WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000
Welcome to Pickleball Obsession.
00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:11.519
This is the first podcast created just for recreational picklers with quick useful advice for amateur players from a variety of certified pickleball coaches.
00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:19.600
Whether you're a social player out there just to have fun or a competitive one trying to sharpen your skills and win more, the more you know, the better you'll play.
00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:25.359
I hope this show will get you up to the kitchen faster, dink with a purpose, and help you win paddle battles.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:27.280
I'm your host, Tracy Hotner.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:40.479
You might know me as the pet wellness expert on NPR Sirius to my own pet podcast network, but here I'm no expert, just another admittedly obsessed player picking the brains of top coaches for advice we can all use.
00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:51.920
This show is brought to you in partnership with the IPTPA, the International Pickleball Teachers Professional Association, and the Association of Pickleball Players, the APP Tournaments.
00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:59.200
Sign up at pickleballobsession.net for the weekly episodes of the podcast, along with bonus content.
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.119
Embrace the obsession.
00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:04.000
My newest pro, James Moore.
00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:16.239
It is such a treat to find out that a man that I randomly played with in Kansas City at PickleCon, probably one of the best partners I've ever had on the court, as a blind date, the absolute best.
00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:20.319
You're also a big deal at the IPTPA and you're a coach.
00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:25.200
So I'm thrilled to have you be part of Pickleball Obsession Podcast.
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:28.000
It's just a double whammy treat.
00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:36.000
James, you did something really unusual when we were playing, and I thought, ah, this is such a great topic.
00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:41.120
I have never heard the idea, and it worked like a dream, and anybody can do this.
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:45.359
I don't care if you're 3-0 or 5-0, you can do this.
00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.680
If you're stuck, you explain it.
00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:59.200
But if you're stuck on a score two times, two twice you've had the two serves and you haven't gotten off your s off your your score, you suddenly out of the blue stack.
00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.200
James, when did you come up with this idea?
00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:04.079
It's so great, and anybody can implement it.
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:11.039
You know, I've been playing for over 10 years now, so I don't really recall when, but it's been quite a long time.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:17.360
And um the idea is that if you go two rounds, you've served a minimum of four times.
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:18.000
That's right.
00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:25.360
You've served twice, you've tried, and maybe a fifth time because maybe you know you got stuck on the last one of the um three times ago.
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:30.000
But the the idea is that regardless of who's where, you just stack.
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.400
You just stack to change the energy up.
00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:34.879
Um, you just you just change things up.
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:37.360
And and there's a really nice way of saying it.
00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:38.960
Like so you and I played together.
00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:39.599
Yeah.
00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:41.199
We were a blind date.
00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:47.360
We took on a couple guys who were years, years younger than us, um, combined, especially.
00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.840
You know, we had a good 50 years on them easy.
00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:52.719
And uh and we handled them pretty well.
00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:57.599
There was a time in our game where you and I got stuck, and but we were in a deep lead.
00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:01.840
We were playing great defense, so they weren't really scoring, but we weren't scoring either.
00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:14.159
And so on the third time around, with with with no care about who was forehand or backhand, I uh I just said, hey, um uh can we stack?
00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:23.840
And then I kind of politely said, because we didn't know each other very well at the time, uh, if I go two rounds and don't score, I just stack to change the energy.
00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:25.439
And sure enough, we did it.
00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:27.360
It instantly changed the energy.
00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:32.400
We broke off of our nine and got right to 10 and then finished the game out.
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.120
So so I liked your synapses.
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:37.840
Uh I I liked your title of Stack to Get Unstuck.
00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.479
I think I'm gonna start saying that little phrase.
00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:41.199
Good.
00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:42.800
Uh so it was fantastic.
00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:49.120
And that's that's the basic idea is it doesn't matter who's forehand and backhand, you've just gone two rounds.
00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:53.360
Just just stack, just change it up and do it on the first server.
00:03:53.439 --> 00:04:00.159
Don't don't do it on the second, and then you'll feel like, oh, well, it didn't work, so should we should we abandon it?
00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:01.520
Just just do it.
00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:02.159
Yep.
00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:08.960
And what I loved about it, as you you point out a couple of things that I think are really crucial to rec players.
00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:10.319
And you know, blind date.
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:11.919
This was a blind date in open play.
00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:22.160
We weren't playing in a tournament in Kansas City, but people who go to tournaments, small local ones or or bigger regional ones, you often have a blind date and you haven't met that person before.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:23.439
You've maybe texted.
00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:30.720
I used to get on the telephone with blind dates, and we'd both discuss what what were our strengths, what were our weaknesses, and then we get on the court and it was irrelevant.
00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:32.000
We didn't match up.
00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:39.759
I mean, it's just so rare to get on a court with a complete unknown and now be in a kind of pressure situation.
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:52.000
And I didn't consider pickle con pressure, but now that you remind me, we were playing against two young guys, one of whom had meddled in what was actually a tournament going on there.
00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.279
And I have this kind of blindness about myself.
00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:59.439
I don't look at my age, I don't look at my gender, but it is relevant.
00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:00.480
Come on.
00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.879
And there we were playing these two young bucks, and they were good.
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:10.319
These were not slouches, they were not making errors, they weren't giving us great opportunities.
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:16.560
So when we were stuck on the score, and this happened just yesterday in me in open play, people go, oh, we're stuck on the score.
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:18.720
Like, there's nothing you can do about it.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:20.079
You're just stuck.
00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:22.240
But there is something you can do.
00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:29.199
And when you say it changes the energy and dynamic, that was true, but it also really shakes up the other team.
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.920
They're suddenly, wait a minute, you're over there and she's there.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:41.839
And by the time they figure it out, because you you're allowed technically to stack at any time in a match and stop stacking, right?
00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.439
The laws, the bylaws of of pickleball.
00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:53.360
So it's not like you have to make this commitment, and if it doesn't work, you're stuck with it or don't try it because it's too late, you're halfway through the game.
00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:56.560
And it's interesting when you called it a deep lead.
00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:12.560
I haven't heard that phrase before, but that's an interesting way of putting it when you're quite a bit ahead of another team, which I think puts you, which is another interesting point, puts you in a kind of mental jeopardy where you stop trying as hard.
00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:14.800
This is just natural to any sport.
00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.439
So do you think that's part of why people get stuck?
00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:26.240
I've been stuck with other guys in open play, in rec play, and it it occurs to me we've been stuck at 7-3, and you're like, well, it's okay.
00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.759
I mean, gosh, we're 7-3, but the truth is you're stuck.
00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:33.120
Something isn't cooking the way it did to get you to where you are.
00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:34.319
Is that a possibility?
00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:46.240
Yeah, in fact, you bring up another uh good point that I think of very often, and that is uh uh uh just to answer that question, I would say simply is yes.
00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:55.199
But then to bring up another point is how often do you really definitively beat another team in the first game, and then you get waxed the second.
00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:55.839
Yes.
00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:05.600
And it's the same sort of mentality where it's like you've gone into this and you dominated it so hard and you run 11 to 4, 11 to 3, and then you get into the second game and you lose that.
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.360
And that even happens in the pros.
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:13.279
You know, you'll see where pros are pickling other pros, and you're like, how are pros getting pickled?
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:19.519
But I think it's a mental thing where it's like you you you beat them so badly that you ease off the gas.
00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:19.839
Yes.
00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:26.480
And when you ease off the gas, then they come back and win, and then they actually have the momentum shift going into the third game.
00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:31.600
So I try to be uh aware of that, especially in tournament situations.
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:36.639
It's like just because you beat them now, like it's it's pressure time right off the bat.
00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:42.639
You have to destroy their will before you ease off the gas and let them actually take control of the match.
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:53.759
Yeah, it's an interesting uh balance, and I think that the stacking is part of it because let's say you have won a game definitively or close.
00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:59.600
Now in the second game, you're somehow you've lost some of your mojo.
00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.000
Would that be a time to also stack?
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:09.279
Because almost then you aren't stuck on a score, you're stuck emotionally, you have lost your will to dominate.
00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:19.120
Yeah, part of um yeah, you know, uh uh I'm a coach, and so when I play with players, part of what I do is I try to get them out of their head.
00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:37.120
And so uh I find sometimes that if I'm playing with a partner and and they're particularly stuck in their head, because some people do get that way, is if I can give them a singular thing to focus on immediately, um, like like a like a quick command, it takes them out of their want and worry and all that.
00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:53.039
And and I'll say something, you know, we'll just say something like a quick, like, um, okay, uh, we're gonna switch or we're gonna stack, and just changes it up just enough to where now they're not thinking about the score, they're not thinking about the fact that we just lost three points, they're not in the momentum swing.
00:08:53.279 --> 00:09:04.559
Now they're thinking about this instant like order, and it supersedes whatever their worries were, and it just comes in, occupies their brain, and it gets them out of their own head, really.
00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:11.440
That's so cool because even in rec play, when also when any of us is playing with a coach, we're self-conscious.
00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:15.679
You may not be my coach, but I know you're a coach, so now you're judging me.
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:17.840
Now, of course, you know, you are not judging me.
00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:25.679
You got your own life to live, you want to hit your own balls, but we always think the coach is like, oh boy, that's not my life, really.
00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.559
What's what's where's her topspin or something?
00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.879
But people ask all the time that they're like, oh, well, give me pointers.
00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.759
And I'm like, I'm not gonna give you pointers while we play.
00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:38.080
No, and first of all, that's so fun for you.
00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:43.200
And second of all, uh, no, you can book a lesson with me or take a clinic.
00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:50.799
But but that but the idea of getting unstuck is not just on a score, it is when you get stuck in your own head.
00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:56.879
And in the same way that the people on the other side of the net suddenly see you in a different configuration.
00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:57.360
What?
00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:58.080
It's his serve?
00:09:58.159 --> 00:09:59.200
Why is he serving from over there?
00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:00.240
Oh, they're stacking.
00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:08.240
By the time they figure it out, and the fact that the ball will come at a different angle and they think, oh, I'm gonna nail the person who's sliding over.
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:12.960
But if anybody's pretty adept at stacking, they're there early or on time.
00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:19.200
So that backfires because now they try too hard and maybe their ball goes out or short or what have you.
00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:26.720
But in in red play, some of us can play with other people who get freaked out by themselves.
00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:30.159
They make two or three errors, including maybe a miss serve.
00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.120
And it's like, you really should not be missing the serve.
00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:34.639
In pickleball, ever.
00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:36.320
It's just too easy a shot.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:41.279
And you say you're 4-0 or you say you're high three, how can you be missing the serve?
00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.039
And that's what they're saying to themselves.
00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:43.759
Yeah.
00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:53.679
So if you say to them, hey, let's stack, not because I'm better than you or you're bad, but because this is going to help you now.
00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:01.679
Oh, wait, now you have to think about where to serve from, where to slide to, where the ball will be coming at you differently than you expected.
00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:05.039
And now the person can't be full of self-hatred anymore, right?
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.200
I mean, that's a stuckness in itself.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.799
Yeah, I listened to a podcast you did a few days ago.
00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:15.679
Uh, I forget with the uh who you did it with, but it was specifically on stacking.
00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:21.279
And um and I was just listening and kind of just reaffirming everything new.
00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:28.960
But yeah, one of the things that's really nice, um uh or or one of the things that she said the other day is that just one person needs to know what to do.
00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:30.639
Uh when you're stacking.
00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.679
So one person just says, Oh no, you're over there, you're over there.
00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:35.840
So both people don't have to know what to do.
00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:42.240
And then that's another way to sort of throw people if if they are overthinkers, to kind of throw them out of their world.
00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:48.720
But I did want to, I I did want to mention one thing that I this is the way I see pickleball.
00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:57.360
Um, and this has to do with stacking and switching, is that um whether I'm on offense or defense, I actually call them different things.
00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:02.799
So if I'm on defense, if I'm receiving a ball, we don't stack, we switch.
00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:04.879
Isn't that interesting?
00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:06.879
We're stacking.
00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.360
So there is no switching on defense.
00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.600
You're you're I'm sorry, there is no stacking on defense, you're just switching.
00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:14.879
Does that make sense?
00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:21.840
Yes, no different than how you would switch if you were in the middle of a point and and a ball gets kicked over and you switch sides.
00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:23.440
That's a switch, right?
00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:24.799
It's not really a stack.
00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:31.840
Whereas a stack is on offense, you're the serving team, you are stacking to get whatever desire you want.
00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:35.840
But on defense, I don't call it stacking, I call it switching.
00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:41.279
And I think for amateur players, it helps define two things.
00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:44.000
One is what we're doing, we're switching, we're not stacking.
00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:49.440
Two is it really helps define the difference between offense and defense in pickleball.
00:12:49.679 --> 00:13:04.080
And I find that to be one of the biggest missed uh missed opportunities for amateur players to uh be really good at the game is to not under so many people don't understand.
00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.320
Am I even on offense or am I on defense because they think it's the same thing and it's not.
00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:09.840
They're played very differently.
00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:32.080
I would love to do a whole I would love to do I would love to do a whole episode on defense versus offense because not only are people confused in terms of how they handle the ball any place on the court, but per particularly if your partner is serving, you don't run in, people.
00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:34.559
You know, they gotta very different play.
00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:36.480
Uh there's so many things that change.
00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:38.799
And if your partner's receiving, they have to run up.
00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:45.840
And so these are totally so you so we are considering the receiving team always on defense?
00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:52.720
Yeah, the receiving team is the defensive team because they're defending the uh the serving team from getting a point.
00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:53.279
Right.
00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:55.360
Okay, we're definitely gonna do an episode.
00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:03.279
Stay tuned, folks, because James Moore and I, this are it's a really good because if we have that in our head, we're playing with a different intention.
00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:07.360
Our mind is working differently than just they're all balls.
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.639
I've got to hit all the balls at some point as well as I can.
00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.679
No, they're they're too and mentally there's a difference.
00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:18.240
There's a whole yeah, that's a whole different style of play.
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.440
It's fun, it's fun.
00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:20.159
It's great.
00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:30.240
So what so all I can say in closing is if you're stuck on a score for two sides out, you have you both serve, no score.
00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.399
You both serve again, no score.
00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:33.279
Stack.
00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:38.720
Even if you don't know exactly how to do it, just throw the confetti in the air and see where it falls.
00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.159
Just do something different, just change up what you're doing.
00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:50.559
If you're on the left side and and it's not an ego thing against your forehand or anything, it just has to do with the situation.
00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:53.600
Maybe they are particularly good at this or that.
00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:55.120
It has nothing to do with that.
00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.639
Just drop your ego, just switch, just stack immediately.
00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:00.720
So and you can do it nicely.
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.840
If you go two rounds and don't score, you just stack.
00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.200
And it works great for us.
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.960
And even if we hadn't immediately scored and then won, it's that it changed the energy, like you said.
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.120
It gave a whole new perspective.
00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:18.960
And uh I if anyone says it to you guys, if if you say it to someone else, make it clear.
00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.279
Uh this is not a comment on the way you play.
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:26.159
This is like a tactic I learned on pickleball obsession from Coach James Moore.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.039
Because when you said it to me, I I had never heard this idea.
00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:30.559
It took me totally by surprise.
00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.960
I'm like, sure, whatever, why not?
00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:37.039
Little did I know, you were, you know, like a top certified coach.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:41.600
You had all this knowledge, but you were so humble and and cautious in how you brought it up.
00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:46.720
So it was very gracious and lovely, and and uh it's wonderful to have you as part of the show.
00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.960
And I look forward to more interesting conversations with you and thank you, James.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:51.840
You're the best.
00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:52.559
Take care.
00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:53.759
Thanks for listening.
00:15:53.919 --> 00:16:05.360
I hope you've enjoyed it, and I'm proud of our partnership with the APP, the Association of Pickleball Players, which provides world-class pickleball competitions for professionals and recreational players.
00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:13.759
I'm also grateful for our partnership with the IPTPA, which is the world leader in developing standards and certifying coaches across the world.
00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:22.879
If you subscribe on Apple or Spotify, please also sign up at pickleballobsession.net to get the weekly email with the podcast and bonus content.
00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.480
Embrace the obsession.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000
Welcome to Pickleball Obsession.
00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:11.519
This is the first podcast created just for recreational picklers with quick useful advice for amateur players from a variety of certified pickleball coaches.
00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:19.600
Whether you're a social player out there just to have fun or a competitive one trying to sharpen your skills and win more, the more you know, the better you'll play.
00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:25.359
I hope this show will get you up to the kitchen faster, dink with a purpose, and help you win paddle battles.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:27.280
I'm your host, Tracy Hotner.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:40.479
You might know me as the pet wellness expert on NPR Sirius to my own pet podcast network, but here I'm no expert, just another admittedly obsessed player picking the brains of top coaches for advice we can all use.
00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:51.920
This show is brought to you in partnership with the IPTPA, the International Pickleball Teachers Professional Association, and the Association of Pickleball Players, the APP Tournaments.
00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:59.200
Sign up at pickleballobsession.net for the weekly episodes of the podcast, along with bonus content.
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.119
Embrace the obsession.
00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:04.000
My newest pro, James Moore.
00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:16.239
It is such a treat to find out that a man that I randomly played with in Kansas City at PickleCon, probably one of the best partners I've ever had on the court, as a blind date, the absolute best.
00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:20.319
You're also a big deal at the IPTPA and you're a coach.
00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:25.200
So I'm thrilled to have you be part of Pickleball Obsession Podcast.
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:28.000
It's just a double whammy treat.
00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:36.000
James, you did something really unusual when we were playing, and I thought, ah, this is such a great topic.
00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:41.120
I have never heard the idea, and it worked like a dream, and anybody can do this.
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:45.359
I don't care if you're 3-0 or 5-0, you can do this.
00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.680
If you're stuck, you explain it.
00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:59.200
But if you're stuck on a score two times, two twice you've had the two serves and you haven't gotten off your s off your your score, you suddenly out of the blue stack.
00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.200
James, when did you come up with this idea?
00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:04.079
It's so great, and anybody can implement it.
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:11.039
You know, I've been playing for over 10 years now, so I don't really recall when, but it's been quite a long time.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:17.360
And um the idea is that if you go two rounds, you've served a minimum of four times.
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:18.000
That's right.
00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:25.360
You've served twice, you've tried, and maybe a fifth time because maybe you know you got stuck on the last one of the um three times ago.
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:30.000
But the the idea is that regardless of who's where, you just stack.
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.400
You just stack to change the energy up.
00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:34.879
Um, you just you just change things up.
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:37.360
And and there's a really nice way of saying it.
00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:38.960
Like so you and I played together.
00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:39.599
Yeah.
00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:41.199
We were a blind date.
00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:47.360
We took on a couple guys who were years, years younger than us, um, combined, especially.
00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.840
You know, we had a good 50 years on them easy.
00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:52.719
And uh and we handled them pretty well.
00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:57.599
There was a time in our game where you and I got stuck, and but we were in a deep lead.
00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:01.840
We were playing great defense, so they weren't really scoring, but we weren't scoring either.
00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:14.159
And so on the third time around, with with with no care about who was forehand or backhand, I uh I just said, hey, um uh can we stack?
00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:23.840
And then I kind of politely said, because we didn't know each other very well at the time, uh, if I go two rounds and don't score, I just stack to change the energy.
00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:25.439
And sure enough, we did it.
00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:27.360
It instantly changed the energy.
00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:32.400
We broke off of our nine and got right to 10 and then finished the game out.
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.120
So so I liked your synapses.
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:37.840
Uh I I liked your title of Stack to Get Unstuck.
00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.479
I think I'm gonna start saying that little phrase.
00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:41.199
Good.
00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:42.800
Uh so it was fantastic.
00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:49.120
And that's that's the basic idea is it doesn't matter who's forehand and backhand, you've just gone two rounds.
00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:53.360
Just just stack, just change it up and do it on the first server.
00:03:53.439 --> 00:04:00.159
Don't don't do it on the second, and then you'll feel like, oh, well, it didn't work, so should we should we abandon it?
00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:01.520
Just just do it.
00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:02.159
Yep.
00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:08.960
And what I loved about it, as you you point out a couple of things that I think are really crucial to rec players.
00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:10.319
And you know, blind date.
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:11.919
This was a blind date in open play.
00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:22.160
We weren't playing in a tournament in Kansas City, but people who go to tournaments, small local ones or or bigger regional ones, you often have a blind date and you haven't met that person before.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:23.439
You've maybe texted.
00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:30.720
I used to get on the telephone with blind dates, and we'd both discuss what what were our strengths, what were our weaknesses, and then we get on the court and it was irrelevant.
00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:32.000
We didn't match up.
00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:39.759
I mean, it's just so rare to get on a court with a complete unknown and now be in a kind of pressure situation.
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:52.000
And I didn't consider pickle con pressure, but now that you remind me, we were playing against two young guys, one of whom had meddled in what was actually a tournament going on there.
00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.279
And I have this kind of blindness about myself.
00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:59.439
I don't look at my age, I don't look at my gender, but it is relevant.
00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:00.480
Come on.
00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.879
And there we were playing these two young bucks, and they were good.
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:10.319
These were not slouches, they were not making errors, they weren't giving us great opportunities.
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:16.560
So when we were stuck on the score, and this happened just yesterday in me in open play, people go, oh, we're stuck on the score.
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:18.720
Like, there's nothing you can do about it.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:20.079
You're just stuck.
00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:22.240
But there is something you can do.
00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:29.199
And when you say it changes the energy and dynamic, that was true, but it also really shakes up the other team.
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.920
They're suddenly, wait a minute, you're over there and she's there.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:41.839
And by the time they figure it out, because you you're allowed technically to stack at any time in a match and stop stacking, right?
00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.439
The laws, the bylaws of of pickleball.
00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:53.360
So it's not like you have to make this commitment, and if it doesn't work, you're stuck with it or don't try it because it's too late, you're halfway through the game.
00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:56.560
And it's interesting when you called it a deep lead.
00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:12.560
I haven't heard that phrase before, but that's an interesting way of putting it when you're quite a bit ahead of another team, which I think puts you, which is another interesting point, puts you in a kind of mental jeopardy where you stop trying as hard.
00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:14.800
This is just natural to any sport.
00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.439
So do you think that's part of why people get stuck?
00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:26.240
I've been stuck with other guys in open play, in rec play, and it it occurs to me we've been stuck at 7-3, and you're like, well, it's okay.
00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.759
I mean, gosh, we're 7-3, but the truth is you're stuck.
00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:33.120
Something isn't cooking the way it did to get you to where you are.
00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:34.319
Is that a possibility?
00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:46.240
Yeah, in fact, you bring up another uh good point that I think of very often, and that is uh uh uh just to answer that question, I would say simply is yes.
00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:55.199
But then to bring up another point is how often do you really definitively beat another team in the first game, and then you get waxed the second.
00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:55.839
Yes.
00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:05.600
And it's the same sort of mentality where it's like you've gone into this and you dominated it so hard and you run 11 to 4, 11 to 3, and then you get into the second game and you lose that.
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.360
And that even happens in the pros.
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:13.279
You know, you'll see where pros are pickling other pros, and you're like, how are pros getting pickled?
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:19.519
But I think it's a mental thing where it's like you you you beat them so badly that you ease off the gas.
00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:19.839
Yes.
00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:26.480
And when you ease off the gas, then they come back and win, and then they actually have the momentum shift going into the third game.
00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:31.600
So I try to be uh aware of that, especially in tournament situations.
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:36.639
It's like just because you beat them now, like it's it's pressure time right off the bat.
00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:42.639
You have to destroy their will before you ease off the gas and let them actually take control of the match.
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:53.759
Yeah, it's an interesting uh balance, and I think that the stacking is part of it because let's say you have won a game definitively or close.
00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:59.600
Now in the second game, you're somehow you've lost some of your mojo.
00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.000
Would that be a time to also stack?
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:09.279
Because almost then you aren't stuck on a score, you're stuck emotionally, you have lost your will to dominate.
00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:19.120
Yeah, part of um yeah, you know, uh uh I'm a coach, and so when I play with players, part of what I do is I try to get them out of their head.
00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:37.120
And so uh I find sometimes that if I'm playing with a partner and and they're particularly stuck in their head, because some people do get that way, is if I can give them a singular thing to focus on immediately, um, like like a like a quick command, it takes them out of their want and worry and all that.
00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:53.039
And and I'll say something, you know, we'll just say something like a quick, like, um, okay, uh, we're gonna switch or we're gonna stack, and just changes it up just enough to where now they're not thinking about the score, they're not thinking about the fact that we just lost three points, they're not in the momentum swing.
00:08:53.279 --> 00:09:04.559
Now they're thinking about this instant like order, and it supersedes whatever their worries were, and it just comes in, occupies their brain, and it gets them out of their own head, really.
00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:11.440
That's so cool because even in rec play, when also when any of us is playing with a coach, we're self-conscious.
00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:15.679
You may not be my coach, but I know you're a coach, so now you're judging me.
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:17.840
Now, of course, you know, you are not judging me.
00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:25.679
You got your own life to live, you want to hit your own balls, but we always think the coach is like, oh boy, that's not my life, really.
00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.559
What's what's where's her topspin or something?
00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.879
But people ask all the time that they're like, oh, well, give me pointers.
00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.759
And I'm like, I'm not gonna give you pointers while we play.
00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:38.080
No, and first of all, that's so fun for you.
00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:43.200
And second of all, uh, no, you can book a lesson with me or take a clinic.
00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:50.799
But but that but the idea of getting unstuck is not just on a score, it is when you get stuck in your own head.
00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:56.879
And in the same way that the people on the other side of the net suddenly see you in a different configuration.
00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:57.360
What?
00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:58.080
It's his serve?
00:09:58.159 --> 00:09:59.200
Why is he serving from over there?
00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:00.240
Oh, they're stacking.
00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:08.240
By the time they figure it out, and the fact that the ball will come at a different angle and they think, oh, I'm gonna nail the person who's sliding over.
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:12.960
But if anybody's pretty adept at stacking, they're there early or on time.
00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:19.200
So that backfires because now they try too hard and maybe their ball goes out or short or what have you.
00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:26.720
But in in red play, some of us can play with other people who get freaked out by themselves.
00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:30.159
They make two or three errors, including maybe a miss serve.
00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.120
And it's like, you really should not be missing the serve.
00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:34.639
In pickleball, ever.
00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:36.320
It's just too easy a shot.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:41.279
And you say you're 4-0 or you say you're high three, how can you be missing the serve?
00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.039
And that's what they're saying to themselves.
00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:43.759
Yeah.
00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:53.679
So if you say to them, hey, let's stack, not because I'm better than you or you're bad, but because this is going to help you now.
00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:01.679
Oh, wait, now you have to think about where to serve from, where to slide to, where the ball will be coming at you differently than you expected.
00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:05.039
And now the person can't be full of self-hatred anymore, right?
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.200
I mean, that's a stuckness in itself.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.799
Yeah, I listened to a podcast you did a few days ago.
00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:15.679
Uh, I forget with the uh who you did it with, but it was specifically on stacking.
00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:21.279
And um and I was just listening and kind of just reaffirming everything new.
00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:28.960
But yeah, one of the things that's really nice, um uh or or one of the things that she said the other day is that just one person needs to know what to do.
00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:30.639
Uh when you're stacking.
00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.679
So one person just says, Oh no, you're over there, you're over there.
00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:35.840
So both people don't have to know what to do.
00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:42.240
And then that's another way to sort of throw people if if they are overthinkers, to kind of throw them out of their world.
00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:48.720
But I did want to, I I did want to mention one thing that I this is the way I see pickleball.
00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:57.360
Um, and this has to do with stacking and switching, is that um whether I'm on offense or defense, I actually call them different things.
00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:02.799
So if I'm on defense, if I'm receiving a ball, we don't stack, we switch.
00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:04.879
Isn't that interesting?
00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:06.879
We're stacking.
00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.360
So there is no switching on defense.
00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.600
You're you're I'm sorry, there is no stacking on defense, you're just switching.
00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:14.879
Does that make sense?
00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:21.840
Yes, no different than how you would switch if you were in the middle of a point and and a ball gets kicked over and you switch sides.
00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:23.440
That's a switch, right?
00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:24.799
It's not really a stack.
00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:31.840
Whereas a stack is on offense, you're the serving team, you are stacking to get whatever desire you want.
00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:35.840
But on defense, I don't call it stacking, I call it switching.
00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:41.279
And I think for amateur players, it helps define two things.
00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:44.000
One is what we're doing, we're switching, we're not stacking.
00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:49.440
Two is it really helps define the difference between offense and defense in pickleball.
00:12:49.679 --> 00:13:04.080
And I find that to be one of the biggest missed uh missed opportunities for amateur players to uh be really good at the game is to not under so many people don't understand.
00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.320
Am I even on offense or am I on defense because they think it's the same thing and it's not.
00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:09.840
They're played very differently.
00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:32.080
I would love to do a whole I would love to do I would love to do a whole episode on defense versus offense because not only are people confused in terms of how they handle the ball any place on the court, but per particularly if your partner is serving, you don't run in, people.
00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:34.559
You know, they gotta very different play.
00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:36.480
Uh there's so many things that change.
00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:38.799
And if your partner's receiving, they have to run up.
00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:45.840
And so these are totally so you so we are considering the receiving team always on defense?
00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:52.720
Yeah, the receiving team is the defensive team because they're defending the uh the serving team from getting a point.
00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:53.279
Right.
00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:55.360
Okay, we're definitely gonna do an episode.
00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:03.279
Stay tuned, folks, because James Moore and I, this are it's a really good because if we have that in our head, we're playing with a different intention.
00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:07.360
Our mind is working differently than just they're all balls.
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.639
I've got to hit all the balls at some point as well as I can.
00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.679
No, they're they're too and mentally there's a difference.
00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:18.240
There's a whole yeah, that's a whole different style of play.
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.440
It's fun, it's fun.
00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:20.159
It's great.
00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:30.240
So what so all I can say in closing is if you're stuck on a score for two sides out, you have you both serve, no score.
00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.399
You both serve again, no score.
00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:33.279
Stack.
00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:38.720
Even if you don't know exactly how to do it, just throw the confetti in the air and see where it falls.
00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.159
Just do something different, just change up what you're doing.
00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:50.559
If you're on the left side and and it's not an ego thing against your forehand or anything, it just has to do with the situation.
00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:53.600
Maybe they are particularly good at this or that.
00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:55.120
It has nothing to do with that.
00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.639
Just drop your ego, just switch, just stack immediately.
00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:00.720
So and you can do it nicely.
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.840
If you go two rounds and don't score, you just stack.
00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.200
And it works great for us.
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.960
And even if we hadn't immediately scored and then won, it's that it changed the energy, like you said.
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.120
It gave a whole new perspective.
00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:18.960
And uh I if anyone says it to you guys, if if you say it to someone else, make it clear.
00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.279
Uh this is not a comment on the way you play.
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:26.159
This is like a tactic I learned on pickleball obsession from Coach James Moore.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.039
Because when you said it to me, I I had never heard this idea.
00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:30.559
It took me totally by surprise.
00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.960
I'm like, sure, whatever, why not?
00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:37.039
Little did I know, you were, you know, like a top certified coach.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:41.600
You had all this knowledge, but you were so humble and and cautious in how you brought it up.
00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:46.720
So it was very gracious and lovely, and and uh it's wonderful to have you as part of the show.
00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.960
And I look forward to more interesting conversations with you and thank you, James.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:51.840
You're the best.
00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:52.559
Take care.
00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:53.759
Thanks for listening.
00:15:53.919 --> 00:16:05.360
I hope you've enjoyed it, and I'm proud of our partnership with the APP, the Association of Pickleball Players, which provides world-class pickleball competitions for professionals and recreational players.
00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:13.759
I'm also grateful for our partnership with the IPTPA, which is the world leader in developing standards and certifying coaches across the world.
00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:22.879
If you subscribe on Apple or Spotify, please also sign up at pickleballobsession.net to get the weekly email with the podcast and bonus content.
00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.480
Embrace the obsession.