I Had a Serious Case of the YIPS

I know you aren't supposed to talk about it. That's why Coach wrote it down instead of saying it out loud.

This weekend while playing in a pickleball tournament, I had a serious case of <speaking very quietly> the YIPS. I know you aren’t supposed to say the word out loud but I needed to get it out there and share the experience.

What are the YIPS? I learned about them in an episode of Ted Lasso. It is what you experience when out of nowhere you can’t do the basic fundamentals of their role. For me, the YIPS hit my serve.?

This tournament was a big deal, because this time it wasn’t about winning a silly but very prestigious $4.95 medal. The Mishawaka Midwest Open was paying winners in every division actual money. ??

The serve is a critical component of pickleball. You can only score points on your serve. Ironically, my serve has always been pretty darn good. But the YIPS hit me and for some reason, I missed six serves during our gender doubles matches on Friday. I was baffled and a bit bewildered. What was happening? Why now? WTH?

Friday’s gender doubles didn’t end up well. My partner and I chalked it up to “a learning experience.” Bound and determined to make a better showing in Saturday’s mixed doubles, I hit my local pickleball court with a big bag of balls and went to practice my serve in the morning before the tournament. Much to my dismay, I was still having a problem getting my darn serve in the right box.

“Okay, I’ll go to plan B and try a bounce serve,” I said to myself. Afterall, my #3 CliftonStrength is Strategic so I always have a back up plan. I practiced until I could get 20 serves in a row to land on the left side and then I did the same on the right side. Leaving the practice courts, I listened to my two favorite hype songs (Unstoppable by Sia and Put Some Miles on It by Kane Brown). But I still had this lingering feeling. This feeling of uneasiness weighed heavy like a pit in my stomach.??

When I started playing mixed doubles on Saturday afternoon, the problem was still there. I couldn’t get a darn serve to land. At this point I’ve missed more serves in two days than I had in two years. I could see it on the faces of the people around me that knew my game. It was a look of fear, amazement, befuddlement and all of the other words used to describe “WTH?”

So, what the heck happened? I’m not really sure. Was it because I leveled up and was nervous? Was it because I was playing for money and there were higher stakes? Without serious therapy, I’m not sure that I will ever really know.

One thing is for sure, I lost my confidence. It wasn’t that I lost my cocky swagger because that’s not my game. I lost that basic belief in myself and it proved costly. We didn’t win a game on Friday.

Saturday was really rough. Let me say that again, really really rough. I was playing with my mixed doubles partner who also happens to be my boyfriend. His #1 CliftonStrength is Competition. At this point, he was clearly frustrated with me. He doesn’t like to lose and I wasn’t holding up my end of this partnership. Bound and determined to salvage Saturday, I went back to the very basics. I kept my eye on the ball and just got it in. That was not my “normal serve” but it started to work.

The reason I share this story is because confidence is so important. In pickleball or at work, our confidence matters. When we have confidence in ourselves and our abilities, we can do amazing things. When we lose it, we struggle with the basics.

One main reason why I became a Gallup Certified CliftonStrengths Coach is because I conducted research with 108 professional women and every one of them said they struggled with confidence at one or more points in their careers. Knowing your natural talents and having the language of strengths to help you articulate your value to others gives you confidence. It’s amazing what you can do when you lean into what you know you naturally do well.

In my work, I've seen the difference that confidence can make. Confidence can help you stand up and deliver a near flawless presentation. Confidence can help you muster the courage to ask for a raise. Confidence can help you believe in yourself so much that you decide to finally make the move that you know you needed to make.

We help organizations and individuals elevate their confidence by understanding their natural talents, giving them the experiences that allow them apply their strengths to tackle various business challenges.

The end to this pickleball story turned out pretty good too. Although my confidence in my serve was shaken, we hung in there and ended up taking gold as well as $300! ????