wanted togive you credit for it.
But it's a broader concept than justplaying a better player, because it
applies pretty much anytime that you're feeling...
(21:30):
Things are not going yourway for whatever reason.
It's control the controllables, right?
And those are things you can decide,like where am I going to aim my shot?
How high over the net, to theleft, to the right, whatever.
I can't control the outcome.
I can't control the score, right?
I can control the shotsin the middle there.
So talk to us a littlebit about that, Scott.
Let's play on that a little bit becauseI think that's such a powerful concept.
(21:51):
I think players get lostin this idea of like...
And the way I explainit, Scott, just so you...
I don't know if you and I have ever hadthis conversation, but I always tell
players, I'm like, You cannot goout on on the court and win a game.
That's just not a thing.And they get it.
When they think about it, they'relike, Yeah, what am I supposed to do?
Yeah, what are you doing?You're just going to go win?
Great.Go win the game.
Have fun.
What you can do is you can say, I'mgoing to do this, I'm going to do that.
(22:12):
I'm going to do that.
And then that increases yourchances of winning that game.
But anyway, let's talk aboutthat a little bit, Scott.
So I love just listening to you just talkabout that subject because this is
something that is very important to me inmy own personal playing journey
is sometimes we as people, people, ashumans, can let nerves or fear take over.
(22:35):
And then all of a sudden the focusbecomes, how do I just keep my hand from
trembling while I'm going to hit the ball?
Or, oh my gosh, I don't want to embarrassmyself in front of these people or the
people on the other side of the net becomethe bigger issue than you
actually playing in the flow.
And so this concept of what I'm going touse the word is the flow,
(22:57):
is finding this flow state where it reallydoesn't matter what's
going on on the other side.
It doesn't matter what your partner isdoing, what they're saying or whatever.
It's the ability for you to find yourinner peace and the
flow state is a mindset.
It's not a physical.
It's so funny because when I've played inlike, tournaments where I'm
in the gold medal match.
(23:17):
Mind you, the way tournaments work, right?
If you've never played a pickleballtournament, it's a little different than
other sports in the fact that for protennis, they play one match a day, and
then it might go for 2-3 hours, but thenthey're done and they can go home
to the hotel and relax and recover.
But in pickleball,and it's changing at the pro level, but if
you go to an amateur tournament, you'repretty much there from Friday morning, if
(23:42):
you play singles, all theway through Sunday evening.
If you're doing well, you're going to bethere till night,
nighttime, all three days.
So it's very taxing onyour body and on your mind.
But if you happen to make it all the wayto the gold medal match, you find a flow
at some point because you don't You don'tusually get to the gold medal match
until you found that type of flow.
(24:04):
And what I found is when I'm in thatmental state where I can control only my
decisions, my choices, and it reallydoesn't matter what's going on around me,
everything seems to fallin the place naturally.
It's like I'm hittingdrops, I'm hitting dinks.
And when I finish that tournament, I'll bein the car driving home, Tony,
I'll be like, I don't even rememberhitting 50 drops or 60 dinks.
(24:29):
It's almost like a dream state.
But I won that gold andI came out victorious.
So what I'm getting at is finding thatflow and not letting the external factors
play a role is very, very powerful.
And I think pickleball therapy be yourbook, the Dauph Pizzabal, my
book that we came out with.
It's all an effort to try to help peoplefind that flow state in their mind.
(24:54):
Yeah, I agree.
I think if you come at the sport,The better you prepare, the better you...
Ahead of time, right?
The better you prepare ahead of timementally before things get going, because
when things are going,it's like, forget about it.
It's nuts, right?So you got to prepare ahead of time.
The more work you putin, whether it's reading.
(25:15):
Again, I'm going to recommend to anybodylistening to this, if you're serious about
your mental side of your game,get both books, read both books.
You're talking about a total investment.I don't know what the total is.
Is it 50 bucks, 60?But I don't care.
It's a dumb number, right?
Your paddle costs five timeswhatever this is going to cost you.
Read the books and you'regoing to get the benefit of it.
Scott, I don't want to give away moreabout the book because we've given
(25:36):
enough little samplers out there.
I think that's plenty.
I'm going to recommend tofolks, you can go to Amazon.
You can find Scott and Jeff's book onAmazon right now, TAO of Pickleball.
We'll put a link down in the show notes,but you can just go straight
to Amazon, get it there.
Leave a review for it, folks.
It's really important that you leavereviews for the book, please, both on the
(25:59):
TAO of Pickleball as well as PickleballTherapy, the book, if you end up with that
book as well, because it helps ourbooks then reach other players.
Otherwise, other players don't ever seethat just because they didn't
listen to this podcast.We're not engaged with them directly.
So if you can do that,that would be amazing.
And then, Scott, I want toleave him one more thing.
If you're down, well, anywhere in theworld is fine, but if you're down in South
(26:22):
Florida and they want to train with thegreat Scott Golden, what's the best way
for someone to get a hold of you andget some training in with Scott Golden?
Awesome.
Tony, before I say that, just thank youagain for having me on your podcast.
I really appreciate yourwillingness to bring me on.
It's so great to catch upwith you after all this time.
We've been friends for almost 10 yearsnow, and it's just really fun catching up
(26:44):
and talking about ournew stuff we have going.
The best way to get a hold of meon social media is on Instagram.
It's simple GoldenboyPickleBall.
Facebook, it's eitherGoldenboyPickleBall or Scott Golden.
You can't miss my page.
It's all pickleball stuff.
You'll know exactly where it is.
And then that's pretty much it.
I really think that your audience is goingto benefit from reading Pickleball
(27:07):
Therapy and the Dallas Pickleball.
Honestly, I travel a lot, and I lovenothing more than putting in the
headphones, listening to an audio book.
Also, some people like paperback.
So if you like the paperback, order thatand just spend time, 15 minutes
every night just reading one chapter.
It'll do a world of wonders for yourpickleball game because
you and I talk off camera.
(27:28):
People spend too much time thinking aboutthe physical side of the
game, the technical side.
But without the mental side, if you doplay tournaments, you will not go very far
in your pickleball journey unless you aredeveloping that mental side as
much or more than the physical.
I'm going to broaden that, Scott, becauseI'm going to suggest,
(27:49):
I don't care if you're playing rec,whatever you're playing, if you get a
better mental approach to yourpickleball, you're going to play better.
We like to say, you'll feel better.I think that's good enough.
We could end on feel better and be done.That's great.
But you're going to play better, too.
And that's really apragmatic piece to it that I think is
overlooked by players in their journey.
(28:13):
But Scott, it's always great to see you.
We're going to stay intouch more frequently.
We already agreed to that.
I'll see you when I'mdown in South Florida.
We're going to get together.
And when you're in Tampa, we'regoing to come across and say hello.
Again, we'll put linksdown below to both books.
You can check them out.
And As always, consider ratingand reviewing the podcast.
If you enjoyed this podcast and you thinkone of your friends can benefit from
(28:36):
either the Pickleball Therapy book, theTAO of Pickleball, or preferably both
books, share this podcast with themso they can get the benefit of that.
Scott, always great to see you, mybrother, and congratulations
to you and Jeff on the book.
It's a great effort anda lot of success with it.
Same to you, Tony.Take care, bud.
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