April 2, 2026
Do you ever get pickleball burnout? A 50-year-old pickleball instructor and 4.70 player named Tracy Wilcox asked that question in a recent Facebook post. I like the post so much that I think some of you would like to read it in its entirety:
Someone asked me the other day…
‘Do you ever get sick of pickleball?’
Fair question. I play 10+ hours a week.
I drill about 4.
I coach 20-ish hours.
I write curriculum.
I watch it.
I think about it.
A lot.
So… do I ever get sick of it?
Honestly?
No.
But there was a time when I did feel burned out.
Not because of pickleball…
but because of how I approached it.
I used to approach everything like a hyper-achiever.
Check the box.
Hit the goal.
Climb the mountain.
And the moment I reached the peak?
I was already looking for the next mountain.
Sound familiar to anyone?
It’s an exhausting way to live.
Because you never actually stop long enough to enjoy where you are.
These days it feels different.
Now I’m just curious.
My progress on the court comes in centimeters instead of inches.
Coaching?
I’ve probably taught some of the same lessons over a hundred times.
But now the questions are different.
How do I explain this better than last time?
How do I help this student see it differently?
How do I make this drill more meaningful?
How do I write curriculum that actually makes people think?
The process itself has become the interesting part.
It’s less about racing to the top…
and more about staying curious while climbing.
Turns out curiosity didn’t kill the cat.
It made the journey a whole lot more interesting.
Now I’m curious about something else…
Do you ever get tired of the thing you love?
Or does it change when you stop chasing the outcome and start enjoying the process?
I reached out to Tracy to speak with her about that post.
“Thanks to pickleball and social media I met Dotti Betty,” Tracy explained. “Dotti introduced me to a program called “Positive Intelligence.” “Positive Intelligence” changed me from the inside out. As a proclaimed hyper achiever, I was burnt out from the overachieving ALL THE TIME. The program helped me to turn my negative thoughts into my superpower. When I learned how to shift my thoughts and release my attachment to my successes and failures, I found my joy again and then I wanted to share my process to help others. The mental game of pickleball has been my most profound transformation. I want others to experience this transformation too.”
Tracy shares advice, often on the mental aspects of pickleball, on her Facebook page, “Tracy Wilcox Pickleball,” which has 5700 followers.
Tracy and her husband, Dave live in Santa Barbara, CA and are quite busy. They have seven children, including three they adopted, two from Ethiopia and one from China. They own two outdoor pickleball-central facilities that opened on the same day in September 2022 (“I wouldn’t advise opening two businesses on the same day,” Tracy says with a laugh). They own Dynamite Pickleball, in Santa Barbara, and Heights Athletic Club in Harker Heights, TX (70 miles north of Austin). They met at the University of Northern Colorado and shared a love for sports. Tracy played varsity soccer and basketball at Northglenn High School in Colorado and discovered pickleball in 2018.
“I loved it,” Tracy says of her first pickleball experience. “I was playing rec co-ed soccer, and I was facing injuries from playing and knew my soccer days were over. I was struggling to figure out how to quench my need for exercise and competitive competition. So I figured out how to join open play on my local courts. When I found out there were tournaments, I was all in.”
Tracy says what she loves most about pickleball are the people. “Secondly, how pickleball has shaped my mental game. It has been a mirror for me to look at how I think, respond, and react under pressure. This has shaped and guided me to find a passion that goes beyond the court yet starts on the court. I love being able to help women find confidence and true self worth through growing and learning in pickleball.”
Tracy took to the game naturally and became a very good player and started coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. I asked her about the most common mistakes that made by the typical 3.5 player.
“I believe the most common mistakes for a 3.5 player is the lack of confidence and decision making in the transition area,” Tracy said. “Most points are lost and won in this area, we don't see too much kitchen play at this level. The ability to know when to attack and when to drop the ball is underdeveloped.”
She described her favorite drills. “I love transition drills for the 3.5 player. I particularly love drills that puts players under pressure to train their nervous system to respond with less panic and chaos.”
Regarding the trend towards the power game and less dinking, Tracy said, “I think we all need to learn when and where to speed up the ball. I fully believe the game is getting faster. I do believe the player who has the ability to drop balls and attack is the deadliest. We need both skills and the player who can dink is more dangerous than the player who just attacks. The player who has both is dangerous.”
About that rec player we all know who offers unsolicited advice during a game?
“Sometimes the best thing to say to a partner is nothing at all. And other times, what you say, and how you say it, really matters. Players who can read the room, or better said, read the court and read their partner, are usually the ones who know when to give direction and when to keep it to themselves.”
“There are also different kinds of direction. There’s strategy, and there’s skill correction.
Most partners don’t want to hear a list of what they’re doing wrong, and honestly, skill correction in the middle of a game is rarely appropriate. Rec play usually isn’t the place for a full lesson.
“What partners often appreciate instead is a simple suggestion about what to try next.
Things like:
• “How about we try a lob here?”
• “Did you notice he doesn’t love his backhand?”
• “That guy has really fast hands… maybe we try slowing the ball down.”
• “What do you think about going crosscourt for a few?”
“I really enjoy having innovative conversations with my partners, and I often start with a question. Questions invite collaboration instead of criticism. Yesterday I gave my rec partner a small suggestion. She kept taking a ball out of the air that was popping up, and I could see her frustration building. I quietly suggested she let the ball drop and hit it off the peak instead.
She appreciated the suggestion.
“When a partner is open to advice, I try to keep it focused on strategy and one simple goal, not criticism. And just as important, I’m open to hearing ideas too. Good partnerships go both ways. It’s a give and take.
“Because at the end of the day, pickleball isn’t just about hitting the right shots.
It’s also about learning how to play well together.”
From the owner of Dynamite Pickleball, that’s some dynamite advice.
Thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
· Most doctors don’t spend much time with patients discussing their diet, about what foods they should and should not be eating. They do discuss the pills and procedures they may need. For decades, three-quarters of medical schools provided little or no nutrition education. That’s going to change in the fall. At least 40 hours of nutrition education will be taught to 33,000 medical students in 53 medical schools across 31 states. So many health problems are caused by obesity. According to the CDC as of early this year, approximately 72.4 percent of Americans are overweight or obese.
· One week into the baseball season I am liking the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System. It takes only a few seconds and why not get the calls right.
· The Duke collapse against UCONN in the NCAA Tournament last Sunday was epic. In t tournament history, number 1 seeds with at least a 15-point halftime lead had a record of 134-0. I loved the result because over the years I have found some Duke fans to be arrogant. Yes, it’s a good school with a storied basketball program, but I have seen some Duke alums and fans act as though they are above those from other colleges.
· I played pickleball last Sunday while on a visit to Greenville, SC. The best player of the three dozen there, probably a 5.0 who is also an instructor, was using a $39 paddle.
· The people who post flat-out lies on Facebook about the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, are despicable.
· I watch several pickleball paddle reviewers but no one does a better job than Matt Khoury, whose YouTube channel and website are called “Matt’s Pickleball.” Unlike some podcasters, Matt takes the time to answer virtually every question from his followers. Also unlike many other reviewers, Matt doesn’t love every paddle that comes down the pike and isn’t afraid to say so.
Hudef has several new foam paddles on sale, with the price being $119.00 instead of $169.99. Use my discount code, MS10, to knock the price down to $107.10.
