Special Episode - The Pickled Mind with Kayla Teape

Speaker 1 0:00 Welcome to Tony Roig 0:05 Pickleball therapy, the podcast dedicated to pickleball improvement. This is a special episode. I'm super happy to be joined by Kayla teep from pickled minds, how you doing? Kayla, Kayla Teape 0:14 good. How's it going? Thanks for having me. Tony. Tony Roig 0:17 Going. Great, Kayla, and it's better now because we're chatting, we're chatting pickleball, which I know you love. I know I love, and so we're going to dive into that. And I think you're really going to want to enjoy, you really want to check out this episode and enjoy it, because we're going to be talking about the mental side of pickleball community, you know, like the spaces that we inhabit in this sport and things like that. And Kayla's been, you know, thinking about it, working at it, and so we're going to chat about that. So Kayla, why don't we start off with a little bit of background about yourself, if you don't mind, in terms of, like, when you got into pickleball, a little bit about your journey. And then we'll, we'll, we'll play from there and share with everybody what you're Speaker 3 0:51 working on. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I've been playing pickleball for about three and a half years now. I got into the sport alongside my dad. We decided to take an adult ed class in our town, and from there, we were just totally bitten by the bug. We joined a league, and then we were all of a sudden in tournaments, and we were traveling the country, and it just snowballed from there. So across those three years, not only have I been playing and kind of building my player side of things, but I've also been trying to find different ways to get involved. Because of how much Pickleball has impacted my life, I wanted to be able to have a similar effect on other people, and with that, I've met so many incredible people. I think that's one of the best parts about pickleball, is who you get to meet within the sport, and it really creates some sort of bond with people that you wouldn't otherwise really expect I have friends in all different age categories, from all different backgrounds, different genders. It really doesn't matter. Pickleball can bring anyone together. So with that, I am forever grateful to it, and it helped me to really get out of a funk that I was in when I first found it, and I knew there was something special. I've played sports my entire life. I've played pretty much every sport you can imagine. I've two older brothers who've beaten me up on fields in the driveway. But something about pickleball was just it didn't make sense, and I wanted to be able to share that with as many people as I could as possible. And so that's when I tried to hone in on the mental side of things and really bring mental health into the picture as well, because I knew that had to be a pretty big component what was happening. So then the inception of pickle minds been around for about a year now, but really trying to build traction and find that momentum with it and with pickle minds, hoping to just create spaces where we could bring people together. Doesn't matter your skill level, doesn't matter where you come from, doesn't matter if you've never played pickleball before or even ever heard of it, just come we're creating spaces. We are building communities, and we are just making sure that everyone feels safe within that environment and give them a chance to kind of figure something out about themselves, you know, find something they might love, and hopefully, in the end, just positively impact lives as we do it. Speaker 2 3:13 Yeah, I love that. I mean, I think, yeah, Pickleball is so transformative for so many players, right? It means so much. It can have such a positive impact on your you know, your body health, your physical health, your mental health, everything right, your your, you know, your quality of life as you get older and things like that all improve with this beautiful sport. So I love what you're doing. Let's dive a little more deeply into the mental side. What you're, you know, kind of tell me a little bit about what you're thinking there, what's going on, what you're focusing on, maybe some revelations that you've had. Anything you want to share on the mental side, because you probably know this already, but pickleball therapy, that's a lot of our focus is, is on the mental side of things. So why don't you share a little bit Speaker 1 3:53 about Speaker 3 3:54 that? Yeah, definitely. I think that might have been the toughest part about starting pickled minds, where I just had this idea, pretty big umbrella idea, but I didn't know exactly how we wanted to attack it, or which avenues we wanted to go down, because I was seeing two very different pools of people, where it was just the everyday folk who heard about pickleball, they wanted to try it, and then they're seeing this huge improvement in their life. And then I was seeing the other side of it, of my friends, a lot of the people I interact with, their athletes, and they found pickleball, and they just wanted to be able to do it to the umpteenth degree, right road to five. Oh, that's the goal. We're trying to just do what we can with this sport. And I was finding with that second group of people that the joy of playing pickleball, why they initially started. It was really faltering. And then we were forgetting why we even began. And then we were losing that, that spark, that happiness that we got from it initially. So for me with pickle minds, it was trying to figure out which avenue we were going to go down and which pools of people. We were really going to try to address and with that, I think I'm still open to going with both. Honestly, I don't think it needs to be one or the other, black or white thinking, but we began just starting with the masses, the pool of people, because I think that's really just the most important thing, making it accessible and knowing, letting people know that no matter what you can do this, you could succeed at it. It's just the most important part is then just defining our goal with it, what are our intentions coming into it, and trying to be somewhat realistic with that as well. So I think that's probably the most important mental aspect I've come across, and I've even had to do it for myself first, and trying to just define which days are what days in terms of playing pickleball, what's the goal for me showing up to the court today is it simply to just hit around and have some Fun with my family or some of my friends, or is it to drill and is it to actually get better and to really challenge myself? So with that, I was able to still kind of keep the joy of the sport, even if I was having a heavier drilling day, challenging myself, maybe not succeeding in a way that it wasn't a successful session, but knowing that that was still the goal, and knowing that I could still be happy with that so just kind of redefining what it means every time that I show up to the court, and helping people to do that as well. Speaker 2 6:39 Yeah, that's a really interesting framing of it. I think, you know, the you know, I think, I believe that we can achieve a balance right, where you can be out there, giving your all right, trying as hard as you can to win every single rally, trying as hard as you can to drill as effectively as you can, and things like that, while at the same time, having a joy in what you're doing, right, having happiness in what you're doing, not feeling bogged down by it. Because, you know, I would tell you, you know, I think, from, from my perspective, right? And obviously I'm, you know, I'm an older player. I'm 56 right? So I've been around the block a little bit, and I've seen stuff like that, right? But like, when I look at like, some of the top players in the sport, pro players, right? Some of the best players don't seem to be having fun, you know? They don't seem to be enjoying the moments. And you could argue, well, it's just their job and stuff like, that's fine, you know? I get that, but, but, God, wouldn't it be nice right to to be able to, like, you know, perform right, and and, and do your best when you're out there, while still at the same time, being able to enjoy the enjoy the experience while you're at it. And I'm a believer that you can have both of those at the same time. And I agree with you that I don't think you need to preclude one group right the road to 5o group because of the other work. I think it's a function of like showing them the bridge right, that there is a bridge where you can still enjoy the sport, while you're still working on your improvement, while you're still trying to experience the the success that you're looking for, because the success itself is fleeting. The success itself is, you know, to tie your happiness to that success. That's, that's a really, that's a tricky, tricky life to try and lead. You know, because if you're doing that, every other player in the tournament is doing that too, and most of you are going to be not happy. So anyway, Speaker 3 8:44 yeah, so true, Speaker 2 8:46 yeah. But I like, you know, I like what you're doing here and on the on the pickle minds idea with the spaces. Let's talk a little bit, maybe, about that idea of the space, right? Because I think that's something that gets overlooked at the importance of the space itself. And my experience has been, you know, when I interact with players, I'm always trying to encourage them to at least give the sport a try. You know, as you've experienced it, and I've experienced, you know, it's once you try the sport, if you try it in a way that's that's connects to you, right? You're in, you're in, you know, the rest of its details, but, but a challenge there is, you know, when I, when I interact with the folks, sending them somewhere that I know is, and I'm used from safe space here, very broadly, right? But just a safe space, a space that I know I can send them to. I know they're going to be treated well when they get there. I know they're going to be like, so there's somebody who's going to be there who can guide them into this, into the sport, as opposed to, like, sending them to like a court that you know. You send them to that court, no one's going to talk to them, no one's going to say anything to them. They're not going to be welcome there. They're not going to be added to the any games, and so then they're not going to come back, right? So let's talk a little bit about that idea and what your thoughts are, anything that you're doing, anything you've experienced in terms of the the the accessibility of the space to the. New player who might be coming into the sport? Speaker 3 10:02 Yeah, absolutely, I guess, yeah. I'll use, for example, an event I recently hosted a couple weekends ago where I met Kylene, and it was the she's got game Women's Summit. The whole goal of it was kind of just celebrating Women's History Month and allowing people that space to come show up and just have fun playing pickleball. And even within that space, we had one woman show up who had never played pickleball before at all, never even picked up a paddle, just saw the flyer. Was like thought it sounded fun. So of course, yeah, that was something we really wanted to celebrate. We really wanted to encourage her to no matter what happens throughout the day, just keep trying. Just keep trying. And with that, we didn't really need to prompt many people who are also attending the event. But with that, you just saw this ripple effect of all the women, 30 plus women who were all willing to just sorry, who were all just willing to lift her up the entire day knowing that it was her first day there. And I think that was really just a great example that naturally occurred at the event, which kind of fortified exactly the goal of making sure that the environment is safe, making sure that it's supportive, making sure that the energy is up. And of course, that's not always going to be the case, right, but it's just trying to at least be self aware, to see what we're adding to the environment. Are we the thing? Are we the negative energy that might be dragging someone else's experience down. It's okay, it happens, but just kind of being aware of that sort of thing within ourselves, to see how we're creating that energy and that environment in front Tony Roig 11:53 of us. Yeah, I Speaker 2 11:54 think that's that's super powerful. And I think, you know, if you're listening to this, you know, players who listen to this podcast aren't casual players. Kelly, they're like, you know, they're more invested in the sport, and so I try and, you know, give them suggestions right on things that they can do that are more positively help the sport. And by helping the sport, we're always helping ourselves. That's the reality as players. You know, as players, the better, the stronger the sport is, the more players who are in the sport, who are positive and good and, you know, and productive, the better it is for us, better it is for them. But I think a couple of things that you said, and I'm going to lean into these, I think one is, it sounds to me like the space that that in which that new player, right, was able to experience this sport, and hopefully now she's like, let's party, let's go. Was the leadership in that, in that group, was clear in the messaging, right? So if you're out there and listening to this podcast, and you're like, a leader in your course, right? You're one of the players who other players look up to, I think it's you have a greater responsibility, right to be a voice for inclusion, a voice for acceptance of new players, or not even new players, just players, just folks who want to participate. And even you're not like, one of the the you know, the leaders in your community, right, adding that positive voice. Because what you mentioned was that ripple too, where basically like, as long as like, there's a there's a consistent thought process, right? Consistent messaging, a consistent view, you're more likely to have inclusion as opposed to like. You start getting these things where, like, well, this court is reserved for this, and this court is reserved for that, and this court is reserved for that, and now you have exclusions, right? You have you have barriers here to put up. And I don't have any problem with time for closed play ideas, you know, that's okay. But there also needs to be a lot of time for anybody's Welcome to play, you know, and not feel like, Am I good enough to be here? Am I good enough to be there and causing doubt in terms of their interaction with the sport. So I really commend you guys. Do you guys have any plans? Is that, like, Is there plans to repeat that? Is there plans to maybe, like, help other communities do these kind of events and things Speaker 3 13:58 like that? Yeah, absolutely. We're actually having a chat today about the second one at that same location, which was at sport time in Yorktown. And then, yeah, we're just hoping to kind of recreate it at facilities, first here in our area in the northeast, but then also to wherever, you know, is looking for that sort of event, for that sort of idea. Speaker 1 14:20 So if Speaker 2 14:20 someone and we're gonna give it to them again at the end, but if someone is interested in connecting with you, they hear this podcast, you know what? I want to do that in my community. I want to open it up to, you know, so that players who already play maybe feel stronger, right? Because they know that there's a tribe, there's a group that supports what, what we're doing, supports them, and also maybe invite some additional players. What's the best way for a player out there to reach you? Speaker 3 14:42 Yeah, so best place to reach me is on Instagram. The account is at pickled minds with an underscore, or through email as well. At unpickle your mind. At pickle minds.org, Speaker 2 14:59 all right, on. Pickle your mind, Speaker 3 15:00 unpickle your mind. Yeah, Speaker 2 15:02 I like that. Keep the pickle out of your mind. Speaker 3 15:05 That's Speaker 2 15:07 it. And then so it's, it's pickled. Underscore minds on Instagram, Speaker 3 15:12 pickled minds. And then underscore at the end, Speaker 2 15:15 at the end. Okay, so we'll put those in the show notes for folks out there. It's okay. Well, what's what's next for you? What's going on? I know you're doing some work with the Brooklyn pickleball Club, which is awesome. MLP, congrats on that. What's what's next for Kayla and her and her engagement with pickleball? Speaker 3 15:32 Yeah. So we've got a couple tournaments coming up for Brooklyn pickleball teams, minor league, which I now am, luckily, the director of it's been a very, just totally rewarding experience to be at the helm of that. And just now, we have 145 plus players on our roster, and our next tournament is going to be at Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. We've got a V, 4m, i, l, p tournament coming up, so we're going to be sending 10 plus teams into that tournament, which will be exciting, and I'll actually get to play in that one as well as a member of the minor league myself. So that I'm very excited about Speaker 2 16:11 nice. Sounds like a lot of fun. And then it sounds like so on pickled minds, you're still getting moving forward with it, you're working on it, you're still fleshing out some of the concepts I really like the way you're headed with, you know, can I help? You know, the obviously, you're, you're, you're all in or imbued with, like, the five oh plus, or road to five oh, that kind of community, which is great. Know that there's a community out there which, you know, you know, there's a community out there that is also not necessarily five oh, but they also could benefit from some of these concepts. I really like what you're doing with both those things. Obviously, anything that we can do to help promote what you're doing and do what you're doing great. And if you're listening to this podcast and you're interested in what's going on, you want to follow Kayla and her journey in pickleball. Make sure you follow her on Instagram again in the show notes, or send her an email if you want to try and get some guidance or some help on an event in your area. So any last words? Kayla, Speaker 3 17:03 no, but thank you so much for having me. This has been a real pleasure, and I'm loving the book. Kylene brought the books to the event, and I've been just zooming through it. So thank you so much. Speaker 1 17:13 I'm Speaker 2 17:13 glad you're enjoying it and and again, anytime that we can help, please let us know if you enjoyed this podcast. Make sure you share with friends, particularly if you know folks out there that are trying to do community building and stuff like that, Kayla is going to be a great resource for them. Kayla, thanks a lot for being a part of the podcast, and good luck with pickled minds, and we're going to keep Speaker 3 17:33 connection on this going forward. Awesome. Thank Speaker 1 17:34 you so much. You. Transcribed by https://otter.ai