Why playing tournaments is a good idea
When I first started playing pickleball, and I found out there were tournaments, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. The idea of competing again and earning a place on the podium was highly intriguing. I know not everyone shares this sentiment. For some players, tournaments can seem overwhelming and risky.
Tournament play provides benefits that cannot be replicated in any other environment. Here are the benefits of tournament play:
- Your game will improve. Leading up to the tournament you will focus on your game and find areas to improve. The preparation for the tournament is just as rewarding as the tournament itself.
- It takes you out of your comfort zone. This might seem like a strange benefit, but when we leave our comfort zone, take the risk to ask a partner to play, and test our nerves on tournament day, we grow and learn.
- Track your progress. Tournament play helps us track our progress as a player. I play a few of the same tournaments every year as a way of tracking my progress. I take into account how I have improved and ways to improve more.
- It builds mental strength and stability. Since we can’t replicate it in any other way, tournaments put us in an environment where we can build our mental game. We need to be put to the test, experience failure and success, and grow in this area. Failures will be our biggest growth motivators and another opportunity to grow.
- It builds confidence. The first step is courage, but as you gain experience, you gain confidence for the next tournament.
- Meet new people. Tournaments bring a whole new slew of players together. Tournaments have been places where I have met new partners and other players to play with in other towns. It is a huge party of different players coming together for the same passion.