Welcome back!

I’m writing to you from 36,427 feet in the sky. (I asked the pilot for accuracy) 😄

Today’s edition has three parts: 

1.     A Helpful tip – does your internal dialogue sound anything like mine?

2.     An Entertaining video – I interviewed the creator of hit HBO show, “Entourage.”

3.     An Update on my journey to pro – playing with the worlds best will teach you a few things.

Also, welcome to the 60 people who joined last week and thanks to everyone who referred a friend!

Without further ado, let’s dive into the 46th edition of the newsletter — powered by Selkirk! 

A HELPFUL TIP

When you play, does your internal dialogue sound anything like mine?

“Are you kidding me, I missed that easy ball?”

“I’m unstoppable. Fastest hands in the game.”

“A missed dink? I’m so bad.”

😂

Can you relate?

My guess is, you can — because you’re a human playing the most fun (and frustrating) sport on the planet.

Because the thing is — and I’m stealing this from my friend Brandon Nsekpong…

The game is…

Easy to learn and hard to master.

You can pick it up quick, progress fast, and have so much fun consistently. But damn is it hard to master.

You learn something that works at the 3.5 level, but when you start playing with 4.0 - 4.5 players, it feels like your back at square one.

I mean…

I win a 5.0 tournament and think I’m some hotshot, only to play pros like Wes Burrows and #1 woman Anna-Leigh waters a few weeks later and am reminded — I still have a long way to go.

But that’s okay. It’s a part of the game. And honestly, it’s what makes pickleball great.

The complex puzzle you never quite figure out, but constantly strive to solve.

So with that said, I have a proposal for you.    

Can we make a deal? One we’ll both commit to trying out for the next 7 days?  

When you feel like your game sucks, or worse, you tell yourself you suck…

1.     Give yourself grace and remind yourself to

2.     Stick with it.

Because the truth is…

…you’re not as bad as you think you are or as good as you occasionally claim to be. We all have a long way to go in pickleball and more importantly — life!

Entertaining Video:

**Cut to 2015**

That obnoxious ring on my phone woke me up from an afternoon nap. I’m not sure why I even picked up, but I did.

Me: “Hello.”

Sharif: “Hey man, we just found out some bad news, I don’t even know how to say this…

**he paused for a long moment***

Chris passed away this morning.”

I sat there, stunned.

For the next 20 minutes, I stared at my white bedroom wall — paralyzed, with tears streaming down my face.

Chris was my college basketball teammate and first friend when I transferred schools.

And if you’ve ever lost anyone in your life, you know the feeling I had when I got that call.

And while Chris isn’t with us anymore, I think of him often.

In fact, this past weekend, I met Writer and TV Producer Doug Ellin. Doug created the hit HBO show, “Entourage.”

Turns out, Entourage was Chris, Sharif (my other roommate), and my favorite show in college.

We’d finish practice, do our school work, make our dinner, and take our seat on the couch to watch the one show we couldn’t get enough of.

So when I met Doug this past week, I thought of Chris.

And I remembered some incredibly joyful moments we shared watching the show Doug helped create.

So in honor of Chris, this week’s entertaining video is a short interview I did with Doug just a few days ago! 

PS: There’s more coming in the future. I just need to edit all the hilarious stuff Doug Shared during the entire interview.  

Update on my Journey to Pro

This past week, I was at the 2022 Picklebowl event off the southern coast of Georgia.

It was an event for a great cause, where Pro players like Parris Todd & celebrities like Drew Brees were in attendance battling it out.  

While the event was an absolute blast, one of my favorite parts was playing games with the pro’s — Anna Leigh and Leigh Waters, Megan Fudge, Ryler Deheart, Wes Burrows, Parris Todd, Ryan Sherry and Matt Manasse — over the course of the few days we were all together.

I know you already know this, but…

those people are really good at pickleball. 😂

And just like every time you play, you learn something.

Well, I too learned 2 or 3 new things playing with these players who are much further along than me.  

I won’t share what those learnings are just yet, but don’t worry, they’re coming soon!

In closing, my upcoming tournament schedule includes…

1.     PPA Dallas – November 3-6

2.     PPA Newport – November 17 – 20

3.     APP Mesa open – December 4-6 (tentatively)

Maybe I’ll see you there!

Keep being kind and remember to laugh today.

It’s good for the soul!

Kyle