It's a Fickle Game

 Take a recent pro match, deep into the tournament, mixed doubles I think.  The first game goes 11 to 8 to team A.  It was close and the lead was exchanged occasionally.  It could have gone either way.

The second game goes 11 to 0 for team B.  Team A comes back to win the third is a somewhat close game, but the lead was held by A through out.

Let's talk about the second game.  Or think about it.  How is it possible for a pro team playing well after winning the first game lose so lopsidedly (is that really a word?)?

Meanwhile back at the Downs: 

"How is it going?" I asked.

"Horribly, I just want to go home," said one of many players.  

I've had this same conversation with more than one player.  One day you are 4.0, the next 2.5 and you're wondering where that 1.5 points of ability went to.

My data point from the pro game proves that this happens at all levels of the game and happens in a very short span of time.

I don't know what causes it.  I suspect that the game itself is to blame.  There is so little difference between a great shot and one that hits the top of the net, or between a good shot and one that goes long.

When the gods conspire and you miss a couple of "easy" balls and the opponents decide not to hit any out, the game collapses and you seek the comfort of a sofa and a self help book.  (Sadly, no one has written one about pickleball... "Pickleball for Idiots," "A Pickleball Guide for those who are Lost,"  "The Inner Game of Pickleball,"  "The PB Players Guide to Reclaiming Greatness,"  "How to find your Mojo")

The next problem we human have, if something is not working we try something else.  Making broad changes to adjust for tiny problems is a fool's errand.  The ball that hits the tape and comes back is half an inch from toppling over for a point.  What change can you make that will give you that extra half inch?  If you work it out, please let the rest of us know.  Toss in some wind, a different ball, a bad bounce, some more wind, an opponent you'd live to beat, the skip off the line, and it's a strange game to try for perfection.

So what should you do when you are running too cold for comfort?  I'd suggest that you ignore it and play your game.  This is difficult as our brains are not setup to do the same thing and expect different results, but every shot is pretty much unique, so even if you try to do the same thing, it's likely that you can't.  Trying random things is not a good strategy.  Stick to your usual game and hope your shots start coming over, and the opponent's start hitting the tape and going long.

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Having said all of that, it still might be that your game has issues.  There are shots that are safer than others, have larger margins of error and you don't want to cause yourself silly unforced errors.  The first one is a serve.  Not too many have serves that can't be returned, but all of us serve out on occasion.  There is no excuse for netting a serve.  There is no need not to give yourself lots of room over the net, so use it.  Learn to hit a bit of top spin and never miss a serve short again.

The next shot that requires less than prefect technique is the second shot.  You would like to hit a screamer deep down the middle, but since the ball must bounce, here again is a lot of room over the net, so never hit the second shot into the net.  A high floating return is just fine and it gives you more time to get up to the kitchen line.

The first and second shots are special and kind and gentle; try not to lose points by doing silly things with them,  Get them in and back and worry about the rest of the shots, which do require more care and net flirtation.  Embrace these shots as bit of breather, hit them with safety in mind and not out right performance.