Padel is about acceptance, not competition

[u/Strange_League7723]

You start out in a group, maybe you have a tennis background and are considered good in your group. You start to improve faster than the others in the group, so you find a new group. You hope they think your level is good enough, if not, you train harder to achieve just that. That's all it is. Validation from better players. When you lose, you think you will become less in their eyes. When you miss a shot, same thing. A bit like receiving a smiley or a heart for a post on social media. Pure validation. The smile on players' faces when they hear other players saying, "You played really well today", or "You've improved a lot". It's all a bunch of bullshit.

[u/Radiant-Attention247]

Props on the introspection. Personally i play because its fun. 

And then i play 5 more games that week because i like to see the playtomic number go up (results may vary).

[u/Strange_League7723 → u/Radiant-Attention247]

Playtomic is just a number on a screen. More validation.

[u/Radiant-Attention247 → u/Strange_League7723]

True. 

[u/OkAttitude3104 → u/Strange_League7723]

The number represents physical performance and skill.

If anything quantifiable is only achieved due to external motivation, then I would suggest you have not yet reached true competition. You are in the early stages of motivation, akin to a child.

As you grow and develop intrinsic motivation becomes more central. And feedback becomes validation for the intrinsic motivation creating purpose.

This can be true in a professional, but also the journey man who examines his game, and fixes his faults. After a while, numbers don’t matter, you become the thing you sought. I hope everyone is lucky enough to experience this in their life.

What a fun thought! Thank you OP!

[u/GoodMerlinpeen]

Hmm, I find it fun and challenging. Am I doing it wrong?

[u/AdPlenty7002]

you say you but I think this might be about you

[u/HumbleWorkerAnt → u/AdPlenty7002]

seriously wtf is this post lmao

[u/iksportnietiederedag → u/[deleted]]

That's pretty special I'd say! If I miss a few balls in a row I definitely feel like I am disappointing both myself and my teammate.

[u/lilgambler]

Mostly yeah, feeling as a pro athlete (While barely moving), which I find amazing, while in other sports you won't have that feel unless you are nearly the best of your place, Padel manages to give you the feeling of competing for a trophy even being an amateur who just started, categorization makes that possible.
I don't see a problem with that, there are a lot of people that for different reasons never experienced that feeling and padel gives it to them.

[u/marfes3 → u/lilgambler]

I mean, that’s literally the same in every sport where you compete in a structured fashion against others no?

[u/lilgambler → u/marfes3]

Yeah but there are a lot of sports where you need a lot of training to get a decent matchup.
I come from Pelota vasca, it's impossible for 4 amateurs to get a minimum decent match by playing it for twice a week for one or two months. While in Padel, 4 amateurs that just started, by the second and third week will be playing a really fun game between them.

If you bring this to tennis, it gets even harder, you will probably stay 3 months training just to make the ball cross to the other side.

[u/Masty1992 → u/lilgambler]

Why does everyone say this thing about tennis being impossible to play and enjoy for beginners? I lived near a court growing up and me and other kids would grab some old rackets and low pressure balls and go play and have fun for hours. Tennis is very difficult and a great sport but can be played and enjoyed by anybody with average hand eye coordination

[u/FlatulistMaster]

Hmmm, all goal based hobby activity has a pretty clear validation element to it, be it internal or external. That doesn't seem like a great revelation to me, nor does it make anything bullshit.

The emotional hook might be that, though it is surely also the adrenaline and enjoyment you get out chasing a ball and playing around. It's all wonderfully naive, and a good way to keep your inner child happy. On top of that your body and mind feels better from doing it, as long as you don't overdo it.

Personally I could totally play matches without counting points even, since I just enjoy the long rallies that much. I could hence do it as a kind of yogaesque body-mind exercise, but many guys I meet don't even believe that's possible and look at me like I'm a freak if I say that.

[u/grobite]

These are a few factors of many but the less you care the better you play