Learning and Fun in Pickleball

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, I'm Shelly Maurer. And I'm Cher Emmerich. Welcome to Life Lessons from Pickleball, where we engage with pickleball players from around the world about life on and off the court. Thanks for joining us. Hey, welcome everyone to Life Lessons from Pickleball. We are really jazzed today to have with us Maverick Helmer. Maverick, you are a 23-year-old Is that right? 23-year-old, recent graduate of the University of Denver, and you're currently an investment banking analyst.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Yes, I am. And you are competitively playing 5.0 singles and 4.5 doubles. So tell us, how did you start playing pickleball?

SPEAKER_02 0:49

It's been a long road. Be very active in the field, go out, play, and it was very interesting. At the time, a lot of unregulated pickleball was happening, but we made our own rules and we had our own funds, so it's been probably close to 20 years now.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

My gosh, you had your own pickleball court 20 years ago. That's really impressive.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Indeed. It was very neat.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

So you were an itty-bitty when you started? You were just five, six years old when you started playing?

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Maybe a little later, like eight. But within that range, I can't really pinpoint the exact time I started, but always very active. My parents pressured us to be outside and go play in the woods and play golf. And pickleball was something we just did for fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

One of the questions we often ask is, were you hesitant to get started in pickleball? I don't imagine an eight-year-old would be that hesitant.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

No. And truly, we played tennis as well. And so It was almost like mini tennis for us. And I hate that people relate it to that now, but back then we knew nothing other. And so it was ground strokes and lots of big hitting and it was very fun, but a little bit of an unregulated game.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

So when did you start playing by the rules?

UNKNOWN 2:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Recently, actually. It took me a little bit to get fully acquainted, to be quite fair. But I started when I moved out to Denver in 2021. I found Congress Park, which was a phenomenal set of courts and such a vibrant atmosphere. So many people would come out on the weekends. There would be music playing. People would grill. And one day I was actually playing tennis at the courts next door and was like, that's pickleball. I'm going to go jump on it. So went over and here I am to the day.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Do you still play tennis?

SPEAKER_02 3:05

No.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Isn't it funny how that happens?

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Yeah. I will say for a few reasons, though. Partially because college is now over. And in the past, I was playing at the DU club team. And we would travel. We would have fun. There were tournaments. There was a little bit of that competitive spirit to get better. Once I graduated, that dissolved. So it just didn't really have the same impact as it was prior. And I find that USTA can be a little cutthroat. And the way it works, you're not necessarily partnered with the people you want to be friends with and playing with. So I just said, I'm going to pickleball full time.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

I'm going to go have fun.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Exactly. Exactly. So

SPEAKER_00 3:57

how did you get good? Because, I mean, you've been playing since 21, 2021, right? And you're already a 5.0. How did you get so good?

SPEAKER_02 4:07

I think part of it was the fun and the atmosphere at Congress Park. as mentioned, there would just be so many people and so many different levels. And so it's a paddle stacking process. You get put into games with really, really quality people and people who are just beginning. And there is no tolerance to jump in and out of games as you please. So you kind of figure out when you're playing really good people, well, if I'm mid-court and I'm whacking the heck out of it you're going to put your your partner so out of position it's just not going to go well so you learn by experience and by trial and error but then also on the flip side when you're playing people who might be at beginner level you start using shots that you might not use in every other game. And it gives me time to practice. It gives me time to process. Okay, this is good strategy. Let's try this out. It might not be the most effective because on the other side of the net, they might not have the experience to understand what you're doing. But on your side, you start to really see the blueprint of what needs to happen in order to be successful.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

That's great. I mean, that encourages really good players to play with those of us who aren't that great. Because yeah, practice your strategy against me, that kind of thing. And I'll do my best to get it back.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yeah. I could be playing with you all. I could be playing with 90-year-olds. I could be playing with 18-year-olds. It doesn't really matter. It's just the fun of it. And everybody can play.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

So I'm just listening to you kind of in awe because I haven't found that experience at every open play that you go to. So I just think it's really amazing about that culture. And when you said it's just not tolerated to – to move paddles? Like how does it work at Congress Park? I think for people, a lot of times open play and going to open play is kind of intimidating, right? So talk us through that, like for people that are listening that were just really wanting to go to open play, like me being one of them, you know, starting trying new places. Because I talked to you and when you had invited me when I was in Denver to come play with you, I was like, well, I can't come play with you here. You're so good. But now after listening to you, yeah, I want to come play with you.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Of course. Well, I think I am very fortunate to be in Denver. I'm not sure if you have visited, or I know Shelly, you have, but Cher, it is such a welcoming and a great place to be. People are just so nice. And that's just the disposition of everybody. And so I think that helps a lot. And that's a great foundation. But beyond that, it is not tolerated to be so picky and to be so aggressive and mean, and especially open play. If you want to go play organized play, you can go play. book a course somewhere else. That is totally fine, but you don't need to be taking up a court for public use that people are just trying to have fun and enjoy. Now, granted, there are plenty of times when I want to have good play, but I don't go to open play. And so that is a very unspoken, not rule, but courtesy that we do have in Denver. And I find that is often practiced, not always, but often. And I think too, people just want to have fun. You could still play at it. you know, any level and still have a bunch of fun. It's always laughter. I can play with a 3-0 player and still have a bunch to teach them or, you know, laugh about. And I think lastly, people always criticize their own game more so than other realize. I had a coworker come out this weekend with me and she played division one tennis, very athletic, has great fundamentals of racket sport and, A little bit out of position, a little bit less of the feel, the touch that pickleball demands. People were asking about her the next day. Where is she? Is she coming back? Because to other people, she had good fundamentals, a good game to base pickleball off of. But she calls me and she says, I'm so sorry. I'm so embarrassed. I feel like I didn't really play that well. I was just laughing because it is really overwhelming and it's very intimidating to start in. But people – really find the value and find the good things about people's games versus the bad. And they only want to bring you up, at least in my experience.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

That's such a good point that we tend to be our worst critics. And while everybody else is having fun with us, we're thinking, oh, no, I'm letting you down. I'm letting down my partner. I'm not making it fun enough for the people across the net. But usually, like you said, it's just a hoot no matter what.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Right. And forget about the game. As long as you're a good person and you have a good spirit and you're having fun, that's all that really matters. I'm really talkative. I love to laugh. I love to maybe yell a little bit, just not frustration, but in fun frustration. People always seem to seem to find me comical. I think I am. But that's more what I love and live for. I don't really care about the game, but the game does come along with that. And that's how you really get better is just putting yourself out there and just having fun.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

That grill and the music definitely bring that sense of joy and camaraderie, right? That's really cool that they do that.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Yes, 100%. And the music alone brings a lot of good spirit. And people, again, have said things, turn the music off. This is not acceptable. If you want no music and to be serious, again, that is totally fine. But please go to another court. And we're not scared to talk to people. to you about that and say, hey, this is how we do it here. If you don't like it, there are other courts to play at.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Brilliant. Yeah, like you said, you can book your own court, have your own time, your own environment, but this is open.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Right, exactly. I'm

SPEAKER_01 10:30

going to think about that now next time I go.

SPEAKER_02 10:35

Well, and two, I don't know exactly the courts that you go to, but people should always be welcoming. And I think in any situation, whether it be pickleball or even in your personal friendships, walking into a big group of unknown people and trying to make friends is beyond intimidating, regardless if you're eight years old or 65 years old, it's never going to change. But if you push yourself a little bit further to step outside of your comfort zone, you at least have one commonality and that is a game.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Yeah. Yeah. That's the, that's the baseline. Somebody once asked me, so what's your, what's your greatest strength on the court? And I said, my sense of humor. It gets me through a lot of bad. It

SPEAKER_02 11:22

looks like we would have fun together.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

A lot of fun. Speaking about putting yourself out there, you play with pros, don't you?

SPEAKER_02 11:31

I do.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

What? Tell us about

SPEAKER_00 11:34

that.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

What do you want to know?

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Anything. How do you happen to be playing with pros?

SPEAKER_02 11:42

We do have a really good scene out here in Denver. Part of it has to do with the altitude. A lot of people like to train up here. And then too, it just is a weird, well, not really that weird. It's a very active city. partially where we're situated. So I think there is a lot of quality athletes that participate in the athletics and pickleball being one of them. So I luckily am at a level where a lot of actually women pros will want to play with me to Drill their singles and get them really prepared, partially because a woman-to-woman game seems to be a little bit different of a strategy than the men-to-men game. And I play a little bit more differently than they do. So I'm often asked actually tomorrow morning playing with a pro to gear her up for Newport Beach APP tournament. Yes, I think that's correct. And we'll be playing with her. I play with a bunch of the men pros when they need a fourth. It's not always, but do try to get myself involved and keep my game refined because I notice as you start to become a working adult, you don't have a lot of time to dedicate to your personal life. So when I can, I'm out there.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

Work interferes with the pickleball. But now tell us the difference between men and women's play. That's an interesting insight.

UNKNOWN 13:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:01

Singles, I can only speak to partially because that is my bread and butter. I like to say it's a lot easier for me. I know the strategies. Women to women play singles is a lot more baseline. You have to be very strategic in how you come up because they just like to stay at the baseline. And if you don't approach your strategy correctly, especially in the women's game, you can get caught in that no man's land and there's a lot more opportunity to pass.

Pickleball, Community, and Aspirations

UNKNOWN 13:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

A men's to men game is a little bit more intimate. It's a little bit more cat and mouse up at the kitchen line. You're really trying to play, again, strategically, but more angles, more touch, more feel versus hanging out at the baseline, taking your big passing shots.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

That's interesting because I would have expected the opposite since if you're at the baseline, you have to be pretty strong, get the ball where you want it to go and all. So I would have expected it to be the reverse, women up at the net and men back at the baseline, but that's not the typical experience. That's fascinating.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Not that I've ever really experienced, but yeah, it seems to be more that way. And I think there are different strategies that different players employ, but for the most part, it is a little bit different. And two, to your point, the baseline does take a lot of power. It does take a lot of depth. You're trying to always hit that back, you know, fourth of the court to keep your opponent back. And truly the only way to win in singles is to advance to the net. And yeah, that can be very difficult, but if you wait too long, you're already, you know, you're already beat. So

SPEAKER_00 14:40

too late.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

Exactly. Too late.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Oh, so do you have any, uh, fun pickleball stories to tell us?

SPEAKER_02 14:52

I do, but not.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Yes, you do. Go ahead. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

I don't know what's appropriate.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Just keep it a little clean, but go ahead. Of course,

SPEAKER_02 15:03

of course. I mean, no, it is always a fun game, I think. Oh, gosh, a good story, a fun story. I actually did have one, but I can't really think. As soon as you're on pressure, it

SPEAKER_00 15:20

evaporates, right? Yeah, exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Okay. I mean, I think just I'll highlight more of the memories. I think, again, as highlighted, just the grilling and the music on the weekends. People will bring... you know, alcoholic beverages and enjoy. And, you know, Denver, we have 300 days of sunshine. So it's always a nice day, whether it be February or June. So there's a lot of just that tailgating aspect to it and people just love to play. So I think there's been so many times when we've had birthday parties and graduation parties and people just, when you walk on the court, are just so excited to see you. And, you know, people come and go just naturally through whether it be a busy time in their work or a busy time in their personal life. And, when people come back everyone's just so excited to see them everyone wants to play with them and that is always a good feeling it's always a good fun part of the community that I've always cherished and kind of kept me around and very much differs than a lot of other sports so I think that just encapsulates at least the community out in Denver that continues to keep me playing to keep me wanting to advance partially because a lot of the people that I started with I mean makes sense, but also odd that we all have progressed in a way our game has gotten exponentially better. And so to keep up with them, you still want to play with them. You still want to get on the court and you still want to have fun. So that's where I'll leave that.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Do you have aspirations of being a pro?

SPEAKER_02 16:53

I do. There are some limitations to that, partially because I physically don't know if I could handle the... Activity, if you will. I hurt myself last year when I was playing actively in tournaments and it was the end of a good season. Kansas City played mixed doubles my last day and I like fell twice on the court. My knees just gave out and I had to pretty much retire from playing for a little bit and then slowly started rehabbing and getting back in and While it was nothing traumatic, it was something that my muscles just were fatiguing and my conditioning wasn't as good as it needed to be. So it really started to build back from the base up and I'm trying to get back to where I want to be. But I don't know if I'll be able to get there. If I do, the other... hurdle to get over is work. Pickleball is very demanding in a traveling setting. It takes a lot of money and time. I just don't know if I'm ready to commit and take that risk because with that I don't have a sponsor. I don't have the people to back the aspirations of what I want to do. So I think time will tell, but it would be great if I could. I think I have the talent and the game to play. It just needs to be refined and it just needs to continue.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

That's very cool. So two things. One is your bank should sponsor you and they should give you all the time off you need because then you're promoting them. And so you're their billboard, right? I like the idea. The other question is, do you have a coach or more than one coach or has this been all just self-taught?

SPEAKER_02 18:55

This has been self-taught. I find watching and not watching pickleball really improves my game. So I watch a lot of tennis. And with that, especially the singles game, the doubles, I will say is a lot of practice and a lot of drilling. So let me actually break that out. So singles, I get better through watching and I will watch a bunch of singles tennis. The strategies that are, you know, practiced and just watching the different movements has really helped me improve my game. The doubles differs a little bit. I do have a coach, but she doesn't really know it. We drill.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

In other words, unpaid.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

Exactly. Exactly. She's actually a senior pro. She's awesome. She practices a lot with me. We drill a lot and that's pretty much all we do. And that does really refine the game, the touch, the feel. So it really works for me because she has to drill to be on the senior pro and I benefit because, you know, it just helps me get better. And it really is true. You, you can go to open play and get better, but it really gets refined when you start honing in on certain hits and just constant, you know, two hours, two and a half hours, and it really does improve the game. So

SPEAKER_01 20:28

you're saying two hour, two and a half hour drill sessions.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Correct. And then typically I'll go hit the courts for another hour, an hour and a half, partially because drilling, yes, it is a lot of effort, especially if you're in the sun and it's summertime, but it's not overly intensive. Like you're playing match play.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Right.

UNKNOWN 20:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

You have a little visitor there behind you, adorable dog. Who is that?

SPEAKER_02 20:54

That's George. He is my standard poodle.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Oh, he's so beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Yes, he's awesome, but he's supposed to be laying down over there like I

SPEAKER_00 21:03

left him. Oh, no, I'm glad he made a cameo appearance. He's your cheerleader.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Always likes to steal the spotlight.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Does he get to go watch Pickleball?

SPEAKER_02 21:17

He does. He's always been a companion. I got him when I was in college, a junior. And so we were actively playing tournaments and tennis. So he came to all of our tennis tournaments with me. He became really well known. Every school knew who he was and always wanted to see George. So he became glued to my hip for many, many years and then still is and goes to tournaments and gets to watch and play when he wants to.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

I love that, your mascot. Yes. So you have been playing since 21, but you started playing when you were little. So you've got lots of years of exposure and involvement with pickleball. And I understand your family's also been real active,

Intention and Risk in Pickleball

SPEAKER_00 22:04

obviously, if you have a court in your house. What might some life lessons have been gleaned by you, either individually in life that you've taken to the court or lessons that you learned on the court that you've taken into your life?

SPEAKER_02 22:21

I think one I have already hit on and it was putting yourself out of that comfort zone. I think not only socially is it really difficult to walk out onto an open court and say, here I am and I'm going to jump in with three strangers and play. But beyond that, I find that it also translates to the competitive spirit. So while recreational players typically play competitive, not all recreational players do. And I think there's a very strong presence of lack confidence when they think about playing in tournaments. I'm not good enough, I can't do that. That's too much pressure or whatever they is going, what is going through their mind may be valid to them, but is not valid in reality. So stepping out of that comfort zone, pushing yourself to do more with something that you love, it's just fun. And I've noticed going through the competitive aspect, I run into players a lot and a lot of the same players at these tournaments. And it just becomes funny because you build a rapport that you know them now on a personal level. And so you're expanding your network tenfold just by playing pickleball. And it just becomes more of a human experience than anything. So that's the first.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

I like that a lot. Take yourself out of your comfort zone. Yeah, we're always wanting to grow and develop, but somehow it doesn't just knock on our door and make it happen. We have to go out and take ourselves to places that we wouldn't ordinarily go. have gone, but I love that you are so promoting. And it's certainly been our experience too. There are a few places around here that where open play is kind of coveted by certain really good players. And yeah, but most of the experiences, I think Shelly, you would agree that here, everybody is so accepting and friendly. And our coach at the tennis center where we learned pickleball, her deal was, are you nice? Do you play pickleball? Okay, come on.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

100%. 100%. I will say, too, I think the other that I practice heavily in my life is taking risk. So as mentioned and as seen in my ratings, my singles rating is way more competitive than my doubles. And I focus a lot on it, but a lot of singles is taking risk. And hitting very high margin shots or sorry, low margin shots. So when I'm looking down, you know, pulled wide, looking straight down that backhand down the line, you got to take it. You can't put it in a place that's going to now make me be a defensive player. And when you start hitting those shots, you start to get the reward and you, living that in my day-to-day really comes into play, especially being in the industry I'm in. And I think it really has kind of helped in a competitive spirit of saying, this is what you got to do, just do it, and it always will pay off. Not always, mostly.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Yeah, I was going to ask you if your banking analysis work is influenced at all by what you're doing on the court or vice versa. So you are saying that you're learning to take... reasonable risks or what, how do you say it?

SPEAKER_02 25:56

Yeah, I would say take reasonable risks, right? There is always a shot that's appropriate for every play, but you got to think outside of the box. You got to start being more analytical about it, especially at the higher level, because progressing is great if you have the strokes, but if you don't have the strategy, you're going to really start having that fault. that people don't really realize. Being analytical about it has really helped me advance the game and start to really analyze what shots, but also then taking risks. And that I see in my game quite often.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

That's very cool. That's cool. And I like the way you talked about... I had never thought about the fact that when we do a shot that is challenging for our opponent, it... it means that we're not likely to be in the defensive mode in their return. I hadn't thought in terms of trying to stay, how would I say this, so that I'm not on the defense, but I'm on the offense and then let them be on the defense. I never thought of it in those terms. I've just thought about, dang, I wish I'd gotten that shot across the net or whatever, or so great when I do and it passes them. But yeah, we don't want to live defensively. Neither do we want to be offensive. I mean, we, we want to feel a sense of control and intentional strategy.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

Intentional strategy. That's a great way to put it because it is very true. You have to be intentional.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Actually, that's a great point. I, Actually, wait, that's really... Sorry. I'm just having a flashback. I played mixed doubles with this woman. We played 4-0 and we won a tournament out here, which was awesome. And I was missing so many third shots and so many mid-court resets. And she said, Maverick, be intentional. And it worked. Oh.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Oh. So before you hit it, you knew where you wanted it to go.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Yep. But also... I find you're either over shooting your third shot or you're under, right? It's hard to get those consistent drops. If you are intentional with the shot that you're trying to make, your paddle will move in a way that's a little bit more smooth, a little bit more buoyant, and it will just place right there, right in that kitchen. I noticed that when you just want to be intentional about where you're putting it.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

I'm going to try that. That's good. Try it. Yeah. Because sometimes we choke. If we're not quite sure what we're doing and we just know we want to get it over, we kind of choke. We don't do the follow through. We hit it wherever. But yeah, our body will, we can trust our bodies to follow through when we are intentional in where we want it to go. Oh, I like that.

SPEAKER_02 28:54

And I find oftentimes you overanalyze. Am I going to hit it too hard? Am I going to hit it too soft? But if you think about it and you just are intentional in what you're trying to hit, even if it's not coming off your paddle in a way that you anticipated it to, you're at least being intentional and you actually can then prepare for the next shot. Because I find when you have a little less intention to it, your brain is a little bit more scattered. And so you don't exactly anticipate Well, crap, I was intentional about this. Now it's coming back at me with heat. What's next? I can get prepared for that. Versus, oh, crap, I hit that a little too hard. Now what? It's a little bit more scattered. Now, I'm not saying being intentional will transform your game to 5-0 instantaneously. Tomorrow you are 5-0. Don't worry.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Just because we talked to Maverick.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

I found it has helped. significantly.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

That helps in life. Oh, so go ahead, Shelley. No, go ahead. No, I was going to say that helps in life too. It occurs to me that when we go through life in reaction mode, it can be pretty messy. But we also don't want it to be where we're in complete control and we don't let anything enter in beyond our control. So it's that finding that balance of intention and then going with whatever happens. So that's my intention is to hit the ball there. If it doesn't go where I want it to, I reset, I'm ready for the next one. So it's all good. I'm not just kind of, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? A

SPEAKER_02 30:33

hundred percent. I agree.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

Cool. Good life lesson.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

That is a good life lesson. No, what I was going to ask Maverick is his encouragement and insights for us that are really wanting to get to that 3.5, 4.0 level. And I'm hearing the intention, but what other advice and encouragement can you give us? I

SPEAKER_02 31:00

think playing and playing above. I find it's really intimidating for a lot of players to play not only walk into open play, but now get onto a court where they're overmatched. And maybe my experience is a little different, but I have always found that people are always welcome to that, but also interested in helping you learn. You also have to be open and okay with feedback. Some people are not. And even if it's on the court, you're in your mindset playing a game, they're in theirs, but... I've tried many times to help people. Sometimes it's receptive and sometimes it's not. And not always saying that it's the right thing, but any help is good help in my opinion. And so just keeping an open mind and even asking, I know I hit this shot. Was that appropriate? What would you have done? How could I have done this better? And people are always receptive and always wanting to help. So I find that, again, getting out there, getting to play, and then just asking, can I get into a better game? Now that I've understood this, how can I advance my game and how can I practice it?

SPEAKER_00 32:22

That means we need to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Very much so.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Ah, another good life lesson there. Maverick, you're a wise, wise man. He

SPEAKER_01 32:34

is. He's just throwing those life lessons out one after the other.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

So people are going to start thinking it's not real. But no, I do think there is value in just taking – putting yourself in a vulnerable situation but taking away some sort of piece of that – and piece of that advice to help advance.

Building Partner Synergy in Pickleball

SPEAKER_02 32:59

And I also, too, believe you do have to get on the court. Yes, even if you're just a rec player, it sometimes just helps to get a little bit of that dinking in or those mid-court resets because it really will help. Once you get a feel for it, it starts to click. And once it starts to click, you can start to put that in, involve that into a part of your arsenal in your game. And you can bring that out when necessary. Yeah. And not everything you learn is going to click instantaneously or for that matter, happen the next day or in the next game. So you also, even if you don't practice it, have to give yourself grace to continue practice or getting out in the court, continue to just put yourself out out there in that shot alone and say, I'm going to keep trying this, you know, rolling third shot drop. And I might put it high seven out of 10 times, but those three times you're at least at 30%. The next game, you might be at 40. The next game, you might be at 50. And eventually you get the feel, you get the vibe, and you're going to start progressing your game naturally and building on that arsenal to just go out there and be a 5-0.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

There you go, Shelly.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Can't wait.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

Tomorrow. Tomorrow you'll be a 5-0. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 34:19

I got to get my flight to Denver and go play with Maverick.

SPEAKER_02 34:22

Anytime. Anytime. I'll bring you to the courts. We can drill. We can play. Yay. I do find, too, I think a lot of the game is human body positioning.

SPEAKER_03 34:36

Yes,

SPEAKER_02 34:36

you have to have the hands and you have to have the hand-eye coordination, but where your body's positioned and the strategy you have is so crucial to the game because if you're out of position, it's so hard to create a shot that just is not going to happen. And that's at any level, whether you're at 3-0, 2-5, 5-0, pro. If you're out of position, you're just physically not going to be able to support your partner or your game.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Good point.

SPEAKER_02 35:04

So it's a losing battle.

SPEAKER_00 35:05

So I

SPEAKER_02 35:06

find too, that is the biggest part. And my biggest advice and strategy is thinking about my partner and I being on a string from shoulder to shoulder and we're moving together. We're never going to be apart from each other. Because if I'm playing with you, Cher, and you're a step behind me, I don't believe that you're with me. And so I have to cover what you can't. But you would say to me, well, I'm right behind you. Don't worry. Well, that half step is making a big difference and making me question what play is going to happen.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

I love that. Now, we've always been told, you know, stay in alignment and all that. And I think of all those instances where... I wasn't sure where my partner was or my partner wasn't quite sure where I was. And so, yeah, so we cover shots that, and then after I say, Oh gosh, that was your shot. I'm sorry. I tried poaching it and you know, I missed it or whatever, but it's cause I couldn't see I was too far advanced or they were too far behind or whatever. But geez, that's a good point that staying together lets me know, are you going to be able to get it or shall I get it? I'll know because we're in alignment and I can see where the ball is going. Oh, that's very good.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

I'll give another example quickly. Like if I am playing with Shelly and Shelly's at the kitchen line and I'm kind of mid-court or I'm going to speed it up, she's a sitting duck in water. I mean, I speed it up regardless of the play. It's going to go straight to her. If she's back at mid-court with me, we both have time to process where they're going and we have the whole court to cover. So even if they drill it back at us, we have – the ability to move laterally, to get to where we need to be, to reset the ball, and then we could advance. But at least we're in it together. And even if we get burned, at least I'm not putting her in a position where she might get whacked. So it's very important, very important to be with your partner, but not in a way that's a half step behind you. It's in sync because then you're on level playing terms, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Nice.

UNKNOWN 37:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

That does make sense. That resonates, doesn't it, Shelly? Yeah, it does. That's amazing. That's terrific. Good. And I'm always finding how all of those suggestions apply in life, that if we're a half step ahead of our partner in life and we're not on the same page, that's when communication goes this way, that way. And it's like, what are you talking about? Yeah, same thing.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

Wow. Another

SPEAKER_01 37:51

life lesson.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

Pickleball is so great.

SPEAKER_02 37:58

Want to be in sync with your partner because it always will work out.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

Yeah. I love that. Oh, Maverick, this has really been fun. I am so glad. And you're dear friends of Shelly's daughter, and it's so fun that she connected us and connected you guys, and now we're all three best friends.

SPEAKER_02 38:17

I love it. And I can't wait for you to come to Denver and play.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Yeah, for sure. Your open play just sounds like we'll bring the barbecue food, too, and the beer.

SPEAKER_02 38:28

It's always fun. And people... are so intimidated by it. And I think I'm in a unique position where we have so much fun in Denver and it's not always like that. I do acknowledge that in open play, but it is just so fun and people just want to be laughing. That's all they want because as soon as it becomes too serious, that's when I don't want to play.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you too. It's like, what's the point of that? Exactly. Oh, thank you, Maverick. Thank you so much. Thank you for introducing us to Maverick. Oh, yes. Really appreciate it. And we will be following you. And we are sending lots of good positive energy to be pro. And I'm going to contact your bank and say they need to sponsor you. Go for

SPEAKER_03 39:17

it. Oh, well,

Growing Pickleball Skills Together

SPEAKER_00 39:22

thank you so much. And I do want we want to thank our audience to thank you all for listening and watching. I know you got a lot of good tips from Maverick. And so tomorrow we're all going to be even better players. So thank you all. And we look forward to our new conversation next week. Bye bye, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

If you love our podcast, we'd be so grateful if you'd take a few seconds to follow or subscribe to Life Lessons from Pickleball. This ensures you'll never miss an episode and helps us continue these wonderful conversations.

SPEAKER_00 39:56

On Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen, go to the show page and tap the follow button in the top right corner. And on YouTube, click the subscribe button under any of the episodes. Thanks so much. Hope to see you on the court.

UNKNOWN 40:11

Thank you.