You Won't Like the Answer on How to Play More Consistently

Whether you’re a professional or amateur player, we all have a range of play when on the pickleball court. In other words, we have good days where things are easy and we perform at a level which is better than normal. We have middle of the road days, playing at our normal level. And we have days where we just cannot seem to do anything right. Just like grading in a college course, our performance is pretty much shaped like a bell curve. We all have a range of play, but the key to improving your game is becoming more consistent and having less deviation in your performance.

So, the question is, “How do you become more consistent?” 

I have two thoughts on this subject and one idea may not be very popular. I know many people aren't going to like my answer but repetition is the key. Ideally, participating in drill sessions or finding a partner to practice with will help your consistency the most. You might think you can get repetition during drop-in play or a league. However, the reality is you will hit the ball ten times more during a good practice session than when playing games.

How else can you improve consistency? 

You can do this by getting off the roller coaster or stop being a yo-yo with significant ups and downs in your performance. Often times after a game or day of playing pickleball, you think, “I did really well because I changed paddles,” or, “I did really poorly because I just started playing again after an injury.” Unfortunately, these thoughts may not be based in facts and are simply perceptions of your performance. Honestly, there are so many things that go into having a good performance and one thing like a different paddle or starting to play again after a lay off don't really correlate strongly with why your game was good or bad. So, don't spend time reviewing your performance unless you can video tape your play and analyze the statistics to know what the real facts are.