Routines for Peak Performance: On and Off the Padel Court

How many times do you see at a club three people are ready and you see the fourth person sprinting in from the car park.

It's a good warm up. It's a good warm up.

Tom, we have a huge episode now. I'm building it up because it is important for recreational players, for pro players, for everyone. Today let's talk about the power of routines on and off court.

Well, it is a huge episode because it really is the step to getting peak performance, isn't it? And when we know that we get peak performance, we can win more matches, which every player wants. Right. So yeah, Sandy, it is a huge episode.

And I think there's different layers of when we talk about routine, it's in everyone's mind. I think that people think that's preparation, like before I need to have a warmup routine, like. And that is important. Absolutely. And then there's your routine within the points, within the games, like what you do between points or between games. And then I think there's also routine in the idea of reflection and how you go from playing a match today to what routine do you then follow to make sure the next time you play a match it is at your best performance.

Yeah, exactly. And like you said there, let's, let's go through each of the different stages. So we've got pre, during and post, haven't we? So we've got different routines that we can do at different times. So should we start with before a game?

Yeah, I think, I think there's, it's a time scale, isn't it? So I mean, before the game it's almost just making sure that everything is, is in preparation so that you can go from wherever you are, whether it's at work or from waking up in the morning or picking a child up or dropping a child off at school to going to the court. It's like everything is organized so that you can go there with plenty of time. Like I think time is a massive one. How many times do you see a club, three people are ready and you see the fourth person sprinting in from the car park.

It's a good warm up, physically good warm up.

But it's like there's always someone that's in a rush and then they end up getting into court and then you know that there's been absolutely no routine that's gone on in their mind unless that happens to be the winning formula for them that they, they go on the court. But it's, it's that pre routine, isn't it? The, the before you step on the court?

Well, I think there's, there's a few layers to it, isn't there? Because I think the pre routine is, is the physical. I think doing a physical warm up is, is good. Injury prevention gets you ready for the game, improves performance because when you step on the court, your, your body is ready to perform. But I think what we talk about mainly is the mental side, isn't it? What you're saying there of someone rushing to the core is that, okay, jokes aside, they probably are more physically ready than if they hadn't have done a physical warm up because they're, they're now jogging to the court more ready than.

The other thing on the court side.

Exactly, exactly. But what we're saying is that the mental preparation before you get on court is so important. I think almost it's overlooked as well for a lot of players because they think, well, what does that even look like? What is that mental preparation before a match or before training look like?

Well, I think one of the first things I did when I took up that role of GB natural coach is, is to have a routine of a warm up, a physical warm up for the whole team before we step on court. And that's not because I was worried that people weren't doing warm ups. It was exactly for that mental side. It was almost like the bonding of the team, but also so that every time you went on the training court you knew, or I as a coach knew that every player had been through this routine. So hopefully you're a little bit more composed when you, you step on the court. And it is mental, isn't it? When you, when you go through your routine, there's a comfort in it. Like it's, it's like, okay, and it's time to think and it's time to, to process everything that's going on and to get yourself ready. And I know you can either add things like music to that or visualization or whatever it might be to help in that preparation, but it's, it's, you know, having that routine is key.

Yeah. And also for. If I think about my pre game or pre, pre training routine, I also like to think about the game. But also you have a few goals. What are my goals for sessions? Even if it's one or two, let me go into this session with one or two goals. I'm really clear on what I'm trying to achieve. I think if you don't have clarity on those goals, it's so easy to go through the motions, isn't it, you get on court, you hit a few balls and then before you know it, you've actually, you've played a session, you've come off and thought, well, what have I actually worked on there? I'm not sure. So that for me is a massive part of that pre game routine. And like you say it, it cues your mind. I think even now with the warm up that you implemented for the team, I'm now using it for a lot of my games. And it's, it just, it's a cue, isn't it, in your mind that's like, right, I'm getting ready to perform, I'm getting ready to focus and somehow by having that routine, it, it helps you get in the right frame of mind.

And I think that's a major thing between pro level, high level and beginner level. The exercises that the pros are doing are not so incredibly advanced that players can't do them. I mean, the pros do it like it's the same. They do some dynamic stretches, they'll listen to some music, they'll get themselves loose, they'll do a bit of a physical one. Everything that they do an amateur player could do before they go on. It's not like there's nothing, you know, high level on it. It's just they dedicate the time to doing that. And I think that that's a really important thing. It's like especially in Padel, where technique, okay, sometimes is the differing factor between, you know, you and your opponent, but quite often it's not so, you know, the physical is so tied to this idea of routine and preparation and the mental even more so.

Yeah. And we're not talking a lot of time, are we? I think sometimes when you mention about preparation before a game with players, they say, well, I haven't, I haven't got an hour to get to the court early or I haven't got 45 minutes to get there and do a full warm up. And actually we're not talking about that. We're talking, it can even be 5, 10 minutes, can't ana. How many players do you see at the side of the court? They get there five minutes early and then they're on their phone or they're having a chat or whatever. And so, you know, we're not, we're not talking about a long preparation phase, even if it's short, but focused and you stick to that routine, it can do well.

I think the other routine is when we talk about now stepping on court with recreational players is watching their warm Ups. I mean, when you see an amateur level at a club, generally the warm up consists of, like we said, someone sprinting in because they're late. The four of them then think, well, we're five minutes into our court time, let's do a really quick warm up. We hit a few balls from the back, come in, have a couple of random volleys, maybe have one overhead, and now let's get into the points. And I think that that's almost the second area that immediately impacts the game is there's no actual like encore paddle warm up. It goes, it goes completely out the window. And then players say, yeah, I just, I always start slowly or I go three love down or I don't concentrate at the beginning. You think, well, you've missed your off court physical warm up and now you've missed a, a good constructed routine of a paddle warm up. You, you cannot expect to play at your best. So I mean it's. How important is that, that warm up? You know, the actual hitting bit?

Yeah, super important. I think, I think it can be difficult, can't. If you're, if you're on the court, there's three others that are saying, right, let's get stuck into this. And you're the one saying, no, no, no, guys, I need a long warm up because I really want to get mentally prepared for this. I think the ideal is to have everyone on the same page and you do a longer warm up. But I think probably in reality, like you say, you haven't got the court long. Everyone wants to just play a match. So. But again, I think as a player you can use those few minutes, even if it's a quicker warmup, to really just focus in on. Okay, I'm going to focus on one thing in this warmup and I'm really going to try to zone in on that. And by the time the match starts, I'm going to be in a good frame of mind and it might be just, for example, I'm going to make sure that I'm split stepping at the right time and I'm going to focus on my feet or I'm going to really focus on doing extra footwork in this warm up so that when the game starts, I know I haven't had that long to warm up, but at least I know that my feet are going to be working and I'm going to be playing. And I think the other thing, just to mention on that warm up, and again, it almost goes back to routine, is that if you're so used to training Doing training games where you rush a warm up and you go straight in. When you come to play tournaments and you do a longer warm up, there's a difference there. And actually what you want to try and do is make everything that you do on the training court as close to a match as possible. So if you are skipping warm ups on the court and you're trying to just start a match as soon as possible, at least try to give yourselves the time that you're allowed in a match warm up because then it will just help you translate that onto the match court.

Yeah. And something we do a lot with, particularly on our paddle holidays when we take a group for our paddle holidays. But it's the same on our clients. We get a group and we say, look, if you can spend even 10 or 15 minutes doing some drills and practicing something in your game before playing your match. So I know you probably booked the court for 90 minutes. If you could do 15 to 20 minutes of constructive drills as a routine every time you go on with your group, you know, and when you get a supportive group, it works really well. And then the other 70 minutes, yes, you can play games. There's almost such an urgency for people to get into their matches. But that time, that warm up time or that bit at the beginning can be so valuable to improving the game, can't it? And I think, you know, it's a great time again to get that mental like we said, really like for the physical warm. It's like get yourself in the right mental state of mind. Start working out the weapons and their weaknesses from your opponents and how you can start putting a game plan together.

Yeah, it's so, so important. That's why we created our drill book which I know we'll put in in the show notes. And I mean we had so many players come to us and say, well, I really want to do these drills with four players on a court. We don't have a coat. But how can we do some drills before a match that gets the volume in is focused, will help us improve long term. So that's exactly why we created our drill bit. Because it's a series of exercises. You can do two to four players. You don't need a coach. It covers every aspect of the game from beginner to advanced. So do go and check that out in the show notes. It's such an awesome resource. And yeah, like you say, getting that drilling in, in a game, Even if it's 10 minutes, again, it's that focused practice that over time you'll Just see like your improvement take off.

Yeah, definitely. And I mean, that drill book is not just a few drills, it's 75 drills for different parts of the game.

So that's got you covered, that's got.

You covered, whatever you want to work on. And then I suppose next in terms of routine is then going in between points now. So, you know, in tennis, I remember this very clearly and there was almost a 15 second cure that players used to do. And it's five seconds reflecting on the previous point, five seconds of almost mental resetting and relaxation, and then five seconds of thinking ahead onto the next point. I feel like even though you have that time and paddle, very rarely do players get that even in pro competition. It's almost like there tends to be five or six seconds between points. And so that just means you just need to be very good and very practiced at that process of resetting after a point. Because that's exactly why sometimes players can lose a couple of points and before you know it, you've lost four games is because there's nothing that natural break and you just go from one to the other. So I think the next thing is almost the routine between points.

Yeah. And when we talk about routine between points, the idea of this is to, to treat a winning point and a losing point the same, isn't it? That's, that's the power of that routine. Because when we're winning points, there's, there's no issue, is there? Most of the time it doesn't matter what you do in between the point. You're, you're on a high, you're, you're pumped and you're winning and everything, everything's good. But when you go through a streak of losing points, then that's when you can start getting stressed, start getting frustra frustrated. And so that in between point routine is, is so important to have regardless of whether you win the point or whether you lose the point. But it's, it's again, it actually goes back to what we chatted about in the warm up, isn't it about. It's that, that consistency, that certainty almost that that anchor isn't it, it kind of anchors you. Okay, in the present. Win or lose the point, this is the routine I'm going to go through. And I'm, when I step up to the line again, I'm ready. And I think that idea of resetting isn't it. We've talked about this a lot before in podcasts and also in, and even the games that we've played and that you've watched me play, is that that importance of resetting after a point, win or lose, and being ready to, to play another point straight away?

Yeah. And I think it's almost the easiest thing is for you as a player to start thinking of how you can do that. And maybe the first thing is you turn your back to the court and you face the back glass and then you give yourself two to three seconds to reflect on the point. If he won the point, why did you win it? What went well? If you lost the point, what quickly you know, what happened, why did you lose it? And then almost immediately start thinking, right, this next point, where do we go? And dwelling on the point doesn't do you any good. But also not thinking about it at all doesn't do you any good. Right, so because it will form your game plan when you change ends and you have time at the end of the set with your partner, you will discuss this, but it's almost being quite strict on that time, I think, before you start the next point and then you go into the next point with the same, you know, the same intensity or the same vision each time.

It's a technique that is used in other sports. It's used in Olympians, it's used in other athletes. It's not just a technique used in paddle or tennis. It's a well known technique and it's something that we've worked with jj, who's our sports psychologist, and he's our sports psychologist for our online platform, the paddleschool.com and we put together this mental toughness course which we'll put in the show notes if you're interested in checking that out. But that was something Sandy, wasn't it? Then when we created that course with J.J. this idea of creating routines I think can be quite difficult if you're not sure where to start. But he is so experienced and I mean, at least for me, it kind of just amazed me of like the routines that you can create, how simple and powerful they can be.

Yeah. And what's quite interesting is that it's, it's quite individual in a way. Like your, your routine might be slightly different to mine, but they will follow the same pattern. And I suppose almost taking the next step with the routine is now the routine of having finished a match or a training. And how does that fit into the larger picture? So you just come off the back of a tournament. What happened when you finished that match? Like, where does that now fit in to your, I suppose, your yearly routine or your season Routine of, of competing.

Let's look at two different ways that you can react.

Let's not look at my, let's forget about that.

No, let's, I think, let's, let's. I think it's really interesting to compare what, what you should be doing versus what perhaps you shouldn't be doing. And, and almost for the listeners of where they fit into that bracket. So typically when, when you lose a tournament the, the feeling is to essentially come off the court, have a quick.

Shower, throw them in, come off the.

Court, have a quick shower and then just get, get in the car, get in the train or you know, if you're international, get on a plane, just, and just go straight home and try not to think about it. If someone asks you about it, you sort of say oh well, you know, had a lot of golden points and didn't, I was really unlucky, didn't take my opportunity. So I think there's, that's, that's such a classic way I think of, of how to, how players end up responding to those, those matches and then I think what we want to happen and I think it links so closely to the pre match routine which is there's a physical cooldown which a lot of players, I know it's not the most exciting thing to do but it's what your body needs particularly if you want to stay injury free which is do some stretching, maybe get on, get on a bike and you know, do sort of roll the legs over for a little bit if you have access to something like that. But there's, there's a physical side of it which long term you need if you want to keep competing and keep playing without, without injury. But then there's also a mental side of that post match routine, isn't there?

Well, it's the same as the pre match, isn't it? In a way. It's almost this, this mental calm and reflection of your game from an objective point of view. If you get straight in the car or you're, you're frustrated and you don't bother with any of that, you almost don't get the time to like reflect and break it down. And actually what we recommend, a lot of our members, they, they keep like match journals or training journals and so that you basically come off that match and it's super important that you reflect and say this went really well for me today. This didn't go so well for me today. Here are my learnings from this today so that next time you know what to focus on. There's nothing more difficult as a coach working with a player when you say, oh, yeah, how was the match? Yeah, it was okay. I just didn't play that well. It's like, okay, but you've got to, you've got to have specifics that you want to work on based off that match when it comes, you know, comes to the training court or even for, for your next match. But you can't have that if you don't have a, a reflection period at the end of the game. And there's no good doing it like a day or two later because some of the really important details you end up forgetting.

Yeah. And I really like the fact just to go back to what you said, there is do focus on the positives because what can happen is if you lose a match is to come off and go, I didn't do this well, I didn't do this well. And this went really wrong. And, and you come away almost reflecting in it. It kind of has a negative impact and really it should be a constructive impact. What, what did you do? Well, and try and find those positives because I'm sure that there can be positives found from the match. Then look at, you know, naturally there'll be some negatives and then the most important is like you say, the improvement. And I think for a lot of players that are looking to improve long term and stay motivated long term, because that's another thing is it's a long journey, the paddle journey. And so we want players to improve long term. So it's motivating to keep a journal like this because when you look back over six or 12 months, you can see how far you've come and that's so important to stay motivated. So the journal is not just about the match you play, but also in long term to stay motivated on your paddle journey.

And I think as well, almost to say if you can do this with your partner, that's ideal. Right. Like we're talking here about doing it yourself and maybe for all of it actually, your physical warmup or your cool down or your between points. Yes. Okay. This is something that you can do, but ideally your partner does this with you. Right. And whether that's sharing this episode and then you come together and you communicate as a pair on how you would do that. It's obviously a team sport, so it's super important that both of you are able to align on this and do it together. If you've enjoyed today's episode and you want to take your game to the next level head to the Paddle School. We've talked about our drill book. We talked about our mental toughness course on the paddleschool.com there's so many resources for players that want to 5x their game and work on areas and techniques and tactics to improve. Visit and join our community. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast for expert tips and we will see you on the next one.