Why You Should Play in a Pickleball Tournament
Last Edited
Sep 23 2024
Category
Instruction
If you’re like me, improving at pickleball isn’t just a goal. It’s a mission. Playing in tournaments should be considered part of that mission.
After first picking up pickleball, I put in the work and got better (or so I thought).
Competing at your local club is great. It’s where everyone starts and you typically get some solid play. That’s your crew.
But to step it up to the next level, you have to compete in tournaments.
The tournament atmosphere is unlike anything you will ever experience in normal rec play.
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You get to compete against new players with different play styles, everyone is playing at their peak, and there’s the added pressure of the tournament environment.
It's really a testing ground for your game.
On the surface, these things might not seem like a big deal, but let me tell you why that’s wrong:
Playing against new people is crucial for development. I win at rec play consistently because I‘m better than when I started, yes. But I also play against the same people week in and week out.
You develop patterns and begin to identify peoples' play styles, which you then adapt to. One team always drives the ball, this group tries to dink you to death, Frank always hits his speed ups out; whatever the pattern, you change how you play based on that.
Tournaments are a sure fire way to change this pattern. It forces you to compete against people you’ve never played with before. New patterns and new strategies that you have to decipher and adapt to quickly.
First Tournaments are Especially Valuable
The first tournament I ever played in was a mess. Literally, it was terrible. My partner and I had a strategy going into the match.
We were both very confident in our dinking, and felt like we could grind out points.
We won our first match and felt confident in ourselves going into the second. We stuck to our game plan but it wasn’t working.
Related: You're About to Play Your First Pickleball Tournament. Study This Guide
We lost game one and in game two, we did the same stuff and what do you know, we lost again. Third match, L.
We did the same thing over and over again and guess what, we got the same results.
So what did we learn?
Every match is unique...actually, every game is unique. What worked in rec play on a consistent basis doesn’t work against people with different play styles.
What works in one game doesn’t necessarily work in the next. Having a strategy is good if it’s a good strategy. Get it?
We’ve talked about the tangibles, now let's dive into the intangibles. For those of you wondering, intangible means things you can’t see, feel, or touch. Your mentality.
Competition is something I thrive in. I like to think I play every game of pickleball at 100% and never let up on anyone. That’s not true but I like to think it.
When you’re playing people much worse than yourself or with a bad partner or the same team you’ve beat 100 times, it’s difficult to maintain focus throughout the entire game.
Tournaments don’t offer such luxuries.
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During a high level match, I’m locked in. It’s a different level of concentration that’s hard to put into words but you feel as if the world around you goes silent. All you see is the two people on the other side of the net standing in your way of moving towards the gold.
When the match starts, nothing else matters. 0-0-2 and silence. You can’t replicate that type of environment
The first tournament I noticed this mental shift was earlier this year. Match one we played against a team we actually knew. They were a strong team but we took game 1. It was a hard fought battle the whole match but they ended up taking it.
After that, everything changed for me. Forever.
We didn’t lose a single match the rest of the tournament.
We were even down 1-10 and came back to win on one of the best teams in the whole event.
You don’t get that sort of focus and mental strength by playing Becky and Tom at the park.
It comes from putting yourself in pressure situations and seeing how you hang.
Tournaments are the single greatest testament to where you stand as a player.
It’s the only way to see real growth and where you stack up against other people.
If your goal is to improve at pickleball, the park can only get you so far.
There are tons of tournaments going on all the time and if you can’t find one near you, then start one yourself.
Competition makes me better and I promise it’ll do the same for you. It’s time to take your game on the road and see what you’re made of.
Thank you for reading this article. My name is Frank Hines, the self appointed CEO of Pickleball (it’s an honorary title and has no real meaning). If you want more live content or are interested in learning more about my pickleball journey, follow on X(formerly Twitter) & Instagram.
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