Book coming soon …
This book will give you the tools to:
Thrive on pressure and use it to perform at your best
Harness your motivation to drive you to success
Block out any distractions so that you focus on those things that are critical to delivering your top performance
Stay strong in your self-belief in situations and circumstances that may cause you to lose confidence
Comments from readers of the pre-publication
final draft
“This book is a fantastic and hugely insightful read for anyone who wants to get that extra bit out of their game. Players book lessons to improve all the time and reading this is as important, if not more, than a lesson! Tara and Graham have extensive experience in this field and it is fantastic they have put this experience into this book to help out pickleballers!”
Louis Laville, 8 times English National Champion, 6 times European Champion, Team England European Champion, 134 Pro Medals won in 18 different countries, 2 times MLP Australia Champion, 2 times PPA Australia Champion
“One of the most common questions I am asked by pickleball players is how do I deal with and compete in pressure situations and control my mind. In this book Tara and Graham have clearly and concisely pulled together a mental toolkit, containing many of the routines I use, that can hugely benefit players of all levels. Spending as much time working on the mental side of the game as the physical side can elevate our play in ways we didn't know possible and make matches more enjoyable and successful. Start using these techniques today and see your game soar.”
Thaddea Lock, nine times English National Champion, Team England
European Champion, holder of ten triple crowns
“In pickleball, we spend 99% of our time practising physical skills - yet we play in a sport where physical skills have an artificial limit due to competing in skilled category subsets. This book teaches some of the most important, fundamental mindsets needed to maximise a person’s playing ability at any level. Easy to digest with space for personal reflections, this text becomes a great tool for players to take with them to training and competitions.”
James Chaudry, six times English National Champion, three times European Champion, Team England European Champion, Director of Pickleball England, five times National Junior Tennis Champion, Top 100 ITF tennis ranking
“A quick, helpful read that provides you with the tools to strengthen the mental side of your pickleball game. It is an easy read, not overly complicated with simple strategies, that if implemented can make a big difference. I particularly found using the ‘Time-Outs’ suggested in the book gave me a mindset advantage and an opportunity for reflection. Whether you just play bat and ball or are on the road to Pro Gold, this book is for you.”
Julie Mac, Team England European Champion, multiple Gold Medal Masters winner at English National and Open Championships, Lead Coach for Pickleball in the Deaf Community, IPTPA Qualified Coach
“This book is a fantastic starting point for any pickleball player looking to work on their all-round game. Being a coach, there are four main pillars that we try to work on with players – technical, tactical, physical and mental. Graham and Tara’s backgrounds speak for themselves, but to pool their knowledge into this mental playbook for pickleball players is invaluable and something I’d recommend to all players to read. There are many steps that players can build into their practice routines and I can’t wait to hear about all those who benefit from reading and working on the content of this book!”
Sam Basford, Professional Coach, IPTPA Master Teaching Professional and Director, Team England European Champions Coach
“What I find particularly inspiring is the way Graham and Tara have seamlessly transitioned from working with elite Olympic athletes to immersing themselves in the emerging and dynamic world of pickleball. This book not only captures their professional expertise and research-based insights but also conveys their personal experiences as active competitors. The integration of theory and practice—of academic rigor with real-world athletic engagement—makes this work especially valuable. It provides pickleball players and coaches with a powerful framework to better understand motivation, focus, resilience and the mental processes that underpin success in competition.”
Marco Osorio, USA PPR (Professional Pickleball Registry) Coach Developer and Pro Masters Silver Medal winner at the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships, ex-professional and Davis Cup tennis player, career win over Roger Federer
“This book really hits home for me. The way Graham and Tara break down pressure, motivation, focus and belief feels spot on because it’s exactly what we go through on court. I really like how they explain turning fear into desire, and the little tricks for keeping calm under pressure. The focus section, particularly the idea of concentrating on the ‘critical’ controllables is gold, and the self-belief and confidence stuff is really practical.”
Lee Harper, USA National Masters 5.0 Champion, two time English National Masters Champion, USA NPL and Team England player
“The more time I spend coaching pickleball, irrespective of their level, the more I see the importance of the mental game. It’s the one area that players simply don’t consider - that the vast majority of the time pickleball is played in the mind, as much if not more so, than by the body. Graham and Tara have created a brilliant resource for players to start to work on their mental game. Devoting time to working through this book is guaranteed to improve your pickleball.”
Rob Williams, Pickleball England Director of Coach Development, Master Teaching Professional and Team England European Champions Coach
“The bits on ‘stinking thinking’ helped me realise how negative I can get if I go a few points down and it just makes it worse as I start to lose focus. The book gave me great strategies to enable me to change this thinking into something positive so that I can now get my game back on track and come back from behind.”
Jon Goodchild, 3.5 player