What if the biggest thing holding pickleball players back is not their mechanics, but the way they think, react, and talk to themselves under pressure? In this episode, we talk with Dotti Berry, better known as Coach B, a mental and peak performance coach, the creator of Mental Edge: The X Factor, and the recipient of the 2026 PPR Humanitarian Award. Dotti shares how she first discovered pickleball after hearing about it again and again from friends and clients, and how that curiosity eventually led her to a sport that combined movement, community, challenge, and joy. From her early days walking nervously into a local gym to becoming a trusted voice in the mental game of pickleball, Dotti has built a powerful body of work around helping players retrain their brains so they can perform with more steadiness on and off the court. Dotti explains why she believes the traditional idea of “mindset” is too static, and why what players really need are daily MindShift habits that help them regulate nerves, build emotional resilience, and stop spiraling after mistakes. She talks about the difference between insight and real change, the importance of daily mental training, and why players do not rise to the occasion under pressure, but instead fall to the level of their training. Along the way, she shares practical tools like breathing, touch anchors, noticing and naming emotions, and building routines that can help players recover faster and stay present. This is a deeply insightful conversation about pickleball, the mental game, peak performance, emotional regulation, self-talk, confidence, pressure, habits, resilience, Coach B, Mental Edge: The X Factor, the PPR Humanitarian Award, and the life lessons that remind us our identity is bigger than our results, our joy matters just as much as our progress, and we can learn to train our minds in ways that change everything. https://flow.page/pickleballforumforwomen 📘 The Expanded Edition of Life Lessons from Pickleball™ is now available on Amazon Learn about the book and us at: https://www.lifelessonsfrompickleball.com Order the book here: https://a.co/d/0a71i3Fq An uplifting collection of short reflections and life lessons inspired by our podcast conversations with people from around the world. Through stories of community, empowerment, and joy, the book offers inspiration both on and off the court. about community, empowerment, and joy through the game of pickleball. A portion of every purchase supports Operation PaddleLift™, a Global Pickleball Federation initiative providing paddles, balls, nets, and other essential pickleball equipment to underserved communities around the world. Contact us: www.lifelessonsfrompickleball@gmail.com Follow and watch: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557275391316 https://www.instagram.com/lifelessonsfrompickleball/ https://www.youtube.com/@LifeLessonsFromPickleballPod Music gifted to us by Ian Pedersen: @ianpedersen
