Pressure is Privilege

Andrew — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:31:21 GMT

I recently played in a 5.0+ tournament.

As a coach, you slowly prioritize the growth of others more than your own personal growth — this is a trap (lol). I felt this as I was playing. Not that my mechanics were bad, but my mentality was short. What I mean by that is, you could tell others were more adept to the altitude than me and my partner were — the…

Pickleball Addict

Andrew — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:24:58 GMT

I remember when I first started playing pickleball, I couldn’t stop thinking about it— I wanted to play 24/7. Woke up at 5am played pickleball, went to work, got off at 5pm and played pickleball til 10pm. Woke up the next day and did the same thing, haha.

What makes this sport so addicting?

I believe there are really only 2 pillars of pickleball:

Compet…

Introduction

Andrew — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:16:53 GMT

Starting Pickleblog

I have always enjoyed psychology and sports growing up. I played all sports; football, basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, and now pickleball. There was something about the strategy of every sport that I always found fascinating, to learn and master.

In Soccer what formation will you run, A 4-3-3 strong in the block with solidarity, or an aggressive 3-4-3 style full pressing and counter attacking?

In Football what defense do you run, A 4-3 defense strong in the run, a 4-2-5 defense hybrid with speed, or a 3-4 defense hybrid with strength?

As I grow in the sport of Pickleball, I find myself enjoying that same aspect of strategy. I find that pickleball is a sport like any other, where psychology matters; how you think can determine outcomes.

Story:

My very first game of pickleball was at a local YMCA in 2022. It was a cardio day for me at the gym and I really did not want to run. I saw some older folks playing pickleball and I thought, “here is my cardio for today!”. I watched for about 10 minutes and thought “ah this is easy”, so I rented a wooden paddle from the front desk and asked them if I could play. Given that I was young and spruce and these people were old and wrinkly, I walked in haughty thinking this will be a breeze!

I tell you to this day, I did not win a game for 3 whole hours… against “old” people!!

I left extremely humbled and humiliated LOL.

But something stuck with me, what kind of sport where the scales of athleticism and strategy weigh differently than any other sport. This actually fascinated me.

I began to train and watch pickleball before bed every night and realized there is another side to this, and I came to this conclusion

Pickleball is not only about athleticism, but about thought.

I was drenched sweating after those 3 hours while they were laughing and giggling and moving me however they wanted whenever they wanted.

I wanted to learn that.

Coaching pickleball for 2 years now, I find myself giving advice not about mechanics, but about thought. How should you be thinking while playing. That is what determines our outcomes.

Conclusion:

Pickleblog was created to help you “think” about pickleball. It is for Beginners and Experts alike. I would like to share my experience with you as we grow in this sport together.

— Drew