Month: December 2017 (Page 4 of 4)

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 (Court Day #99)

I arrived at Derby Park at 8:55. I helped Dave Allenbaugh by setting up a net. Wayne set up one as well. It wasn’t warm, but it was sunny. I came with a sweatshirt, but it was after the first game.

There were three people I’d never met who appeared. Jennie, a man named Mike, and a man named Joel. Jennie said she’d played a few times already. While she was my partner in one game, she mentioned that she’d played tennis recently with her husband and the tennis court seemed clownishly big after getting used to a pickleball court. Jennie’s age is hard to determine, but I’d guess about 30. Mike is older, maybe late 50s. He was better than I was expecting—judging a book by it’s cover—but still not a particularly strong player, but not bad. Jennie is the stronger player. She could be really good once she develops a soft game.

Joel was the surprise. Tall, in his 60s. Spin, getting the ball over the net, etc. He’s got hard serves. I’m not used to them and returned one or two into the net. Frustrating. A formidable and worthy opponent.

I almost got an around-the-post from the right side today, but it was 2″-3″ wide of the court. So close.

I almost got an around-the-post from the left side today—with my left hand—but it was 2 feet wide of the court!

Today was a pretty good day. Not one that I want to erase!

Being that I manage a retail store and it’s 19 days to Christmas, I didn’t want to leave our understaffed picture framing department without me for too long, so I left early, 11:15 and I was off.

The general lesson for today is to not assume a point is over. Jennie dropped a ball right over the net while I was back. A relaxed pose for a winning point ensued. But I ran up, managed to just get to the ball and drop it back over for the true winner. Later, with Mike as my partner, he dropped a ball over the net and fell victim to Jennie playing my role who returned the short ball back over for the true winner.

Number of days on a court: 99

Number of total hours: 280

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.

Sunday, December 3, 2017 (Court Day #98)

It would be a colder one today. I checked the forecast. 46°.

I arrived at Derby Park about 20 minutes to 9. And man stopped me and asked if it was ok to park on the street for pickleball. I immediately recognized him—as he did me—Jeff is a regular customer at work, Lenz Arts. Yes, fine to park. I quizzed him a bit. This was his first visit to Derby (needed to sign the waiver) but, while new, he’d played a few times at Scotts Valley and Willowbrook.

I walked over and found wet courts. Ugh. This was my first time finding the courts this wet. (Later, I’d discover that Dave Allenbaugh sent out an email at 8:22 saying play was delayed until 10 a.m. It was probably good that I didn’t see that, it gave me time to prep the courts.)

Grita optimistically setting up a net on the partially shadowed side of the courts.

There were a fair number of puddles and general wetness. Jeff manned a big squeegee. I grabbed the blower. Janet arrived and soon she was using a towel from her car to help dry the courts. John P. arrived and dug out a foam roller that I didn’t know that we had. It was all hands on deck. The sun was helping, but it was slow going.

Robin and boyfriend Ray warm up on the dry spots as Janet towels down the court.

Eventually, a fourth was needed for the second functional court. “Go ahead, you’ve been at this a while,” offered John P. I thanked him and while he was dragging a towel around, I jumped into a game.

I wasn’t happy with my play most of the morning, though it gradually improved.

The last game of the day was Eric and me against James (former tennis pro) and Oleg (former Open tennis competitor). Eric wasn’t too sure at first, but as I told him, “This might be a quick game, but it’ll be a good challenge!” It was a bit more balanced than I was expecting. It was 0-0. Serve change. 0-0. Serve change 0-0. Serve change. 0-0. After a while, they won a point and went up 1-0. It was back and forth, with them earning just about every point. They did win in the end, 11-5 or something, but it was not an easy game for them. Some respect was earned or reinforced in that one, I believe.

Play finished up at 12:30. Eric, me, Oleg and his wife Olga headed to Mexican food. We talked pickleball, of course! Olga brought up the topic of tournaments. Eric expressed that he’s not too interested in them and would prefer to just play for fun. I announced, “But I want to play in a tournament! I’d like to meet other pickleball players and see how I’m doing compared to other players out there.”

Shoes

In one game, mid morning, my foot slipped sideways. At that point, the courts were visibly dry, so it wasn’t an overly slippery surface. My shoes have been nearing the end of their lifespan since I already knew the tread was very worn. You can see for yourself that it’s time:

What’s further interesting to me is that the left foot is more worn than the right. It seems I’m harder on my left shoe than my right.

Number of days on a court: 98

Number of total hours: 278

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.

Thursday, November 30, 2017 (Court Day #97)

I slipped out from work at 5:55 p.m., raced home, ate a snack, then out to Skypark in Scotts Valley just before 6:30 p.m. The parking lot was fairly full but I parked in an overflow spot along the fenced off flowerbed. A lot of tennis people were there tonight. Usually, it’s only 2-4, but it was 6-8 tonight. But there was some dinking going on at the far end. Surprise! I wasn’t the single odd man out! I was the fourth on only court in use. I joined Mark Dettle (a SV site coordinator), Kris, and little Marie. (The other Marie and her husband Mark who were regulars only play in Palo Alto these days.)

I realized that in my haste to the courts, I neglected to take any Advil. I usually take two to relax the muscles and ward off any pain. Boy. My back was feeling it. And my hip. And my knee. But mostly my back.

Jerry Louis appeared for a bit and played a few games. He’s got such placement accuracy. You have to be on your toes not to get walloped.

Rolando is coming along. He has a little bit of a soft game now and is quite good at getting the ball back over the net. Plus he’s a really nice guy. I almost wonder if Rolando would make a good tournament partner if Eric continues to be not super interested in traveling to tournaments. We’ll see.

Larry served an ace against me. What’s funny is that my own earlier serve just like it was about two inches wide (fault). Later, he got his in! It was good for a laugh!

Attendance topped out at just 14 people. It was a dark and chilly December evening.

Oleg and his wife Olga showed up a little later on, maybe around 7:30 or 8 p.m. My last two games were Olga and me against Oleg and Terry (Laura’s husband). Olga and I made the first game a challenge though we lost in the end. We got clobbered in the second and last game of the evening.

After the last game wrapped up, I checked the time. 9:01 p.m. Oleg said, “It’s in the 40s right now.” I could see my breath. I checked the weather app on my phone. 45°F. Yep. Maybe the cold was part of the reason my body was an assortment of aches and pains!

My play was subpar tonight. This was one outing that I’d like erase!

Number of days on a court: 97
Number of total hours: 274.5

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.