Welcome to the Official Launch of Jack’s Journal!

Hey y’all, Jack here.

I'm super excited to finally have a place to dump my thoughts other than on Twitter, so I hope you enjoy taking a dive into my head as I give my brain dump with life, and most importantly, pickleball.

Before We Dive In…

Now Let’s Get Into Things…

1. Rec Play vs Focused Rec Play

More Reps → More Consistency → Better Player

No, not always. At points, if rec play is not taken seriously enough, I’ve seen it do more harm than good since it trains players to do many bad habits.

I’ve divided my rec play into two different types:

Rec and Focused Rec

1. Rec Play: More of a social, “let’s go out and have fun” atmosphere. Not conscientiously thinking about unforced errors and shot selection. Could lead to bad habits developing due to a lack of focus or getting lazy. Keep in mind: Rec play is necessary in order to keep pickleball fun, and I highly recommend it for social players. However, if you’re looking to improve faster, I highly recommend more focused rec.

2. Focused Rec Play: More of a competitive, “kill or be killed” atmosphere. Consciously thinking about shot selection, pattern analysis, and how to improve. High intensity: Not getting lazy or dumb.

“But Jack, I’m looking to improve my game and play more focused rec. How do I turn rec into focused rec?”

Great Question…

The Solution: Put something on the line

2. How to Make Rec Play More Competitive

1. Play for pegs: Before the game, mutually agree to play for pegs. This will naturally increase the intensity and competitiveness of the matches. If you and your partner lose, line up against the baseline fence and bend over (towards the fence), with your butt facing towards the kitchen. The winners each get a ball, and from the opposite kitchen, they get to slam the ball as hard as they want, right at your booty. This teaches you not to make unforced errors real quick. Also, my lawyer told me to say that I do not condone this and to try at your own risk. If you want to see an example, check out the end of this video

2. Play for money: My lawyer also told me to say that I do not condone this and to try at your own risk, but this one is simple. Before the game, name a money amount (can range from a dollar up to ten bucks) and if you lose, pay out the bet. Now don’t turn this into your newest gambling addiction, but if utilized correctly, it can be a super useful concept. As soon as you put money on the line, y’all are going to clean up your game real quick 😂 

3. The Importance of a Circle

I moved to Austin two years ago knowing only ONE person, and now I’ve been lucky enough to establish myself in multiple high-level pickleball groups.

Here’s how I did it…

1. Play every game you can. I don’t care if it’s playing with 3.5s at your local rec center or putting your paddle down at a local 4.0-4.5 park; make your name known! Small talk with the players, and if your talent truly stands out, then word about you goes around quickly, and it compounds with the more people you know.

2. Ask how to get connected to better players or groups. Typically, this comes after at least a few months of playing on the courts. But when the time comes, begin asking people how to get involved in the higher-level games. Assuming you’re charismatic or just polite in general, you will get a lead or two. In my instance, I got into a text chain with a person running a 4.5 group with a good player as a referral, as well as learning about some money games that take place at X park on X night.

3. Show your willingness to improve. Even if you’re the worst one in the group (which you will be), make sure that they all know that you’re looking to get better. Show up early to stretch, be a good partner, and ask for honest feedback. This should solidify you in the group, as they recognize your ambitions with this sport.

After all, it’s not what you know… it’s who you know…

4. Delegating Time (with Content)

Diving into the world of content creation, Alex Hormozi and another brilliant social media consultant in Austin dropped some game-changing advice on me:

Always batch your content!

These guys emphasized the power of efficiency by batching scripts, filming, and editing all in one go. It's like a content production assembly line. Not only does it streamline the process, but it also frees up chunks of time for other crucial aspects of the hustle.

So, if you're looking to level up your content game, take a page from the experts and start scheduling your content in batches.

I try my best to hide it by mixing in old pieces of content with new ones, but check out my profile to see how I’ve managed to batch content without making it look like I batch content :)

Well, hope you guys got some value out of this, and I’m looking forward to keeping this alive!

See y’all next week,

-Jack Munro