We had an opportunity to sit down with Mark Lashley, the CEO of UTR Sports. They have been in the ratings game for a long time & in this episode he explains why ratings and rankings matter.

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

A rating and a ranking creates level-based play so no matter what level you're at, it's fun to be on a court and you get to enjoy the experience with people at your level. Mark explains how the rating system works to determine the level of a player.

It's a really good episode that you'll also get to understand why a good rating system is always going to be more accurate than a ranking system.

If you're either a turnaround player, playing league, you play at a facility that uses levels, or you're just curious about ratings, listen to this episode and check out UTR Sports for yourself on how they impact the group and the environment in which you play.

UTR Sports: https://www.utrsports.net/

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There's a baseline appropriate for us based on where we are right now. Why? Because the baseline is supposed to keep us in reality. It's meant to ground us in the modality of our situation.

A baseline is like a snapshot of your performance. You can, ofcourse, improve in the future and move your baseline with some work, a focus on your game and growth.

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

In this episode I'll share with you a conversation I had with a friend of mine and why we need to compare ourselves to a baseline that's appropriate for us as well as how to avoid the trap of being theoretical.

In the Riff I share with you a particular story about the US Open Tournament Play that has to do with hybrid pickleball that was both eye-opening and exciting plus the lessons that I took away from that experience.

Episode 188: https://youtu.be/m05zWoDcSAk

Join us for the Live May 2024 Game Studies: https://betterpickleball.com/live-game-study

Are you asking the right questions when setting the baseline for yourselves? In this episode we dive deep into setting the baseline for ourselves and understanding the realities of the game.

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

It's important that you resist the temptation to compare yourself to the other player or trying to look for the perfect sequence when you're out there playing .

Because we're all in different places. Some of us are younger, some older, some of us are left-hand, and some are right-hand and so many other differences, including our backgrounds.

Simply ask yourself, 'Did I do what I could do? Did I do the best that I can?'

I am recording this podcast on location, down at the US Open in Naples and in the RIFF I talk about the US Open and the camaraderie that you see at an event like this.

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i) Please rate and review us, even if you have left a review in the past of the podcast
ii) If you like YouTube and you're on there, go to Pickleball Therapy on YouTube, like a video or write a comment here and there to help us reach more players.

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I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Brynes, a very passionate player & former Major League baseball player. Eric talks to us about his journey as a pickleball player, his book and more!

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

The beauties of our pickleball is seeing many folks with different backgrounds, all playing this awesome sport.

During this episode, Eric talks about various concepts I think you're going to find super interesting. One of them is that we sometimes fight with our students or with players in terms of understanding that they are, in fact, athletes.

Listen to the full episode as Eric also talks about how he takes care of his body, why positioning matters and lot's of other awesome stuff, including how he puts himself in a position to succeed.

You can get KT Tape at this link.

This week we go deep in defining our metrics to analyze games we've played. How do we ask questions or frame ourselves in a correct and more constructive way of thinking about performance?

Start working on asking yourself, did I do the best that I could in that situation from my performance standpoint?

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

In this episode I'll also read to you a story that's a really nice perspective, that all you need to know is your name and we can play some pickleball.

It's a good reminder of the general sport of pickleball, why we play it and the camaraderie that gets developed.

In the RIFF, we talk about the three-minute plank which is about incremental progress and not big, chunky progress. That's the progress that you're going to see in your game and eventually it'll come together.

Join us here for our awesome tournament class: https://betterpickleball.com/tournament-play/

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The Pickleball System Class: http://thepickleballsystem.com/

There are serious losses that we encounter that's part of being alive. If your favorite team did not win a contest, it's not an upset and does not mean that anybody suffered a loss.

It just means that the contest ended with one team having more points, or other defining measurement of that sport, than the other team.

That's why in this week's episode we're talking about how we reference losing sporting events.

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

There's an old Japanese Samurai proverb that says, Do not speak bad of yourself, for the warrior within hears your words and is lessened by them.

Language and the words you use is so important, it affects us and it's how we interact with our mind.

Listen to this episode as we talk about how we can guard ourselves from the resistance inside our mind to events are nothing more than normal expected events

Episode 182- Remove Your Mental Plaque and You'll Play Better; https://youtu.be/bxnby2E3QDI

We've had great conversations with our therapists that we will share here. One of our therapist talks about the importance of the mental game as we age & the mental and physical challenges.

How do we deal with those as we get older?

Here's my take;

- As we get older, we have to be cognizant of life, the change in our bodies and our mind because it can change our ability to, for instance, stay focused for longer.

- Use the FOSS approach of understanding the game to understand what you can do in different situations that's going to be more effective. Then repeat what works.

And as always, thanks for joining us on Pickleball Therapy - the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast ... wait what?? you haven't subscribed? ... you know what to do.

Listen to the full episode as I answer more questions and suggestions on;

1. The game getting faster and harder with a lot of players out there just banging the ball
2. I'm I cut out for tournaments or anything related to tournament prep?
3. What do you do when you feel like you've outgrown your original pickleball group?
4. The common tendencies that we see that we can look for in our opponents and how to capitalize on them

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Playing a tournament but are not sure what to choose? We've got your covered in this special episode. You can confidently make your selection, knowing that there is a cogent reason you are doing so. Your opponents will likely be baffled. But you will know - and that's what matters.

Join us here for our awesome tournament class: https://betterpickleball.com/tournament-play/