👫 How to be a great pickleball partner

 👫 ThatPickleballGuy in the house – How to be a great pickleball partner

Today’s guest is a BIG one… 

He’s pickleball’s #1 content creator. Over 6 million views on YouTube.

His tips are gold. His newsletter is the only one you need to read (except this one of course).

And on a personal note, he started playing at the same court I did in Phoenix. Only now he’s a pro and I’m still playing there 🤣

Ladies and gentlemen… please welcome Kyle Koszuta AKA ThatPickleballGuy to the Pickleheads newsletter!

Hey Pickleheads readers,

Kyle, AKA, Thatpickleballguy, here with my debut LevelUp tip.

This isn’t often talked about, but should be. Being a great partner, someone who makes you feel comfortable on court is dramatically underrated. 

The good news, there’s a few things you can do to become a better partner starting tomorrow. 

1. Frowns for fists - your partner is going to make mistakes. It’s inevitable. The natural response is to get frustrated and have poor body language. But truthfully, that’s not helpful! Instead, exchange those actions for a fist bump or a paddle touch to tell your partner, “it’s okay, I got your back.” 

2. Focus forward - attempt to not introduce tension from the previous play. Instead, talk about what you want to do on the next play. Because the thing is, you can’t do anything about the past, but you can do something about what’s coming next. 

3. Get Specific - be a hype person for your teammate, and get specific when doing so. So instead of saying, “good job.’ try saying something like, “good work on that last point, that backhand cut dink is hard to return. Keep doing that.” Doing that will lift up your partner and make them want to do more of that thing you just celebrated them for. 

In closing, this isn’t a perfect formula. We’ve all played with tough partners where we didn’t know what was going on in their head, **laughs. 

But you can’t control that. The only thing you can control is how you act on court.

Click the video below to learn how to be a doubles player people actually want to play with 👇

NEW: Instantly chat with players at courts you follow

Last week we launched court chat, the easiest way to connect with nearby players!

Follow a court, and you can now chat with everyone who plays there:

This is perfect if you’re traveling or exploring new courts in your area.

Just hop in the court chat to confirm open play times or find games at your level:

No more hunting for local Facebook groups, TeamReach codes or GroupMe invites.

Click follow on any court page and you’ll be automatically added to a group chat with other players who follow that court.

Save $50 on all lessons at Pickleheads

You now get $50 off all lessons booked through Pickleheads!

To find lessons, just click the ‘Lessons’ tab while searching:

💵 You’ll get a $50 coupon auto-applied when you find a coach through our site. You can also add your savings manually on Teachme.to with code Pickleheads50. 

There’s no better way to improve your game than with a hands-on lesson from a coach.

And we’re pleased to offer this discount to help you along your journey.

My new favorite paddle in 2024

I named the Six Zero DBD the best overall paddle in 2024.

I still think that BUT… I like the new Six Zero DBD Infinity even better for my game 😱

This paddle is the fastest I’ve ever played with. I have slow hands but with the Infinity, I’m finally winning hands battles.

Unlike other lighter paddles, though, you don’t lose anything on power (it’s just a touch shy of the original DBD). And the spin is really, really good.

The paddle can do a little of everything and for me, makes the case for the best paddle of the year so far. I can’t get enough of playing with it.

If you do try it out, grab 10% off with my code PICKLEHEADS. See you on the courts!

** 10% off code PICKLEHEADS auto-applied with the link above