Show Notes
PICKLEBALL THERAPY · SHOW NOTES
Episode 304 – Tap Your Flow
What this episode is about
Flow is not something you go out and acquire. It is already in you. This week I make the case for that, and then I show you what the work for finding your flow actually is. Do you already have flow? Yes.
Picture yourself waiting to return serve. The serve gets hit. What happens next is remarkable, and you do it without thinking about it: • Your brain tracks a ball spinning through space • It calculates where that ball will be at a moment in the future • It moves your body to that place in space • You hit the ball You were doing that before your first lesson. Before your first pickleball YouTube video. Nobody taught you. That is your supercomputer running software that came pre-installed. So what is the work?
Removing interference. Taking away the noise. Clearing out the distractions and obstacles so that you can stop trying to think your way through the rally and start feeling the rally instead. Playing by feel more than by thought. One example of interference: trying to read paddle angles
Players ask about this a lot. How can I learn to read my opponent’s paddle at contact so that I know where the ball is going? It’s a fair question. To be sure, some coaches teach it. But think about what you are actually asking yourself to do. You are moving. You are tracking the rally. And now you want to also read a paddle face at the moment of contact. There is a better way. When the ball travels to one side of the court, you start to sense where it is likely to go next. Will you get surprised? Sure. Once, maybe twice. Then your brain adjusts. That is flow doing the work instead of your conscious mind. Watch the pros. It looks like they are gliding. They always seem to be where they need to be. They are sensing the rally. Pickleball is music
There is a rhythm to a rally. Learn to hear it and move with it, and you are in flow. That idea sits at the center of what we are doing in the Flow Project. The Flow Project
Five weeks. Five bite-sized chunks. Focused on your mechanics. Here is why it works: you have probably already tried the frontal approach to learning pickleball. You want a better third shot drop, so you watch 87 videos and take 32 clinics on the third shot drop. Fine. Let’s come at it from a different angle. That’s what the flow project is all about. No cost. To participate: • Go to tonyroigpickleball.com and get on the email list. The written lessons come by email, so that is the only way to receive them. • Add [email protected] as a contact so the emails do not land in spam. • Join the community at tonyroigpickleball.com for the video lessons and follow-alongs. In the riff: what Tony Roig Pickleball is about
It is about you. A pickleball player who wants to grow in the sport. Period. On the question of whether the pro work I’ve been doing lately means a pivot away from amateur coaching: no. Commentating Major League Pickleball and the PPA, and coaching pro players, increases my knowledge of the game and keeps me current. I bring that back here. Not a pivot. Doubling down. Free at tonyroigpickleball.com
• Four mini courses • The TRP Community • The Flow Project (five weeks)
More from Pickleball Therapy
In Mailbag Episode #2, Coach Tony answers your questions from the TRP community. Should you keep blocking the banger's hard shots, or let them go? Why does the shake and bake keep beating your team? And if you serve or return from the wrong side in a stack, is it a fault? As always, Tony gets into the why. Why most hard balls at net height and below are headed out. Why fake outs stop working once you have a book on a player. Why a deeper return takes the air out of an aggressive driver. Why you face the ball, not the net. Have a question for the next mailbag? Post it in the free TRP community: https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/products/communities/v2/ypc/home If you haven't signed up for the Community, you can do so here. https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/s2u4oi6n/checkout Strategies for 50+ Play (free course that includes the vision training exercises Coach Tony referenced in the episode): https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/hvYMUFR8/checkout The Shots That Matter (free course): https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/zMK4VHNQ/checkout TRP shirts and merch: tonyroigpickleball.myspreadshop.com #pickleball #pickleballtips #pickleballtherapy —————————————————————— Coach Tony Roig helps players understand the game instead of just collecting tips: strategy, the mental game, and the decisions that decide pickleball rallies. 🌐 Website: tonyroigpickleball.com We recommend Pickleball Central for your pickleball needs. Using our affiliate link at https://pickleballcentral.com/tonyroig helps fund content like this. Customers will get up to a 10% discount. Discounts may vary by product, and some exclusions apply. We earn a commission on purchases. 🛒 Tony's Amazon storefront — books, training tools, and gear Tony uses: https://www.amazon.com/shop/tonyroigpickleballformerlyin2pickle?ccs_id=77992b29-49a7-48a5-a01b-9035a0cc01a2 As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Contact: [email protected] Connect Instagram: @bestpickleballcoach Facebook: @tonyroigpickleball TikTok: bestpickleballcoach
We all play the same game. Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, the best player at your facility, and you. This week, Coach Tony explains why every player's game shares the same blueprint. He calls it the PickleWall. The bottom row of the wall is the same for everyone: serve, return of serve, block volley, punch volley. Pros don't skip the return. Beginners don't skip the serve. What separates levels is execution, and sometimes a missing block. The order matters. You can't set block 10 until the blocks underneath can hold its weight. Tony explains how to choose the block that gives you the most return for your time, and why the first block works like a gym for every shot that comes after it. In the riff, Tony turns to who sits at the center of your improvement. It should be you. Not the algorithm, not the trend at your courts, not the tip a friend just heard. Every tool should orbit you. In this episode: - Why the pros play the same game you do - The PickleWall - Finding your missing block - Priority and precedence: what comes first - Why chasing random tips leaves holes - Your Pickleball Coach and pay what you can - You at the center of your journey - The two-handed backhand black hole Your Pickleball Coach: https://yourpickleball.coach Camps, coaching, and free resources: https://tonyroigpickleball.com
What if it works out? Coach Kyleen joins Coach Tony this week to share a video from TikTok Mima. Her message is simple. We spend plenty of time imagining how things could go wrong. Give the other possibility a little attention. Tony and Kyleen tie it to pickleball. Many players decide it won't work before they even try. They tell themselves a story before they leave the house. Kyleen shares the question she now asks instead: what's the best that could happen? Tony explains why "don't miss" can backfire, and the two talk about a gold medal match where one player missed every serve and her team still won. In the riff, Tony talks about 50+ coaching. Same game, same rules. But lived experience matters. Tony shares how he stays competitive against younger players with smarter play and better court positioning. In this episode: - TikTok Mima: What if it works out? - The stories we tell ourselves before we play - What's the best that could happen? - Why "don't miss" works against you - Every serve missed, gold medal won - Pickleball is messy - Why 50+ coaching matters - Smarter play and court positioning Join us on October 15, 2026, for the live Stacking Lab. Sign up here - https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/ofCAzfB3/checkout Learn more about Your Pickleball Coach, the most comprehensive online pickleball coaching. Visit YourPickleball.coach Interested in a Tony Roig Pickleball Camp experience? Check out https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/camps
How deep does your pickleball knowledge go? This week, Coach Tony Roig looks at the difference between Google knowledge and real knowledge. Google knowledge is surface-level. Real knowledge means understanding the why, so you can see how the pieces of the game fit together. Tony uses the forehand in the middle vs. Respect the X debate to show what that difference looks like on the court. In the riff, Tony takes on information overload. Too many voices, so you can't hear any of them. He explains how to be more discerning about what you let in, and why trusting one source for now helps you build the knowledge to decide for yourself later. In this episode: - What Google knowledge is, and why it often comes up short - Forehand in the middle vs. Respect the X - Why it's always about the why - The cost of letting everything in - A Twilight Zone lesson in being discerning - Long term: move toward real knowledge - Short term: find a source you trust - This week's challenge: cut one input Read "The Myth of Forehand in the Middle": https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/blog/pickleball-myth-forehand-in-the-middle Free mini-courses, blogs, and other training opportunities: Click here to view the episode transcript.
In this special mailbag episode, Tony answers questions from the TRP community. How tightly should you hold your paddle? If the third shot drop isn't your priority yet, what is? How do you use partner play strategy when your partner changes every game? As always, Tony gets into the why. Why a lighter grip gives you more power and protects your arm. Why a drop and a dink are the same shot. Why getting beat on the outside dink probably isn't where your points are going. In this episode: - Grip pressure and the 10-5-3 scale - What to work on before the third shot drop - Drop vs. dink: one shot or two? - Partner play when your partner changes every game - Forehand in the middle vs. Respect the X - Where to stand when you serve - Split step or keep moving through the transition zone? - Getting beat on the outside dink - Back braces and staying healthy - Finding practice partners, local and virtual Have a question for the next mailbag? Post it in the free TRP community: https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/offers/s2u4oi6n/checkout Read "The Myth of Forehand in the Middle": https://www.tonyroigpickleball.com/blog/pickleball-myth-forehand-in-the-middle Tony's comments on back braces reflect his personal experience only. He is not a medical professional.