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What a Little Kid Taught Me About Being the Ultimate Teammate— From Kyle Koszuta

Hey guys, it’s Kyle from ThatPickleballGuy. Ever seen a video that stopped you in your tracks and forced you to pay attention? A video that makes you sit back and reconsider your entire life? Well, if you haven’t, watch this one.

The coach says, “Best teammate ever.” It got me thinking: How have I been as a pickleball partner? Would my past partners call me the best teammate ever? How about you? Would your partners say the same?

Chances are, probably not. We often get so focused on our own game that we forget to support our partners. They’re wondering what we think of them, especially after a miss. Imagine playing with someone who always has your back, whether you miss a shot or have a tough day.

I know your partner might not be in tears over a missed ball, but even top players need encouragement.

You might be asking, “So what?” Here’s the deal: In life, people crave progress. We all want to improve. Even if you play for fun, you likely want to get better and challenge yourself.

Tifosi Optics—offering a wide selection of eyewear designed for clarity and comfort on pickleball courts.

Here’s how you do it—two steps:

1. Improve Your On-Court Skills

Just because you want to get in better games doesn’t mean you’re going to. You have to get better so those better players will be okay with you playing and so you can actually compete with them.

2. Become the Best Teammate Ever with Great Energy

Now, you can do number two without doing number one, and some people will love that. But the best players still want someone on their side who’s skilled enough to contribute to winning. A good attitude and energy alone aren’t enough.

You can also do number one without doing number two—that’s fine—but you’re leaving part of your potential on the table. In pickleball, partnership energy means a lot.

Right now, I’m not going to break down how to improve your skills, but I am going to give you three ideas on how to become the best teammate ever.

1. Frowns for Fists

Your partner will make mistakes—it’s as inevitable as death and taxes. The natural response is to get frustrated, have poor body language, and not say anything. But that’s not helpful. Exchange those reactions for a fist bump, a paddle touch, or a “let’s go” because that communicates to your partner, “I’ve got your back.”

2. Focus Forward

Try not to introduce tension from the last play. For example, saying, “Why did you hit that lob?” is negative and could make your partner play worse going forward. Instead, talk about what you want to do on the next play: “Hey, next time out, let’s think middle and see if we can make their life a little harder—that seems to be working.” You can’t do anything about the past, but you can control what comes next.

3. Get Specific

Be a hype person for your teammate and get specific when doing so. Instead of saying, “Great job on that last point,” you could say, “Hey, good work on that last point—your backhand cut dink is hard to return. Keep doing that.” Or, “Wow, you have fast hands on the left side,” or “That forehand rip was unreal!” That’s how you lift up your partner and make them want to do more of what you just celebrated.

Now, listen—I’m not saying this is a perfect formula. We’ve all played with challenging partners—the ones we had no clue what was going on inside their head, which made us think, “Do they hate me? Am I doing a bad job? Will they ever play with me again?” It’s difficult to play with that uncertainty. Of course, everyone has different styles of partnership and encouragement, so you have to figure out what works for your partner.

But in closing—and I’m not perfect at this myself—we’re all still figuring out how to be great teammates. I still struggle with poor body language or saying the wrong thing at times. It’s a work in progress for all of us.

Here’s my challenge for you: Watch the video of that little kid being an incredible teammate. After you watch it, I want you to think for yourself—how can I start being the best teammate ever for the people I play with?

Ok, one more challenge. Think you know pickleball inside and out? Challenge yourself with ThatPickleball IQ Test and see if you can score a perfect 10 out of 10!

See you guys next time.

New Gearbox Pro Ultimate— From Kip Lacey

View the Pro Ultimate at JustPaddles.

Paddle Specs & Key Features

The Pro Ultimate is 16mm thick, aimed at controlling the chaos of the Pro Power. It keeps the Power Matrix core, T700 carbon fiber face, and SST for extra pop. The thicker design improves control, and the T700 carbon fiber still provides excellent dwell time and spin. The new Smart Dampen Technology adds a trampoline effect while increasing dwell time.

With dimensions of 16 1/12 inches by 7 3/8 inches and a 5 1/2 inch handle, it’s slightly head-heavy but well-balanced at 8 ounces. I’ve added an overgrip to the handle for a better fit.

Performance Breakdown

After a couple of weeks with the Pro Ultimate, it’s clear it’s a thicker, more controlled version of the Pro Power. The added thickness doesn’t add much weight, and it’s slightly head-heavy but quick through the zone.

Power: This paddle delivers power effortlessly. My serves hit 51.2 mph with minimal effort. It provides great depth and pace with little exertion.

Accuracy & Control: The Pro Ultimate excels here, with fewer flyers and exceptional spin. It’s great for heavy topspin and slice shots, though be cautious with full swings to avoid over-hitting.

Feedback & Feel: It offers a smooth, responsive feel with a medium-sized sweet spot. It’s effective for defensive shots and quick net exchanges.

Drawbacks: There are still occasional flyers, and at $274.99, it’s pricey. But the advanced tech justifies the cost.

Getting Used to the Paddle: Like all Gearbox paddles, it takes time to adjust. It’s great for dinking and fast exchanges but requires practice for pure drives. Focus on shortening your swing and adding topspin.

If you’ve tried this paddle or any of the other Gearbox models, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Taking Control at the Kitchen Line— From James Ignatowich

Hey guys, this is James Ignatowich, and I’m going to cover the importance of hugging the kitchen line when you’re playing doubles and taking dinks out of the air. If your opponent can make the dink bounce past the kitchen line, they can really control that area (Figure 1.) And when someone’s controlling the kitchen line, that’s how they generate pop-ups.

I usually stay close to the kitchen line, leaning in and trying to take dinks out of the air (Figure 2).

It’s super important because when you do that, you take away your opponent’s time to react. For example, if I take the dink out of the air, I’m making contact with the ball much earlier. But if I let it bounce, the contact happens much later, and that’s a big difference in maintaining control during a match. For more tips.