The ball was flying, high-arcing through the air toward me. It was the end of a rally, in a set of hard-fought games. We were playing a best of five and we were either tied or down 2-1. The ball was way too high, I evaluated that it was going to land in the kitchen. I was in great position at the end of a chaotic point. It was impressive that the ball came back to me at all, but it was a desperation shot. It was as close to a sure thing as you can imagine. I approached the ball and then it registered that it was in kitchen, which wasn’t a problem. But, for whatever reason, it went through my mind. Also, I was processing how I was going to win the point. It wasn’t a question of IF I was going to win the point, but rather HOW. I could slam it home. I could just tap it over the net (they were in terrible position). I was processing, processing. The ball hit in the kitchen, just as expected. I was in position, but still evaluating how I was going to win it. The whole sequence happened in slow motion until the very end when it seemed that time went to double speed. Then, the ball bounced again.
Unbelievable.
Complete agony (as far as pickleball goes, not real life agony, but totally irrelevant but still why in the world did this happen agony).
Sometimes, as a beginner, don’t over analyze. Don’t hesitate. Just plow into the kitchen and kill that point. Or dink it over the net. Or drive it. Or anything.
Just don’t stand there and stare at it like some sort of crazy person.