Pickleball offers a paradox: the best players in the game use a strategy that is available to all players. This is different than most other sports, where the top performers do things that us mere mortals are simply unable to do or which we would have to dedicate every waking moment to perhaps master.

The strategy used by the best players in the game, when all the chips are in the middle of the table (when everything is at stake) is the soft game. Watch a pro match and see what they do the vast majority of the time: third shot drop, dink here, reset there. There are exciting shots, sure. But those are not what win or lose the game. It is their execution of the soft game that wins (or loses) the game. And here is the rub: the soft game is a game that we can all learn to master. It will take some work, sure. But rather than working on things that are not getting you any closer to the best strategy, perhaps shift your work to developing the soft game; the game that the best in the game rely on to enjoy success on the court.

In the riff, I share with you another challenge. Let’s get our walking shoes (or pickleball shoes) on and get out there. 30 minutes four times this week.