Let's talk about ratings, one of those double-edged swords that really don't say anything about how you play.

While there's definitely a place for ratings in our sport, the only reason you need the rating is if it's consistent with what you want.

Always ask yourself;

1) Why do I need the rating?
2) What's the rating doing for me and what I want with the game?

So if you want to play tournaments and it requires a certain type of rating, then you're going to have to comply with that requirement. That's a tournament specific requirement.

Use DUPR or any rating system, only as necessary to accomplish your objectives as opposed to a vicious cycle that interferes with the reason for your play and why you go out to the court. What really matters at the end of the day is how good you feel about how you're playing.

In this episode we also look at another email that I received from one of our students talking about focus- baseline focus. The focus you can reasonably bring to bear while you play.

Now, you want to try and bring your attention to the thing that matters when you're playing pickleball in the technical sense and the thing that matters is the little yellow ball. That's all that matters. Where is it? Where's it going? What am I going to do with it?

The better you're able to ignore that score, the better you're going to be to stay in the moment and focus on what needs to get done.

Enroll for the pickleball system class; https://betterpickleball.com/system/

#163: Western Empires