First Official DUPR Tournament

Yesterday was the first official DUPR tournament for me and my partner Stephanie.

First observation, playing 4 hours of pickleball in mid-June in Houston is no joke. I was soaked through my first shirt getting out of the parking lot and while I drank approximately 8 gallons of water, I had zero trips to the bathroom.

A couple of observations about the games:

1) Never give up: pickleball seems to be a game of runs. The big comeback is always in play and the momentum can turn very quickly. I have lost games that I was up 9-2 and have won games that I was way behind in. The key is to not get too defeated and take the old cliche "one shot at a time" literally. Until that winning point is hit - you are never out of it.

2) Relatedly, don't press when you are trying to put a team away. Part of the reason I have blown some big leads is that you try too hard to put the other team away. I found us trying to hit the "winning" shot and sailing it long or hitting it wide just to put the other team away - instead of taking the high percentage shot and playing the way that got you the lead in the first place.

3) Always have fun. While this was an official tournament - we always played better when we were laughing and joking and taking the stress off of one another vs. getting upset at your partner or yourself for a mistake. This is supposed to be fun!

Great experience playing in the tournament - looking forward to the next one (hopefully not in the summer!)