From Reluctant Player to Coach: J Smooth Lawson's Pickleball Journey

In this episode, we talk with James "J Smooth" Lawson, a pickleball player, coach, and instructor sponsored by Crush Pickleball. James shares his 7-year pickleball journey, coaching philosophy, tournament experiences, and technical advice for players of all levels.

Guest Bio

James Lawson (aka J Smooth) provides pickleball instruction at multiple facilities including:

• Pickleball Plex
• Lincoln Community Center
• Vandalia Rec Center
• Wright State University
• Centerville Parks and Rec
• Black Barn Pickleball (opening Spring 2025)

Timeline & Topics

[00:00-01:30] Introduction and welcome to James Lawson

• James is sponsored by Crush Pickleball
• Overview of facilities where James coaches

[01:30-05:00] James' pickleball origin story

• Started 7 years ago around Valentine's Day
• Initially declined invitations while walking at the YMCA
• First game experience: "Why haven't I been playing this all along?"
• How his passion for pickleball grew through YouTube videos and practice

[05:00-07:30] Coaching journey and current facilities

• Transition from player to coach
• Multiple coaching locations across the region
• Discussion of Black Barn Pickleball facility opening this spring in Dayton

[07:30-10:00] Community aspects of pickleball

• Comparison to tennis ladder leagues
• Adapting to different playing styles
• Each opponent as a "puzzle" to solve

[10:00-14:00] Tournament experience

• Played in 30-50 tournaments
• US Open in Naples as standout experience
• Description of tournament atmosphere with music and energy
• Mention of upcoming PPA event in Cincinnati/Mason

[14:00-17:30] Common mistakes for newer players

• Reluctance to move to the kitchen line
• Importance of deep serves and returns
• Maintaining proper positioning with your partner
• The "imaginary rope" connecting partners

[17:30-21:00] Advanced player advice and recommended drills

• Fast hands drill for quick decision making
• Reset shots into the kitchen
• Cross-court dinking practice
• Discussion of one-handed vs. two-handed backhands

[21:00-24:30] Mental game strategies

• Developing short-term memory after mistakes
• Taking deep breaths to reset mentally
• How negative energy affects your partner
• Importance of drilling vs. just playing

[24:30-26:30] Closing and contact information

• Origin of "J Smooth" nickname
• How to reach James for lessons
• Instagram: @the_JSmooth
• Website: Lawson Pickleball or J Smooth Pickleball

Key Quotes

• "The game is won at the kitchen line." - James Lawson
• "Everyone's like a puzzle. Who can put this puzzle together the fastest?" - James Lawson
• "Drilling is a big part of your pickleball evolution." - James Lawson
• "You got to forget about the bad and move forward." - James Lawson

Resources Mentioned

• Instagram: @the_JSmooth
• Website: Lawson Pickleball / J Smooth Pickleball
• Black Barn Pickleball (opening Spring 2025)
• US Open Pickleball Championships (Naples, FL)
• PPA Tournament (Cincinnati/Mason)

Sponsorship

This episode is brought to you by Crush Pickleball, sponsor of James "J Smooth" Lawson and Cedar Bay Farm

Connect With Us

• Email: bpwoodall@yahoo.com

Remember to like, subscribe, and share this episode with your pickleball community!

#Pickleball #PickleballCoaching #PickleballTips #TheDinkTank #JSmooth #KitchenLine #FastHands

Transcript

Hey friends, welcome to the Dink Tank. In today's episode, we'll be chatting with James Lawson. James is sponsored by Crush Pickleball. 

He's a player and a coach. He provides instruction at Pickleball Plex, Lincoln Community Center, Vidalia Rec Center, Wright State University, Centerville Parks and Rec, and the Black Barn Pickleball, which is opening this spring. So James, welcome to the show. 

I appreciate you being here with us today. Well, thanks. I'm very glad to be here. 

Thanks for this opportunity to talk with you. Yeah, for sure. For sure. 

For sure. So we crossed paths. My dad comes up here to the Rec Center and plays Pickleball.

He's played up here, gosh, for maybe a couple of years. I came up for his birthday back in December. The group was talking about somebody coming in, giving lessons or coaching and stuff like that.

And fast forward to today, you've been doing that a couple of times here, right? So very cool. Yep. Every other Wednesday, I've been coming in here and just have a couple of different topics that we'll work on for an hour. 

And yeah, every other Wednesday, it's been a good time meeting a lot of people here and it's fun. I enjoy it. Very cool. 

So take us back. Tell me about your Pickleball story. Like when did you start? A little bit about your journey. 

Let's go. Yeah. So I started about seven years ago around Valentine's Day.

I can't remember exactly, but I knew it was in February. And so I used to walk at the Pickleball YMCA, just walk laps up there. And within that lap, there'd be three Pickleball courts and people were playing there every morning. 

And so I'd watch them play. It looked pretty fun. I played a lot of sports growing up.

So it looked interesting, but I'd always politely, respectfully just say, no, I can't play today. And this lady by the name of Sandy Wheelock or Sandy Rice, I think, she's pretty persistent, really sweet lady. She's like, come on, play.

She's like, come on, play. You'll love it. You'll enjoy it. 

And I remember her saying that all the time. And I'm like, no, I can't because I'm returning emails or whatever, studying for a test. I'm busy. 

And then one day, I think it was a Friday. And she asked me, I'm like, all right, let's play. And so I did. 

After the hour or two hours I was playing, I was like, you're an idiot. Why haven't you been playing this all along? Because it was so much fun. And I was really just kicking myself in the butt because I'm like, this is such a good time. 

It's awesome. I love this sport. I'm going to play more and more and more. 

And then eventually I invited to go to the Kroc Center in Dayton. And so I started playing there. And then I saw a friend of mine, Leslie, that I used to play volleyball with. 

And so I started meeting her and other people there and just kept playing more and more. And it just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. And I'm watching all these YouTube videos and I just couldn't get enough of it. 

And that's kind of like the journey with a lot of people where they just want to keep playing and playing and learning more and more and more. And that was how I started out. So it was a lot of fun. 

And yeah, I love it. I've met so many people through this sport and it allowed me to compete again because I used to compete in high school and college, you know, playing sports. And so it allowed me to not just be a coach anymore for my boys, but I could actually start competing again. 

Anyways, I love it. I've met so many people and it's just a fun, fun sport. It's allowed me to now become like a trainer, a coach where I'm at a few facilities, like here at the Lincoln Center here in Troy.

Yeah. The Pickleball Plex in Piqua, I'm a trainer there. I do a lot of lessons there. 

I teach at Wright State University, teach a course there. Soon I'll be at the Black Barn Pickleball in Dayton. Okay. 

That's going to be opening up around June 1st, sometime late spring. Okay. It'll be opening up. 

And yeah, it's just, it's so much fun. Love the sport. It's the best sport there is. 

Yeah, it's definitely a lot of fun. The community is something that really pulls you in, right? Because it's like, I was, we were chatting before I hit record. So I used to, I played a lot of tennis and played in a ladder league down in Rome, Georgia. 

And it's like, there's probably, I don't know, 30 or 40 guys that played in that. And you know, you kind of challenge them and stuff like that. I love getting on the court and just playing with somebody different like every week, because it's like a different forehand, a different backhand, a different serve, a different return.

And I was thinking about that on the way up here today. It's like, it's the same thing in pickleball. You know, you play so many different people and everybody's game is a little bit different, right? Yeah, it is. 

And that's what kind of makes you want to keep playing because this one person, you're like, I could have beat this person. And then you didn't. And it's like, how can I beat them? So everyone's like a puzzle. 

And that's how my mindset was going into like, when I started playing tournaments was, it's a brand new puzzle. Who can put this puzzle together the fastest, you know, so you got to learn your opponent, you got to figure it out like quick, you got to be quick, you got to be so quick, you got to get it done before they get done, obviously. Yeah. 

But that's the thing about pickleball, though, is you just have to learn how to adapt and how just to do what you do better than what they do. And that's the hard part. And that's what kept bringing you back to the sport. 

I can do this a little bit better. I can do this a little bit better. My first early days of playing pickleball, I remember falling asleep at night, just recapping those couple hours of pickleball I just played. 

Playing them back in your mind. You don't really remember the wins, but you do remember the losses and how you got beat. It's like, how can I do better? How can I just do a better, you know, make a better shot? Or just how can I be that person? How can I get better at it? And so that's the great thing about pickleball.

It just keeps your mind sharp. And you're just always thinking, you got to be, you got to have quick decision making and stuff like that. So but yeah, it's fun trying to figure someone else out.

Yeah, for sure. For sure. So with tournaments, you said you played a lot of tournaments.

Yeah, I did. Like, like how many tournaments have you played in maybe these past seven years since you started? Well, in my earlier days, when I was younger, and my knees still cooperated, my elbow and everything was still intact. I think I've played in, I don't even know, honestly, 30, 40, 50 tournaments. 

Okay. I mean, a ton of them. But they were so fun, though. 

You start like at a lower level, you just got to keep building your way up. And then you start playing some really, really good players. And it was so fun. 

It was a lot of fun. But I don't know the exact number. Yeah, no, that's cool.

I know I got a closet full of these $3 medals, and then some bigger medals. And it's all like, I think a grocery bag in my closet right now. But they're good memories. 

Yeah, an accomplishment that you can be proud of. And it was a lot of fun, though, playing those tournaments. Any one tournament really stick out in your mind? You're like, I got to go back next year. 

I got to do this one again. I mean, they're all, you might have some good memories from some of them. They're all unique. 

They're a lot of fun. But seriously, the US Open and down in Naples, that's such a good time right there. It's a big party. 

There's thousands of people that are watching. The music's loud. And it's just a good time. 

That's awesome. Especially right now, because right now, it's warmer than here. So I would love to be down there. 

But that event was so fun. It really is a good time there. That's cool. 

When is that tournament? It was in, it's been a couple years since I played in it, but I think it's right in April. April, okay. I think it was April.

Have you gone down there a few times and played? I played there once. But when my family and I would vacation down to Sarasota, we would also go to Naples for a couple days. And so I'd go down there and meet some people and play down there as well. 

But it's a neat facility. I think they have like 60 some courts at this place. And so there's a lot of different levels of play. 

It's a little bit something for everyone. Yeah. So it's a good time. 

Yeah, I've only played at that tournament one time. Okay. That's cool. 

But it's one to remember. Absolutely. Great memories there. 

It was a good time. I had some great friends I went down there with and hung out with for that week. And yeah, it's a good one, though. 

But it's a big party. And the tournaments now that you see everywhere, it's an event. It's a lot of fun, loud music, a lot of energy. 

So if you haven't been to one of those big events, make sure you go to it. It's a lot of fun. Speaking of big events, is there one that's close by? So we're in Troy right now, but like maybe Cincinnati or Dayton or Columbus, like a big one. 

I know, I think the PPA is coming in September to Cincinnati. Yeah, is that the one? It might be the one in Mason. I can't remember.

But yeah, those are popping up everywhere. In Columbus, I know they have some major pro events there. Cincinnati, as you mentioned, right there. 

The last one I played at was at the Linder Tennis Facility, I think, right there. And yeah, that's a big event. But yeah, they're popping up everywhere right now.

Let's transition over to, I guess, some advice for the listeners. What's some of the top maybe two or three mistakes that you see for new players or maybe players under a year? And what advice do you have, I guess, help with one or all of those? Yeah, so I work with a lot of newer players and even some seasoned advanced players. But when I'm looking or viewing the newer players, what I see a lot is they will not move up to the kitchen line. 

They like to stay back on the court, towards the back of the court. And I always tell the newer players that the game is won at the kitchen line. What team can get to the kitchen line first usually can determine that point or win that point. 

So you always want to have a deep serve and a deep return. And those are two things I'm actually be working on here in my lesson here in a little bit. But you want a deep serve to push that team back and you want a deep return to push the other team back because, again, you want to get to that kitchen line. 

So newer players like to stay in the back and just swing for the fences, bang it out, bang it out pretty much. So it's bang, bang, bang. But really, if you can get to the kitchen line, that really helps. 

So that's one of the things I've noticed. And then I always try to explain to the newer players that there's like a window between you and your partner and we want to keep that window closed. Because if one person moves to the side a little bit, that window opens up and it just allows like a big lane for the other team to hit the ball through. 

And we don't want to create that opportunity for them because we want to win the point, right? So there's like an imaginary rope or a chain that's hip to hip, that's keeping you tethered together. And so you want to keep that window closed. So if you go sideways, you're moving with your partner. 

If you're going to go back, like someone lobs you, you both go back together, you move up together. So you always want to stick with your partner. And what I see a lot of newer players, they kind of become staggered. 

Like one person is comfortable going to the kitchen line and then another person stays back. No, we're staying back. And again, that just creates some issues with your playing style. 

And so you want to stay together. So that's another thing I recommend for the newer players is just trying to stick together. That's good. 

That's great advice. On the more advanced players, what do you see as some advice for them or maybe drills for them that they should be doing or working on to like just up their game, I guess? Right. Well, with the newer players that seem to be coming in the sport, it's not just what people would say it's an old person's game, which is so incorrect. 

They just don't understand. They have no clue when they say it's an old person's game. Maybe a few years ago, they could have said something like that, which I still think that's the wrong terminology. 

But, you know, retired players, they did play this sport a lot. Yeah. But now you're seeing so many younger players that come into the sport, so many faster players. 

And so these younger players that are coming into the sport, though, they're hitting the ball hard, they're hitting it fast. And so that makes the game a lot faster as well. One of the drills that I work on all the time, and this is what the newer players and even with the advanced players, because you can't outgrow this type of drill, but it's working on like a fast hands drill where you're at the kitchen line and then the person you're drilling or working with at the kitchen line as well on the other side of the net.

And you're just volleying the ball back and forth fast, fast, fast, go quicker, quicker, quicker. Because what that does right there, it allows you those opportunities and scenarios where you got to make that quick decision. Do you let the ball bounce or do you hit it out of the air? How do you hold your paddle? Is it a backhand? Is it a forehand? There's so many variables, so many decisions you got to make really quickly. 

And that's a drill where if you get fast, fast hands, that's going to really pay dividends down the road in your pickleball play. So that's something you cannot grow. And that's something I always want to work on because it seems like the more we mature and get older, our fast hands are not as fast anymore. 

And if someone across the net has fast hands and you're at a huge disadvantage, so you got to stay sharp on that topic. No, that's good. That's something I always want to work on is that. 

And then just resets. Resetting a ball, when someone is hitting the ball hard and you're deep, like back in the court, you got to learn how to reset that ball into that kitchen area because you can't just hit a fast ball, hit a ball hard or fast when someone just hit a ball hard or fast at you. You got to be able to slow that ball down, reset it into the kitchen. 

So there's times where, yeah, you just want to bang the ball away, which is okay. But there's also a lot of times where you can just reset a ball into the kitchen. And I think once I kind of leveled up my game even more, it's when my mind kind of shifted from just being offense, offense, hitting the ball hard, but to go into more of a defensive mindset where I got to reset the ball, put the ball in the kitchen because that allows me to move up to the kitchen line with my partner to where we can neutralize the advantage that the other team may have because they're already at the kitchen line. 

So resets are a huge part of the game. And I know a lot of the advanced players work on resets as well. It doesn't mean you have to always reset a ball, but you got to learn that there's opportunities and situations where you really do need to. 

And that allows you to get back into the point to work your way back up to the kitchen line. So resets are huge. Yeah, definitely recommend that. 

And then cross court dinking is another one because if you're not good at dinking and the other team is, they're going to expose you and they're going to attack you until the game's over. They're going to keep attacking you at dinking. So you got to learn how to cross court dink, whether it's forehand or backhand, all the above, it doesn't matter. 

It's something you need to do because as you do evolve and move up in the pickleball world, dinking is a big part of it. And you got to get really good at it because if you're not, again, you'll get exposed and you're going to lose a lot of points that way. Yeah. 

Yeah, for sure. Speaking of dinking, I got a question for you. What's your opinion on one-handed versus two-handed backhands? I've seen some players that I play with, they switch the paddle to the other hand.

I don't know if the professionals do that. I don't think I've ever seen a professional do that while they might. Yeah, you don't. 

Switching hands, it's something that I even talk with my students about. I'm like, I'm never going to tell you not to switch hands, but I highly recommend you don't. But everyone's situation is different. 

So what I can do doesn't mean you can do. What you can do doesn't mean what I can do. But there are situations where they may have some arm issues and they need to allow their other hand or arm to rest or whatever.

And so they'll take some of that stress off by using two hands. So it's not something that you shouldn't do, but if you're fully capable, your arms are fine and everything, you keep it in one hand. There's gonna be times where maybe a ball is hit wide and you're outstretched. 

You might have to switch hands to get to that ball to have that additional reach in that situation. But most of the time, you definitely want to keep it in one hand because if you're switching hands, you might not hold the paddle correctly. Something could happen to where it's not going to be to your advantage. 

So keeping it in one hand is definitely recommended. And at that higher level, you're not seeing people switch hands. I started playing left-handed because I had some arm issues or had a surgery actually back in November. 

And so with all my lessons and people I work with, I'm like, I gotta figure out what to do here. So I started practicing left-handed myself. And so I started playing left-handed and I got decent at it to where I can still continue with my lessons going left-handed. 

And so even with that advantage of playing with the left hand, I still just keep it in my right hand. The only thing I've learned though is I've got a pretty wicked serve going left-handed and it's pretty crazy. And so I'll actually serve sometimes the right side. 

I'll serve with my left hand because it's a different spin. And that's the thing as you evolve in your pickleball journey. You can't have just one serve. 

You really want to mix it up. You want to have different side spins. You want some forehand, you want some rolls, some top spins. 

You want a fast serve, you want maybe a change up, maybe like a high lob for a serve. And so now I've added in the left-handed serve. And so it's just another part of my serving strategies to where I just become a little bit more effective and just keeping the other team on their toes. 

No, that's cool. That's cool. We were talking about this a little bit before we hit record, the mental game, right? Like you've got to make decisions, split second decisions, right? So how do you, I guess, train your mind? And maybe it's just doing drills, but how do you train your mind or is there other things that you can do that's maybe not on the court that helps your mental game? Right. 

Well, the one drill I mentioned a few minutes ago, the quick hands, the fast hands, that's the one where it's creating all those quick decision making scenarios and instances or situations where you just got to make quick decisions. So having the fast hands drill is something you should always be doing. I highly recommend that. 

But the other part of it, the mental side of it, got to have a short-term memory sometimes. So when you mess up, and I used to be a pitcher a long time ago. And so one thing I always remembered back then is if I have a wild pitch or I throw a ball, like a ball or whatever, not a strike, I need to forget about that. 

I have to forget about the bad. So you have to forget about what you did wrong to a certain extent so that it doesn't affect you and bring you down. Because what's crazy is that's actually contagious. 

Because once you start feeling it and showing it, it goes to your partner and you're putting an extra weight on them to where they have to pick you up and themselves up and carry you during a game and you don't want to add extra stress and weight to your partner. So you got to be really careful about that. And that's why you don't want to just keep dwelling on the last shot you made that was bad. 

Yeah, remember it to an extent so you try not to do it again. But you can't let it weigh you down. And that's easier said than done. 

But that's the part you have to forget about the bad and move forward. Right. How do you do that? How do you do that mentally? Like reset? You just, I mean, you visualize the next point, like winning the next point. 

How do you do that? Just forget it, you know? Yeah. I mean, what I personally do, I just take a deep breath, take a deep breath. And then the bad energy, I'm like, I'm exhaling that and then I'm on to the next point. 

And then I just kind of put those blinders on and refocus. So that's kind of what I do. Yeah. 

So I just take a deep breath and it's gone after that. I try to bounce the ball a few more times. You know, I'll bounce it like five, six, seven times and then and then go on with the next.

Yeah, whatever works for you. Absolutely. You do that, whether it's a bouncing of the ball, or maybe some people like to slap their hip or their thigh with the paddle and the louder, the better, because those things get pretty loud. 

And you always know when someone's having a bad day or a moment right there. But whatever it takes, though, you got to be able to get rid of that negative energy and just try to move forward. And it's not easy, but that's the difference between the really good players and ones that are, you know, just good, you know, nothing wrong being good. 

But if you want to be better, you got to figure out that mental part and you got to figure out how to just get rid of that, that negative energy. And then that last mistake or whatever you made, you got to be able to move forward. Right, right. 

No, that's stuck. That's great advice. That's great advice. 

Anything else for the listeners? Maybe drilling is a big part of your pickleball evolution. You just got to drill. We all like to go in and just play, play, play, because it's so fun. 

Just like me and my golf game. It's getting OK, but it could get better if I really drill and put practice, you know, but I love to play. Golfing is so fun for me. 

And that's what I like to do during the spring and summer and fall. I like to golf a lot. Right.

But understand why I'm not getting a lot better is because I don't put that work into it as far as like, you know, the practicing. And that's how pickleball can be. You got to practice it. 

You got to find a drilling partner. And it's hard to sometimes find that drilling partner. And that's where I come in and play. 

And that's why I'm kind of like in high demand, because I'm there to help people. I'm there to see what they're doing. We were talking a few minutes ago. 

I have these meta Ray-Ban glasses where I can video what they're doing and I can show them this is how you're making that mistake or this is how we can do it better. And so I'll record what they're doing and then also record the positive of how they did something well so they can see those differences. They can visually see it. 

Yeah, they can see it visually. Instead of me just talking about it, they can now see it. So, yeah, I mean, that's my thoughts on that right there. 

Drill, drill as much as you can and it will really help your pickleball game. Yeah. Yeah. 

No, that's great advice. James, I really appreciate you being on the show today. How can people reach you if they want to reach out for, I guess, lessons or for instruction or coaching? Yeah. 

So my website's Lawson Pickleball or J Smooth Pickleball. So they can find me there. I'm also on Instagram at the underscore J Smooth. 

That's a name, a nickname that a friend gave me down in Middletown. It was Sharon a few years ago. And then up here, someone said my game was really smooth as well.

And so that's where I came. That's where I came from was J Smooth right there. I kind of like it, and so I kind of stuck with it. 

And my boys, Landon and Lance, they've called me J Smooth for I don't even know how long. I don't know the last time they've honestly have called me dad. That's hilarious. 

They call me J Smooth because they're friends and everyone. It's J Smooth. So it's hilarious. 

And it just kind of stuck. And I'm like, you know what? I like it. We'll go with it. 

And so now that's the branding that you'll see now. That's my handle, J Smooth. But that's where you can find me is on Instagram at the underscore J Smooth.

Well, again, thanks so much for your time. Thank you so much. I really had a good time.