What Is Situational Awareness?

The Four Phases of Situational Awareness

I would like to introduce you to how IT Guy Pickleball interprets the phases of Situational Awareness.

Perceive = Observe

Understand = Decide

Anticipate = Anticipate

Act = Execute

We observe what is happening, decide what it means, anticipate what is likely to happen next, and position ourselves to execute our response.

These phases are not separate activities that we complete one at a time. They are connected parts of a continuous cognitive process that repeats throughout every rally. As we gain experience, we begin moving between these phases more naturally, often without consciously thinking about each one.

Let's explore how they work together.

Observe — What Are We Looking For?

Observation is where Situational Awareness begins. To increase our awareness, we use a skill from our Tai Chi Pickleball toolkit called Probing. Probing is how we explore our opponents' games.

Probing shots are not attacking shots. They are well-positioned shots with a specific purpose: testing our opponents' abilities and observing how they respond. Rather than trying to win the rally immediately, we gather information that may help us recognize opportunities later.

Imagine you are engaged in a crosscourt dinking exchange. Your opponent comfortably returns several shots, so you place your next dink a little wider, forcing your opponent to move. Does your opponent move their feet and maintain balance, or do they reach with their paddle? Does their return remain controlled, or does the ball come back a little higher?

You have just learned something about how your opponent responds when moved away from a comfortable position. That's probing.

There are many things we can observe during a rally. We might notice our opponents' footwork, balance, shot preferences, paddle positions, and communication with their partners. We can observe how they respond to backhand shots or speed-ups, whether they protect the middle of the court, and how quickly they recover after being pulled out of position.

Not every observation reveals a weakness. Sometimes probing tells us that our opponent is particularly comfortable making certain shots. Knowing where not to attack can be just as important as knowing where to attack.

The objective is to gather information, not force an outcome.

Decide — What Does the Information Mean?

Once we have gathered information, we move into the decision phase of Situational Awareness. This is where we begin making sense of what we have observed.

During a rally, we continually break down what we have seen, heard, and felt into smaller pieces of information. Think of these as data chunks. We track when our opponents are vulnerable, off-balance, and attackable. We also recognize when they are comfortable, balanced, and consistently making good shots. Over time, these data chunks begin forming recognizable patterns.

Let's return to our dinking example. You notice that your opponent handles dinks near their body comfortably. However, when you place a dink toward the sideline, they sometimes reach instead of moving their feet. When they reach, their return frequently comes back higher.

These observations begin telling a story. You are developing an understanding of what causes your opponent difficulty and what opportunities might result.

Of course, recognizing a potential weakness doesn't mean attacking every ball. Your opponent may recover, produce an excellent return, or change how they respond. The decision phase helps us understand the possibilities without assuming we already know the outcome.

We are learning to recognize situations, not memorize shots.

Anticipate — What Is Likely to Happen Next?

Now that we have observed our opponents and begun understanding their patterns, we can anticipate what is likely to happen next. Anticipation is not guessing. It is using information to recognize possibilities before they become obvious.

Consider an opponent who repeatedly returns short balls when forced to move backward. You hit a deep shot and notice that opponent retreating. Based on earlier observations, you recognize that a shorter return is possible and prepare to move forward. When the ball leaves their paddle, its trajectory confirms where it is going, and you can move with confidence.

This is the thinking behind one of my favorite teaching expressions: "Beat the ball to the bounce!"

We want to recognize where the ball is likely to go and begin positioning ourselves before it bounces. The earlier we recognize the situation, the more time we have to prepare.

Execute — Turning Awareness Into Action

Observation, decision-making, and anticipation are useful only when they influence what we do. Execution is where we put that information to work.

Sometimes execution means attacking an opening. Other times it means making a controlled dink, resetting an incoming speed-up, or moving into better court position. The situation determines the response.

Remember the opponent who reaches for wide dinks? You have observed the pattern, understood what it means, and anticipated that another wide dink might produce a higher return. You place the ball wide, your opponent reaches, loses balance, and floats the return above the net.

Now you have an opportunity. You recognize that your opponent is vulnerable, move into position, and execute an attack. The attack was not the beginning of the process. It was the result of observing, understanding, and anticipating the situation.

But suppose your opponent makes an excellent return instead. Rather than forcing an attack, you adjust your response. That's Situational Awareness, too.

Good execution isn't always an aggressive shot. It's an appropriate response to what the game is providing.

Observe Again — The Continuous Loop

Situational Awareness is a continuous cognitive process. We observe, decide, anticipate, execute, and then observe again. Every shot creates a new situation that provides additional information.

When you move your opponent wide, their position changes. That movement may create an opening somewhere else on the court. When they return the ball, your own position may need to change as well. We continually adjust to what is happening, using each new observation to guide our next response.

Situational Awareness is not about predicting exactly what our opponents will do. It is about recognizing possibilities, preparing for them, and adapting when new information appears. A successful attack, an unsuccessful probe, or even a lost rally provides another opportunity to observe and learn.

The process continues.

Developing Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness improves with experience, especially when we know what to look for. During your next game, try concentrating on one aspect of your opponents' behavior. Perhaps you watch their footwork. Do they move into position or frequently reach for the ball? What happens to their returns when they become off-balance?

As you recognize patterns, notice whether they help you anticipate what comes next. You don't need to understand everything happening on the court at once. Start with one observation and gradually expand what you notice.

Over time, these observations become familiar. We develop mental representations that help us recognize situations more quickly and respond with less conscious effort. This is how experience becomes understanding.

And it is why I believe: "You can learn how to play pickleball by playing pickleball—if you know what to look for."

Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome

Situational Awareness requires our attention to remain on what is happening during the rally. When we become overly concerned with the score, a missed shot, or winning the next point, we can lose sight of the information the game is providing.

Instead, focus on the process. Observe what is happening, decide what it means, anticipate what may happen next, and execute your response. Then observe again.

Every rally provides another opportunity to recognize something, understand something, and learn something. Situational Awareness is not about making the perfect shot every time. It is about developing the ability to recognize what the game is telling us and responding appropriately.

Focus on the process, not the outcome. Accentuate the Positive—and you know the rest…

— IT GUY —