What DOES Pickleball Have To Do With Marriage??
About this episode
This episode explores the parallels between pickleball and marriage, highlighting communication and partnership dynamics.
Probably more than you want to admit. I've been playing pickleball for about four years. Started when my wife and I moved to a new community — we were looking for something to do and a way to meet people. Neither of us expected it to become a weekly ritual. But somewhere along the way, I started noticing something I couldn't shake. The patterns showing up on that court? I'd seen every single one of them in struggling marriages. Not as a loose metaphor. As an almost exact parallel. The partner who can't stop criticizing every shot — and wonders why the other person stops trying. The player who decides if the game isn't going their way, they won't play at all. The one who takes every shot, carries every point, and then complains their partner doesn't contribute. The "coach" nobody asked for, offering feedback that doesn't land as helpfulness. Sound like anyone you know? Here's what got me thinking: pickleball, at its best, is a partnership game. You win together. You cover each other's deficits. You communicate before the moment demands it. You keep playing even when the score isn't going your way. And at its worst? It looks a lot like the patterns that quietly destroy a marriage…
More episodes of The Save The Marriage Podcast
- How to Stop Dysregulaton Before it Stops You – EJ and Tarah Kerwin
- Addicted to Blame?
- The (Created) Past Hurts Your Marriage
- Not Knowing vs. Not Doing
- This Is How You “Diss” Your Marriage
- Momentum: The Physics of a Failing Marriage
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