Marathon

Sunday, July 8, 2018 (Court Day #166)

Friday night, my summer softball team had its third game. We finally won one, making us 1-2 on the season. (The first game was close. The second game was a loss to a team that has been consistently wiping out their opponents and doesn’t belong in our league!) I scored from 2nd base late in the game, then scored again immediately after since I was a pinch runner for our pitcher who pulled a muscle. The ironic thing was that I mildly pulled my right calf muscle with the sprinting around the bases and sat out the last half inning. Today, two days later, my legs are sore from the hard running. I think I’ll sit out the softball game the night before the Pleasanton tournament next weekend!

Derby

I pulled up to Derby Park about 8:50 to set up. It would be a warm one, it was already almost 70° and it was sunny. Janet rode up and Wayne appeared. Both helped set up.

Getting ready to start play. George (far left), a man (white), Mara (pink), newbie Kate (blocked), newbie Christine (gray), Janet (black), Adrian (dark blue), Wayne (far right).

A new couple with thick Indian accents arrived just after 9 a.m. Rashesh and his wife (Lulita?). I taught them the basics and we played an instructional game with Marianne as Our fourth. Brennan offered to take over for me then played a game or two more with them. This gave me a chance to play in a regular game. Thanks, Brennan!

Eric and I played Kim and Cathy and took an 8-0 lead. They came back but we still won 11-9. We’ve come a long way from a year ago, when we would have had no chance.

Eric and I played David and Beth Black. Honestly, I can’t recall if we won or lost, but it was extremely close. A good game.

The courts all full. Brennan adjusting his shoes on the bench.

A man named Tony Gamboa and his son Anthony arrived mid-morning, visiting from Fresno. Fresno can easily get over 100°, so Santa Cruz being only in the 80s was no doubt a welcome relief for them. Tony is a strong player with consistently successful drop shots. He and I took on Brennan and Oleg and easily won 11-2. And teenager Anthony is a natural raw talent. If he sticks with it, he’ll be awesome. He already is better than half the club!

Anthony, Tony, Brennan, And Oleg play on the last court while Beth and David Black gather their things to head home with their dog.

Brennan, me, Anthony, and Tony. Notice the tan lines on my shins—trouble!

Tony said he’d heard that Santa Cruz is a great place for strong competition. He knows Chris Yoder and his wife Jennifer—the tennis pros—so I imagine that came from them. I asked Tony his skill level and he said he’s been playing in 4.0 and 4.5. I can see that!

It was nearly 3 p.m. by the time I left Derby. That’s the latest ever. Six hours from the time that I first arrived to the time that I left. I figured that I spent about 30 minutes of that time waiting between games, so 5.5 hours.

Round 2

Rob Aranda (firefighter) texted asking if I wanted to play tonight. Oy, I was at the courts six hours already today! But with my wife out of town and my kids off with friends, I was fairly free. I had things to do first, so got there shortly before 7 p.m. to find that Rob, Brennan, Josh, and Josh had just finished a game. (One Josh is the tall lefty former UCSC tennis player. The other Josh, a firefighter, is getting over a nasty hamstring pull.) We played until it got dark, a little after 8:30. Another hour and a half to tack onto the full day of pickleball.

Brennan smacked that ball into my shoulder and the chest, but later, I knocked off his glasses with a ball and broke off one side of them. I felt bad until he got them back together no worse for the wear. He got away from that one with only a tiny amount of blood on his nose from where the glasses pad had been.

The dynamic with Brennan is fun. There’s a knowing smile that we give each other after one of us manages to best the other in some crazy close volley exchange. Brennan has a good punch he uses at the net on the ball that imparts really good speed.  He’s one of the reasons that my play has improved in recent weeks. Hopefully, I’m returning the favor to some extent.

Aggregate

I’m pretty sure that I set a personal record today with 7 hours of solid play between the morning session and the evening session.

What did we learn? I’m getting better. My play is a mix of lame shots and occasional shots that would make a 5.0 happy at nationals. But the general trend is up.

I also learned that I need to apply more sunscreen! I burnt the back of my hands and the inside of my forearms. That’s what I get for being at Derby for six hours start to finish. I was more careful for Brommer later!

Monday, July 9, 2018

Today, the USAPA rolled out their new 4-digit rating system. I checked mine, of course. 3.580. I checked again late in the evening and the site was down. Ha! Too many people checking probably took the server down.

Oh, and I neglected sunscreen on my ankles with the shorter socks now that I’m not wearing the ankle brace . . . pink! Ow. And I missed a spot on my neck. Ow. I’m almost considering one of those wide brimmed hats like Brennan was sporting. Hmmm.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Last night, I received an email from the Pleasanton tournament saying they’d have the brackets done by 5 p.m. on Thursday. That will let Eric and I know when we have to leave Santa Cruz and approximately what time we might finish.

The USAPA sent out a notice to members today explaining/reiterating policies and expectations about the new rating system. They are trying to,stem the tide of questions and complaints about perceived discrepancies of ratings versus play level. It’ll take some time.

Eric and I met at 7 p.m. at his house and spent 90 minutes reviewing the two games that I recently recorded. (I suspect that makes us officially “diehard”!) We saw firsthand why it’s so emphasized to serve deep and return deep. It’s critical. Also, we both need to track better at the net to the close up the middle off the court. We lost a few points due to shots between us. In addition, not hitting balls that would otherwise go out. And me not hitting balls up from left to right when at the net in a volley rally—we lost a few points due to me popping up a ball that would get slammed down near Eric. Not good. We did have some very well executed point though too. Textbook points. Those were nice to see and be proud of.

Number of days on a court: 166
Number of total hours: 460.5

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