Jan 29,2025

Mindset & Approach

• Everyone is beatable. No matter the skill level, I can match it. The key is believing that and playing accordingly.

• Biggest weakness: playing too loose when having fun. I lose focus when I’m not aggressive and hyper-competitive.

• When I’m dialed in, I play with a different type of calm—methodical and controlled.

Winning Approaches

• The easy way to win: Overpower opponents with raw aggression.

• The methodical way:

• Casual serve.

• Great thirds, fifths, sevenths, ninths.

• Next-level play: Strong fourths set up the eighth; strong eighth sets up the twelfth.

• The toughest part: Having a partner who understands we don’t have to win every shot—just getting the ball back safely can be enough.

Observations on Opponents

• Kole & Daniel:

• Kole is incorporating high-level elements into his game, which is great to see.

• However, his game lacks a “dance.” It’s all quick jabs—no pull-and-push, no rhythm shifts, no setups like lobs and redirects.

• When Kole does try to set up, his ball often floats, which makes it easy to attack.

• If I’m feeling aggressive, I’ll take the float and attack; if I’m playing smooth, I’ll just redirect crosscourt.

• If something floats middle, I’m ripping it, and I expect my partner to be staggered at 45° to defend.

Challenges of Being a Better Player

• If I put up any ball—even a great shot—opponents will still target my partner.

• It doesn’t matter if I hit a great shot or a bad one—the play still ends with my partner being under pressure.

• This makes me self-conscious about putting my partner in jeopardy.

• It’s frustrating but just a reality I have to manage.

Adding Dimension to My Game

• Need more directional intent.

• Instead of just reacting, every shot should have a purpose.

• “I’m going to take this ball and do this with it.”

• Right now, some plays are too predictable:

• Opponents might pick on my backhand early, but once I adjust, it’s just a waiting game.

• Solution: Dial in and spend 45 minutes to 3 hours refining air-game decision-making (soft, firm, aggressive).

Physical Adjustments

• Still ginger on movement due to the stress fracture.

• Can’t “dance” as much but can generate more force into the ground.

• Happy about how calm and composed I’ve been—letting the game unfold rather than forcing plays.

• Higher-level tactics are coming back, which means:

• I’m setting up my partner more.

• I’m not panicking to escape trouble.

• I’m accepting that some points are going to be battles.

• If my partner executes, we keep winning exchanges.

• If they don’t, I adjust and create different attack points.

Play Highlights & Tactical Breakdown

• Night’s performance: Very dominant. 5 straight wins but wanted the 6-0 sweep.

• After the first three wins, I started experimenting (e.g., two-handed backhands, backhand poaches).

• One poach went through Cole’s legs—one of three.

• Notable realization: Games are most fun when they feel competitive, but we weren’t dinking enough.

• We won six games, and we only dinked about 12 times.

• The lack of dinking means:

• Drops are solid enough to get us straight to the net.

• We’re playing aggressive, fast-paced points instead of long, grinding rallies.

• It’s good, but it feels like something’s missing.

High-Level vs. Low-Level Play

• Low-level play = “I want to win” mindset.

• Focuses on the immediate shot, not the long-term sequence.

• No setups, no layers, no clock-building.

• High-level play = “Let’s win” mindset.

• Builds points methodically.

• Recognizes data points in real-time:

• Where the opponent returns my shot.

• How they react to certain placements.

• Whether they redirect to me or my partner.

• Example:

• If I’m on the left side and hit a third-shot drop, I have multiple options:

• Crosscourt drop: Safe, reliable.

• Middle curve drop: Forces an awkward contact.

• Down-the-line drop: Risks exposure but creates an aggressive setup.

• What the opponent does next informs our next three to five plays.

Tactical Adjustments During Play

• If I’m playing the even side:

• My fourth-shot decision depends on my partner’s placement.

• If I signal, “I’m taking it,” I expect them to adjust.

• If I miss, we stick to the strategy.

• Some partners assume they should take every ball, but sometimes I need to take it to put it away.

• The goal is to:

• Keep the ball in play.

• Identify scoring chances.

• Capitalize when given the opportunity.

Key Defensive Principles

• If you’re serving, your job is to keep me pinned back.

• If you allow me an offensive ball out of the air, you’ve failed.

• If I move forward through your shots, you must make me uncomfortable.

• But also—be willing to bail out of firefights.

• Too often, opponents let me dictate by engaging too long in hands battles.

• Smart opponents just redirect or force an awkward position instead.

Targeting & Countering

• I hit Cole every game except two.

• Sometimes hit him in the chest.

• Sometimes hit his paddle eight times because he was reaching instead of moving.

• Jumpiness from fatigue made him even more predictable.

• I got jumpy too but played out of it.

• My mistakes were leaving too much space & paddle positioning wasn’t perfect—not upset, just taking note.

Final Thoughts

• Overall play: Very dominant.

• Key adjustment: Need more dimension, more setups, more long-term point construction.

• Dan’s biggest struggle: He doesn’t know what to do with the ball.

• Not a skill issue—it’s a direction issue.

• Needs to develop court sense: Where should the ball go? What should it set up?

• The better you get, the smaller the court feels.

• Some days, the ball is huge, and you see everything.

• Other days, it’s tiny, and the opponent’s court feels massive.

• This is the mental game—how you handle those shifts.

• Two-hour training games are brutal but valuable.

• Just wish there was more dinking.

• We won six straight but only dinked 12 times.

• That’s not enough.

• The best games require dinking—it keeps things honest.

• Biggest takeaway: We are winning, but we are skipping fundamental battles. That might cost us later.