Jaume seems like a very smart young man, a pleasure to listen to. He mentioned Pickleball as being more like chess (than tennis I assume), and he mentioned improving his cat and mouse at the net and recognizing patterns better. Jaume, Colin Johns and Ben have all mentioned "Patterns" before. I wish people would talk more about what those patterns are and how they work with them.
I'd suggest checking out the book "Winning Ugly". It's written about tennis, but much of it applies to pickleball as well. Some small examples from a match this morning. I was playing a couple 4.0-5.0 players. One of them had a very fast, low, 3rd shot drive. However, he couldn't hit it well if the ball was into his body/elbow, to his backhand, or wide to his forehand. This let me focus on hitting to where he didn't like to take the ball, or if it was in his wheelhouse, get low and ready to reset the drive. Another player had a very good serve (and I play players with very fast serves). I have a solid 2-hand backhand and forehand return of serve and stay fairly deep if the court allow. He started serving into my body and got a couple serves. I realized this and started waiting until he was mid-serve and then moving a half-step to one side or the other. Just a couple small examples but during a game, try to keep track of where you AND your opponents are hitting winners/errors. Don't give them shots to the spots they like and beware of them picking on your weaknesses (often the backhand/the chicken-wing or dominant shoulder/or certain dinks). A quote from the book. "Always make sure that during the game you know WHO is doing WHAT to whom."
What a terrific story. Talented and humble. A breath of fresh air to the pro scene. BTW in your dink newsletter you give AL credit for inventing a new serve. Tim Finger used a running serve on the way to winning men’s singles national championship(s) Maybe even more than one time.
Main thing I learned from this podcast was that the most Zane will pay to see a six pack is $200 but he won't pay at all for a 4 pack or below. Jaume needs a minimum of $100 per ab but is willing to show abs for $100 a pop and will take less than $600 for the full set of six abs if he has a lower number.
would you guys ever consider having a senior pro on as a guest? like maybe Altaf or someone who you think would draw viewers? I'm kind of curious if there are any financial incentives to go senior pro? I figure you cannot live off prize money but do any of the seniors make a living from pickleball or do you have to just be independently wealthy at that age to dedicate the time to be pro? should I assume if it's hard for non seniors to have a hard time making a living as a pickleball pro that it is much more difficult for the seniors? and I'm kind of curious how it is for the players in the national pickleball league?
Jaume is a great player with a great attitude and charisma. Wish him only the best in his future endeavors! Good that the kangaroos believe in his heart! ❤
