Want to Play Better Pickleball? Get Out of Your Own Head

An NHL goalie's viral interview offers a fascinating lesson about pickleball, the unconscious mind, and why preparation is everything.

Sometimes the best pickleball advice comes from someone who's never picked up a paddle.

Calgary Flames goalie Devin Cooley recently went viral for a postgame interview in which he talked about the power of the unconscious mind.

His basic point? He plays his best hockey when he's not consciously thinking about every movement. Instead, he trusts his preparation, reacts instinctively, and lets his body do what it's been trained to do.

As a professional pickleball player, I couldn't help but think about how much this applies to our sport.

The Kitchen Is No Place for Overthinking

Think about a fast hands battle at the kitchen line.

The ball is flying back and forth, you're reacting in fractions of a second, and there's barely enough time to register what's happening, much less consciously think through your next shot.

Imagine trying to remind yourself to keep your paddle up, stay balanced, watch the ball, and maintain your grip pressure while someone is firing speedups at your chest.

Good luck with that.

When I'm playing my best pickleball, I'm not thinking about every little technical detail. I'm reacting, trusting my instincts, and letting my training take over.

Athletes call this being in the zone or achieving a flow state.

Whatever you want to call it, it's a pretty incredible feeling when everything just clicks.

Here's the Catch: You Have to Earn It

The biggest question isn't whether playing instinctively helps. It's how you get to that point in the first place.

And I think the answer is preparation.

The more work you put in during practice, the more confident you become in your ability to execute without consciously thinking about every shot.

I've experienced the other side of this firsthand.

Over the past 12 months, injuries have limited my ability to practice consistently.

I know I'm still capable of competing at a high level. But there's a difference between knowing you can make a big shot and truly believing you're going to make it when the match is on the line.

When I haven't been able to put in the work, that belief isn't quite as strong.

And that matters.

Practice With Your Brain. Play With Your Instincts.

My biggest takeaway from Cooley's interview is that you can't simply tell yourself to stop thinking and expect to play better.

You have to build that trust through repetition, preparation, and experience.

Practice is where you work through the mechanics, make adjustments, and develop confidence in your shots.

Competition is where you try to let all that work take over.

So the next time you're in a fast hands battle or facing game point, don't try to solve every technical problem in your head.

Trust what you've practiced. React to what's in front of you. And let yourself play.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your pickleball game is get your brain out of the way.

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Feature image of Devin Cooley via Instagram