Ep. 303 - Your Next 10 Years

[00:00:05] Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the podcast dedicated to your pickleball improvement. My name is Tony Roig. I'm your host of this weekly podcast. This week's podcast, we're going to explore you, talking about the next 10 years, what you see for yourself. It's a really good exercise, I think, for us to engage in every once in a while. Like a little bit of audit, right? In terms of where we are and where we see ourselves in the future. It also helps us know that there's a path going forward.

[00:00:30] Just got back from a couple weeks out of town in up in the Big Apple of New York City. Had an awesome camp up there at Gotham City Pickleball. Great group of players. A lot of fun, a lot of forward progress with their game. Setting them out for their next 10 years for sure. If you happen to be interested in a camp, we just listed a whole bunch of new camps on our website. I'm going to talk about a little more in the riff about what I'm doing, where I'm going, my 10 years. But I just want to let you know we do have some camps.

[00:01:00] Also, if you have a minute to go over to Facebook and check out the Tony Roig page, follow along there. You'll be really, I think you're going to like what we're going to be posting on there. It's going to be really cool stuff. And again, I'll talk about a little more in the riff. We'll go into a little more detail on that. But I want to talk about you first, right? I want to talk about you and let's talk about you and your journey.

[00:01:20] And, you know, from my perspective, I think it's helpful to think about life sometimes in terms of these time ranges, right? Obviously, we're temporal creatures, right? We have a certain amount of time that's available to us on the planet. We live in, you know, we have yesterday, we have today, we have tomorrow. So it's kind of interesting to use those framings, right? Of time to think about ourselves as humans and our growth.

[00:01:44] Like, for instance, I like to sometimes use the short one, right? So, you know, if you knew like this was your last week on the planet, right? What would you do? Who would you call? What would you not do? I think it's helpful in terms of prioritizing what matters and maybe, you know, reducing some of the things that are stressing you out that probably don't matter as much in the big picture of things, you know?

[00:02:02] But today, what I want to do is I want to explore the other side of the time spectrum, which is the long spectrum. And I picked 10 years, you know, it's a, you know, you can pick five years, seven years, 10 years, but 10 years is interesting, I think, because it's, it's a long amount of time. But it's not so long that we can't see the horizon, you know, so like you've taken 30 years or 20 years, it's just, you know, seems almost impossible.

[00:02:21] 10 years is, I think, on the edge of what our brain can think of like, okay, what, what does 10 years look like? So I think, you know, so 10 years is what we're going to use for this conversation. And it's an exercise, right? Thinking through like, what is it that the next 10 years look like for you? Now, if you listen to the podcast, you know that I like to think about pickleball as a canvas, right? As a, as a place for us to, yes, work on our pickleball games, sure.

[00:02:49] But from my perspective, even more valuable is to work on ourselves, right? To work on ourselves as humans. And so that's what we're going to do here. We're going to use pickleball, you know, 10 years of pickleball, but you can apply the same thinking to other parts of your life. And pickleball is just a good way to, it gives us a way to crystallize, right? And to talk about it in a, in a, in a, in a way that we can connect the dots easier.

[00:03:11] So, so let me start here, right? So if you're listening to the podcast, then I can only assume that you love pickleball or you're a family member. And I wanted to give a shout out to my, my cousin. What's up, preems? Hope you're doing well. Hope you and Peter good. Abbaso for you guys. Uh, cause I know he listens to the podcast. So either your family or you love pickleball, if you're listening to this podcast. Um, I also know that if you're listening to this podcast, right, that you're, you're interested in a more, in a deeper relationship, right? With pickleball.

[00:03:37] And that includes your growth, um, for yourself as a human and also in the context of the sport that we play, right? So knowing those two things that you love pickleball and you're into growth, right? What, what does the next 10 years look for, look, look like for you on your pickleball journey? Now, one, if it is your wish, you will be learning for those 10 years, each day, each week, month and year of the next decade, you are going to be learning about pickleball.

[00:04:05] Two, as long as you're learning, you will know more about pickleball each year than you did the year prior. That means that what you know today about pickleball isn't the end of the journey. You're not done. There was, there is more you will learn and, you know, and know over the next decade, right? So you're continuing growth in your knowledge of the game. Three, as with learning, if it is your wish, it's always going to be your wish to do these things. If it's not your wish, then, you know, all good.

[00:04:32] You can enjoy the sport, but you don't need to keep going with your growth. That's your choice. But if it is your wish, then you will continue to grow for the next 10 years, step by step, piece by piece. You will grow impeccable. It is a fact that I'm going to share with you a personal story in a second about it, but it is a fact that if you want to grow, you will continue to grow. Remember that growing and learning are not the same thing. So learning is acquiring the knowledge. Growing as I'm using it here is putting that knowledge into practice, right? Is actually utilizing it.

[00:05:02] Number four, as long as you are growing, your game will improve. Remember with learning. So as long as you're learning, your knowledge will increase. As long as you continue to grow, your game will improve. Now, will you be a pro player a decade from now? I don't know, right? But that's not our point, is it? I mean, what I can assure you is that as long as you continue to learn and grow, you will play better. And I'm going to suggest you probably way better than you do today.

[00:05:33] Now, here's what I'm going to share about myself. I can tell you that today, I am not even remotely the same player as I was 10 years ago. I started playing in 2015. So actually, it's 11 years ago, but I'm not even remotely close to the same player. 10 years ago, this true story, 10 years ago, I had difficulty beating 4.0 players, right? Sometimes I beat them. Sometimes I didn't. Today, not so much trouble beating 4.0 players, okay? Now, can that be you in 10 years' time? I don't know why not, right?

[00:06:03] As long as you continue to learn, continue to grow, I don't see any reason why you can't. And I like to remind myself and pickleball players, right, that pickleball is a lifelong journey, right? This is not like we're not rushing to get to next week or the week after. Grow at the pace that's right for you. You know, learn and grow at the pace that's right for you. That makes sense for you and your engagement with the game. That's right for you, right? The journey, that learning and growth journey, only stops when you decide.

[00:06:31] That's going back to the idea of like, you know, as long as you want to do it, right? As long as you wish to do it, your agency in this process. You have agency to learn and grow as long as you want to. You want to do it for the next 10 years? Let's go. Let's do it, right? You don't want to do it. No criticism. It's perfectly fine. You have a right to live your life the way you want to live your life. That's that Sonder concept that we hear from time to time in this podcast. But the idea is this, right? As long as you want to, know that pickleball will be there for you. The sport. The sport of pickleball will be there for you. I'll be there for you too, as I'll talk about it in a second.

[00:07:02] But the sport itself will be there for you. It will always have something to teach you. It will never run out of lessons for you as long as you're interested in them. And as I'll explain more fully in a second in the riff, I'm here for the long haul too, right? If I can help you along your way, right? That's what I do. I'm a coach and I love coaching. I love doing this podcast. I don't know why I wouldn't be doing this podcast in 2036. You know? Why not? You know, we're still growing. We're still adding. I feel like every week the podcast gets a little bit better.

[00:07:32] I feel like every week, you know, there's something to share. There's something to build on. There's something to add to this. You know, when the next bowl of ice cream and if you're watching it on video, you'll see me pointing, but on the audio, I'm pointing to our bowl of ice cream on the wall here. You know, when the next bowl of ice cream moment will come in the podcast, I don't know, you know, but I will continue to strive for it. I'll continue to work to develop it. So that's where I'm at. So let me, so anyways, let me wrap on you and then I'll come back to the riff and talk

[00:08:01] about what I'm doing now and also what I'm projecting in the future. Um, give yourself some time on this, right? So think about it for a little bit, you know, like kind of like sit, sit with it, right? Chew on it. That's all I like to say. Chew on it for a little bit and let it percolate through your mind. I'm mixing a lot of, a lot of analogies, metaphors here, but they all work. So chew on it, percolate it, let it steep, steep, steep with it, right? Like a T let it sit with you for a little bit. And, uh, what does the next 10 years look like for you?

[00:08:31] I mean, to me, there's no reason why it can't be an exciting 10 years, right? A growth 10 years, a learning 10 years. You continue to work on your game. You continue to understand the game better every year, every day, every day, every week, every month, every year. And, um, and then you look forward 10 years and you can see that the player 10 years from now is going to be way different than the player today. Just like I imagine that if you look at yourself today and look backward, right? So you're not looking backward, however long you've been playing two years, three years, eight years, whatever.

[00:09:01] However, you're a different player today than you were then. Right. And so imagine that projected forward out for 10 years. Now, how far you move over the 10 years? Again, entirely up to you. You know, how much do you want to, how much time you want to devote to it? How much attention focus? I mean, we all have lives to live. We all have things to do. You know, we all have, we have laundry to do. I actually have laundry in the laundry machine right now. Right. So you got to do laundry, right? You got to do other things in life. You can't just be like pickleball 24 seven, but you can choose. On how intent intentional you are with your growth journey.

[00:09:31] Right. And that'll dictate how much you advance in 10 years, but know this, no matter what your pacing is, if you want it and you continue to learn and grow over the next 10 years, you will continue to learn. You will continue to grow. And at the end of this 10 years, you will be a different player. You'll actually be a different player every year along the way too. But 10 years, we agreed to at the beginning. So that's where we're going here. So in the riff, I'm going to share with you a little bit about where I'm at and where I'm

[00:09:58] going with the game, but I got to take a break, get a sip of water and I'll come back with the riff. All right. I'm back for the riff. As you can probably tell from my voice, I'm still a little bit under the weather, been fighting this thing for a week and changed. I don't know if you caught it yet, but it's a pretty, pretty, pretty harsh one this year. All right. So let me share with you a little bit about myself and my growth journey. And, and this will resonate with you, I think. And also it'll tell you where I'm headed, right.

[00:10:24] And what, what I can do if it's something that you're interested in partaking of. So I like to think, you know, like life is this continuing evolution, right. And for me, it's been, you know, I'm 56, I think now 56 years old. Right. So I've been around a little bit. And I remember one instance that, that comes to mind in terms of my personal growth is

[00:10:49] I was on a trip with my brother several years ago and that we were in Vermont skiing and I'm at the top of this mountain on a blue run. I want, I wanted the green run cause I'm all about green runs. I just like enjoying skiing. I'm not really into like, you know, trying to become an Olympic ski or anything like that. So I think the, the green runs were, I either couldn't find them where they were closed and it was starting to storm a little bit. So I just need to go down the mountain. And so I'm standing at the top of this mountain. It's the tallest mountain in Vermont. I can't remember what it's called, but I'm like looking down this slope and I'm standing

[00:11:18] there thinking to myself, okay. All right, Tony. So let's talk about this for a second. This is me talking to myself, right? Self one, self two, if you want to. So basically I'm talking to myself and I'm like, okay, so you're not crazy about heights. You don't like the cold and you don't really like going too fast. What are you doing? Right. So at that moment, at the top of that, that hill, I decided that was my last ski run and it has been my last ski run. And unless my grandkids or something want to do it and I just have to go down the bunny slope with them or something like that, I don't know that I'll ever put on a pair of skis again.

[00:11:48] That's not a criticism of skiing. I don't, you know, if you like skiing, that's great, great, you know, good, good on you. Right. Enjoy the process. But for me personally, I'm done skiing. Right. And it's just a realization. It's just an awareness that I have. Right. About myself. On the other, on the flip side. Right. That's something I'm not going to do on the flip side. Here's what I realized about coaching. Right now coaching. I'm a, I'm a late in life coach. You know, I was not a coach earlier in life. That wasn't my profession.

[00:12:15] But you know, in 2020 and the 2018, I started coaching 2020 full-time coaching and I've been doing it since. And I will tell you this, you know, every day that I do this, it reminds me more and more that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Right. This is where I'm supposed to be. And I know that, you know, I know it now and I, and every day that I do it, I know it more. Right. It becomes further ingrained in me, which is my forward journey. And for me, it's not, coaching is not just about technique. Listen, I want you to know the technique. I want you to know the mechanics, right.

[00:12:45] How to hit because you need that, right. As part of the sport, it's a physical manifestation sport. So activity. So you need that to, to engage with it. And it's more than about strategy. I mean, I want you to know strategy, right. It's great. You know, it helps you navigate the game better. But for me, it's more about you, right. It's about your journey as a player, about your growth as a player and your growth as a person. I mentioned this a little bit earlier in the first part of the podcast, but it's not just words.

[00:13:14] These are just words that come out of my mouth. Like telling you, you know, I want you to grow. I want to, I would like to help you grow as a person, right. That's just not things coming out of my mouth. It means something, right. It means, it means that I view pickleball, as I mentioned, as a canvas, I view pickleball as a, as a way or as a means to a bigger end, if you will. And then in the bigger end is you and your growth as a, as a human. And that's frankly why I do like this podcast, for instance, why I wrote the book, Pickleball Therapy. Um, because it's more than just about, Hey, look, you got a cool forehand.

[00:13:44] Great. You know, I like it. Congratulations on the cool forehand. Um, but you know, how's that helping you with your life, with your development as a person? And that's my focus. That is my focus. And it has, um, has been my focus for the last five years and will continue to be my focus as far as I can tell for the next 10 years, sitting here today, but I look forward 10 years. I will continue to be doing what I'm doing. And I want to be clear about this. My focus is on Q.

[00:14:10] Now I've, I've gotten some feedback recently from the new, you know, the new launch of 20 work pickleball that, you know, it's must be like a pivot in what I'm doing because, you know, I'm doing some MLP PPA commentating up coaches and pro players and things like that. Folks, that is not central to what I do. So I do the PPA and the MLP commentating and I coach the pro players because I do enjoy doing it. I love that part of the, my, my, my journey as a coach, my journey as a person. Right.

[00:14:38] But, and, and also do it because it helps me keep fresh, right. On the latest that's going on. I get to sit in the booth, right. At a MLP event and see what the pros are trying to do in real time, break it down in real time and then bring it back to my coaching. But my coaching focus continues to be the pickleball, the, the amateur pickleball player. In other words, anybody listening to this podcast, I know Ben and Annalie listened to it. I love you guys too. So give me a call.

[00:15:05] But in all seriousness, it has to do with you as a player, right? That's my, that's my passion. That's what, that's what I do. So, um, and I will tell you this, if you want to grow, right. And I can be a part of it, right. If you like, if you'd like for me to be a part of it, agency is super important here, right. I'm all in happy to do it. Right. Um, and I will take, like, if you go to Tony, Roig pickleball.com right now, you'll see, we put a bunch of free courses on there, right? That's part of our mission at Tony work pickleball is to provide quality, organized materials

[00:15:35] as part of our mission. Um, you know, and we have four courses on there while we have two that are active right now, two that should be active by the time this either listen to this podcast or shortly or after it'll be in the next week or so. We're just finishing up some stuff on the backside. Um, now all that said, right. I'm going to state an obvious thing here, right? We live in a world, um, where things cost money, right? Like the website, you know, platform, we got to pay for that. You got to pay, you know, team members have bills to pay. Uh, you know, there's expenses that we have to incur as a, as an organization. Right.

[00:16:04] Um, so we will have products moving forward that have a cost. Um, I liked, I wrote this down. So I'm going to, I'm going to read this one. It's just part of the imperfect economic distribution system that we inhabit. That's just part of the deal. Right. Um, I will tell you this. So if there's a program that you see that you're interested in and that just financially just doesn't work for you right now, it just doesn't add, it doesn't work in your, in your spreadsheet, right. And your financial spreadsheet, just send us an email. You can send us an email at coaching coach and ing, right?

[00:16:33] Coaching at Tony work, pickleball.com. Let us know what's feasible for you. And I guarantee you we will do our best to make it happen. Um, one of the core tenants that I've always coached under and that is central to Tony work pickleball is that finances should not be a bar or impediment to a pickleball player from accessing our coaching because we think our coaching is pretty darn good. And we want you to be able to access it no matter the finances.

[00:16:58] So don't let finances ever hold you back from doing work with our team, uh, with our coaching. Uh, and again, we will do our best to make that happen. Um, so, uh, that's where I'm at next 10 years. I plan on focusing on continuing to focus on my, on coaching, on developing curriculum. Um, you know, I've developed some good curriculum in the past. I'm going to continue developing really good curriculum in the future. We have a really cool, uh, project coming up inside Tony work pickleball about flows of the flow state, achieving a flow state.

[00:17:28] I'm going to talk about that in next week's episode in some depth, but if you want to be a part of that, if you're not already, make sure you go to Tony work pickleball.com to join our email list. I'd also ask you if you have a minute, um, if you're in, in Facebook, right? Don't do it. If you don't go to Facebook normally, I'm not asking you to go in there just to do this, but if you're in Facebook, if that's your ecosystem that you like to, um, you know, get information from and things like that, go over to the 20 work pickleball page on Facebook, follow and like it. And then that'll make sure that you get notified of our posts.

[00:17:55] Also, again, you know, I mentioned this several times throughout the year, but we live in an algorithmic world, right? We live in a world where computers decide what things get shown to other players. So the more that there's interest for our materials, including like our Facebook materials, what happens? It gets shown to other players. So what happened that then helps us reach other players who may benefit from this podcast, may benefit from our coaching, et cetera.

[00:18:22] Otherwise we're just fighting an uphill battle all the time to try and break into the, again, the computer algorithm. It's just part of the, part of the deal. And if you see one of our posts and you like it, if you just hit, you know, hit the little heart button or the like button. And if you can throw a little comment, like love it or great, or don't like it, whatever helps us, uh, reach other, uh, players. So, um, that's this week's podcast. I hope you enjoyed the exercise. Again, as I mentioned earlier, spend some time with it, sit with it a little bit, just,

[00:18:49] you know, reflect on it five, 10 minutes, get yourself a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, drink a choice and think about your next 10 years and what is it that you want for yourself and your growth as a pickleball player. And as I mentioned, as a person, because pickleball is but a part of a bigger thing. And that bigger thing is you. So I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast. If you have a minute to rate and review it as always, please consider doing it. And, uh, as always share it with your friends. If you enjoy the podcast, they probably will too. Uh, have a great weekend.

[00:19:19] I'll see you next time on the episode of Pickleball Therapy. We're going to talk about state of flow. Be well.