Why You’re Not Improving at Padel (And How to Fix It)

Not only do you require good coaching to change those bad habits, but to actually find a coach that is good enough to do that even harder. Sandy, in today's episode, we are going to discuss a question. We get asked a lot from players, from our members, people that join our platform when we go and give clinics at clubs. And it's a question that keeps coming up quite often, and that is, why am I not improving at paddle? It's the golden question, isn't it? And today we've got the answer.

Yeah, we've got the answer. And we're going to give you, I think, three tips or three areas to. To focus on. But it's something, before we get to that, something that we see a lot, because when people come to Padel, they start playing, they find it easy to pick up. There's this mindset that I'm a natural at this sport, I can play this. I don't need help, I'm just going to improve. And then the first several times you play, you improve because you start to understand the rebound a bit better. You start to have a bit of an idea with the lob. You watch a few videos and you. You try and implement a couple of things and you almost go through a period and we've kind of worked this out, haven't it? It's almost a period, depending on how much you play, of six to seven months, six to nine months of improvement, and then you inevitably plateau, like whatever level it is, whether you're from a high racket sport background or no racket sport background, you can improve to a certain point and then you plateau. And that can be really frustrating because you've been on an upward growth trajectory in terms of your paddle, and then out of nowhere, suddenly you feel like you play once and then you play a second and third time, and then you. You don't improve, and then you almost force yourself to play more and you still can't improve. And it's, it's really frustrating for players.

It's frustrating. And also having got to the level that we've got, to yourself and I, you realize how many levels and how many layers Padel has, the more you improve. And in a way, it's a shame for those players that are plateauing because the game becomes so much more tactical, it becomes so much more mental. There are so many, how can I say, there's almost rewarding aspects of Padel as you go up the levels and they become more challenging. And yeah, I mean, for us, we obviously want players to continue improving, but for all those players out there that feel like they've hit a bit of a plateau, there's such a great place to be in Padel. As you improve, like, the game completely changes. So, yeah, we don't want that to happen.

I think it's quite difficult as well because when you talk to players that are new to Padel, they go, oh, I'm just playing as a hobby or socially. It's something, something I play for fun or a bit of activity, you know, and everyone started like that. I started like that. I think you started like that. And what ends up happening without you either wanting it to or without you realizing is that once you've played it more, you start to think to yourself, okay, well, I want to now beat my friends, or I want to now play this club tournament, I want to now win these matches. And suddenly you go from a social hobby player to someone who actually now.

Wants to got three rackets. He's got the brand new bag.

Yeah.

He's got the headband out.

Yeah. He's dressed like Paquito. But it happens so quickly. And then you're in this phase there where suddenly you're like, actually, I really like this sport. I actually now want to improve. And I think that it's very difficult to persuade someone who is new to Padel to take a improver mindset or a mindset of learn to win at the beginning almost until you get to that phase. And I think, yeah, it's not easy to persuade them to do that, but it is necessary. Just a quick shout out if you're finding that Padel is just as much mental as it is physical. We've actually got a mental toughness course designed exactly for that purpose. Whether it's handling pressure, closing out matches or staying focused, the course covers it all. You can check it out. The link is in the show notes. We know it works for players and we're sure it's going to work for you.

So let's get into answering the question today. We've got three aspects we want to discuss. These are three golden solutions. To answer this question, let's talk about the first one, which is technique.

Yeah. So technique is, I think, probably the biggest factor. And this is something that the longer the player has played without good coaching, emphasis on good, the more habits they build up and therefore the more difficult it is for a coach to break that habit and form good habits. Right. And so we see this a lot where, oh, I've played for a year and now I'm suddenly plateauing and I really want to improve and I'm frustrated because my friends are getting better than me and now I'm going to go down and have loads lessons with the local coach. Well, it's actually very difficult coaching, you know, for most coaches to understand how to break the habit down and to form new habits. But that is what is required because you can only get to a certain level with technique without instruction.

I like how you emphasize the good coaching though, because that's been a topic of lots of our podcast, hasn't it? The difficulty getting good coaching. So not only do you require good coaching to change those bad habits, but to actually find a coach that is good enough to do that even harder.

Yeah, and so often I see this with coaching where someone is in that stage of plateau, they go along and the coach will go, oh, what do you want to work on today? And the player will go, oh, my vibra. Or they will choose and then the coach will just do a bit of work on that and maybe another on a bit of a different shot instead of analyzing the player and saying, right, this is what you need to break these habits to get your game to the next level. It should come from the coach. But unfortunately, the majority of coaching worldwide is not of a high level at the moment. And so it can be very difficult. I mean, look, this is why we put the platform together, right? So that we can make sure the advice that players are getting is good and accurate so they can improve their games. Because it's difficult for players to find that. But that's almost the technical point. They need to improve those techniques in order to break through that plateau. And an example might be with the overheads is that really they keep pushing the bandeka and it keeps being bouncy at the other end and they keep getting attacked by their opponent. They don't know how to improve it. It's like you need to change the technique on the bandeka to keep the ball lower, to have it more effective within your points, to win more points. Right. Like it's, you know, that's almost the process. And technique is key for that.

I think to add to that as well is video analysis and how important that can be for technique. Because as we know as coaches and as players, you might think you're doing one thing in your technique and then you look at a video and it's completely different. Going back to what you said around the platform, players can send their videos in and receive feedback. And at least from all of the players that I've worked with and even for Myself playing the video feedback is just so important for techniques.

I came across quite a nice terminology and I think you'll like this one, Tom. It's, you know, what's real versus feel, basically, and it's what people feel. So when they're hitting their Bandeka, what they feel like they're doing versus what's the reality, essentially. And that's where the video feedback is so useful. I mean, how many Bandeka lessons have we given where we say, right, prepare with the arm, you know, up behind you, and they go, I am. It is high. And then you take a video and you show them and they're like, wow, I didn't realize that's where my arm was like. And. And actually a of the players on our platform, they send in the first video and we give the tips and the feedback and the next time they take the video. But they often don't send it in because they're analyzing it themselves and they're looking at how they can improve. And it's such a valuable tool to be able to use video analysis yourself. And it actually practicing that makes you better at analyzing your opponents as well and seeing what weaknesses they have. So, I mean, slight tangent there, but. But yeah, video analysis is crucial.

And just last on that, it's so easy to do nowadays, isn't it? You can get your phone, you can get a tripod off Amazon and you can set that up and you're away and that's. That's all you need to do. It's not, let's say a few years ago we had to get a proper video camera and it's a bit of a faff. Like you can just get tripod out your bag, attach your phone and off you go.

Yeah, and often your phone is the best camera. So, yeah, number two tip, number two tactics. And this is, this is one that players might feel their technique is pretty good, but they think, right, you know, I just don't know how to win points and tactics for me almost starts with court position. Getting a good court position and making sure you're in the right court position to take advantage within the point. And then it's almost like understanding how to basically put your game onto your opponent's game and which areas of your strengths will match with their weaknesses and understanding that the tactical side of Padel, I think that's where players often plateau is, yes, there probably is some technical work they need to do, but if they're out of court position consistently, then they will reach a plateau.

Yeah, I think the word There is understanding for me, because there can be so many elements to that. There's understanding from just a general knowledge perspective what you're trying to do on the court, not just turning up playing a fun match, not really being that aware of what the tactics even are in Padel and just going through the motions. Lots of people do that. It's fun to go out and hit a few balls and paddle, but if you're really looking to improve, you need that knowledge to understand, okay, what tactics are there in Padel and what am I trying to implement. And then for me, watching paddle on television, the pros watching streams like that for me has been a massive way of me picking up tactical elements of Padel is just consuming more Padel. The more Padel you can consume, the more knowledge you'll gain and the more understanding you'll have. All the tactics, definitely.

And I think there's also an element of this, of like, making sure your partner is following those lines with you. And because that's something that you might be really into your tactics and you know what you're doing, but your partner just keeps getting out of the right court position and they're wandering into different areas that's putting you in trouble or they're playing a certain ball that keeps allowing your opponents to attack you. So it's. It's also not only you being on the the right path in terms of tactics, but. But being able to communicate and work with your partner on that, on that same area.

And what about video? Go back to video feedback. Video analysis here again, also useful for analyzing your own games of tactics, isn't it?

Definitely. And it goes back to that, you know, feel versus real thing, is that you might think that you're in a good court position, but then you look at the video and you think, oh, God, why have I wandered forward into no man's land? Or why have I wandered into this position? Or why do I keep opening the court with my shot selection? And video analysis is the best way to do it. I mean, the pros use it in their games, so they analyze their matches and then they work out, you know, how to play a certain type of opponent. And, you know, there's no reason that everyone can't do that.

I think the really nice thing about Padel, and it's also worth mentioning here, is that the tactical side, as you improve, keeps developing. It's not like you and I both came from tennis, where looking back now, I used to think when people said tennis is like a game of chess, and now I've come to Padawan. I've just thought tennis is like the most simple sport tactically, really. Okay. You have, you do have tactical set plays that you might see, but really it's cross court or down the line.

Yeah. And I think in tennis you have an opponent who's got a slightly stronger forehand or a backhand or a bigger serve or whatever it might be, and your game changes slightly. Whereas in Padel, there's like quadruple the elements. Right. You've got your. You've got to think of your partner, you've got to think of your opponents in their different scenarios, the type of court, how you're going to play on that day. I think tactics is so much more complicated in Padel and also it's a journey. Right. Like you and I still find this, we're playing against tougher opponents. We need to work out how to play them on a certain day. And so I think, yeah, absolutely, the work you put in to learn tactics is going to be worth it in the long term. If you're enjoying the podcast and want to level up your game, our Padel School membership is the best place to start. You'll get structured coaching, training, roadmaps and exclusive content creating every month. You can check it out@thepaddleschool.com it's honestly the best way to keep improving week by week and to avoid the plateau, which is inevitable if you don't get training.

Number three. Training.

Training, yeah, the three T's. Three T's, yeah. We should have thought that. Yeah, Technique, tactics. Training. Training is a big one. Right. Like, lots of players have decent technique, they have understanding of the tactics, but they don't train. And if you don't train, you'll only reach a certain level. Like, and that's one thing we're always pushing with our members is, hey, look, we've got a drill book. You can, you know, get this drill book as part of your, your membership and it can be on your platform, you can get it on the app, go to the core and use the drills and train the drills. Because the big thing I think about the importance of training is shot selection and the reading of the game. If you are playing a match and you are constantly thinking about where to hit or the lob goes up and you're thinking of 12 different options you've got with your overhead, then that's often a sign that you haven't done pattern of play training and you haven't almost set the base for yourself. So training is crucial and that's the downside of paddle is it's so easy to play. You don't do lessons in training. Whereas if you think of our upbringing in 10, the majority was training and you would have matches at the weekend or you would have, you know, a small percentage of the time were matches, but the majority was training.

Yeah. And I think as well when it comes to training is if you're only playing matches, you can't really experiment and you can't get the feel on the shots that when you're in a training environment, you don't have that pressure. You can experiment a little bit. Whereas I feel like in matches, even if they're not very competitive, I feel like everyone gets competitive to an extent. And I'm just thinking about if we take for example, you're trying to train the side glass because you're really struggling on those return of serves. If you only try to train that in a match situation, you'll get one serve every so often that is perfect for you to practice it. And you can't really develop the consistent repetition that you need to build that shot. And so you can never really train in a match, can you? Even if you have the intention of going in there to do so.

Yeah, and it's difficult. You know, I think people think that when you say train and training into your timetable, in their mind they're thinking of an hour and a half training, that they need to then find other people that are willing to train. They need to then, you know, set up a lesson plan. And I don't think it needs to be that. I think it could just be okay, instead of doing a three minute warm up where you're playing loads of random shots in your group, just say, hey, look, you know, this morning, guys, should we do 8 minutes, 10 minutes to do one drill before you start your match? And the majority of drills in Padel are based off consistency. Like you will go into that match more consistent by just having done a drill first before you play. And it's, it's so easy, like it's, you're on call anyway, you've got the time anyway. And a lot of people say, well, I've only got 90 minutes and we need to, you know, we need to play as much match as possible. But would you rather play, you know, 87 minutes of mediocre paddle or would you rather play 80 minutes of more consistent, higher level paddle? And I think that, you know, as simple as that sounds, just a small training exercise before you start will be a huge difference.

Yeah. Because Those small sessions will all add up when they. Over time, definitely. That's the key with all of this. It's not. You might not see a complete 180 in one session, but what you'll find is over time, you do that for six months, 12 months, you will see a difference.

Yeah. And look, if you want to work on your bandeka, as an example, in your warm up, usually players hit two bandekas and then they go, and often they've missed one of them and then they go into a match and go, I wonder why it wasn't working. Whereas if you set up a little bandeja exercise before you start and you've hit 30 successful bandekas as part of a volley exercise, or just on its own as part of an exercise, you will go into the match having a more consistent bandeka. I mean, it's not rocket science. That is how it will happen.

Yeah. And Sandy, the three T's, now we.

Know, now we know. Technique, tactics, training.

Yeah, those are three T's. Thank you everyone for listening to today's podcast. If you can like and subscribe, we'd be much appreciated. And if you are looking to improve, we're here to help. If you check in the show notes, we've got loads of resources in there that can help you, Sandy. See you on the next episode.

Until next time, Sam.