Wednesday, March 13, 2019 (Court Day #245)
It was a beautiful day. I had let my staff know that I’d be coming in around noon to meet with a sales rep. But the morning was mine. I arrived at Derby Park at 9:10 a.m.
A somewhat active morning at Sgt. Derby Park. It topped out somewhere between 25-30 people—on the light side.
There were a couple of younger guys that I didn’t know. It turns out that they are both firefighters, one named Trevor. I’m guessing around 30 years old, give or take 5 years. I didn’t meet Trevor’s friend.
After my first game—Tom S. and I against Ted B. and Trevor, Ted said, “You made all your serves in!”
“Oh, that’s right, that’s good!”
“You only got to serve about three times,” added Ted. Ha! Well, still, a good start. Tom and I did lose and it certainly wasn’t all Tom’s fault either!
Big SCPC Announcement
Dave Allenbaugh stopped all the games and made an announcement. He said the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club is working on becoming a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and that should be complete in a few months. At that point, they are planning a $20 annual fee to be an official club member. (Right now, you sign up for the club emails and you are a de facto member.) Also, Dave announced, the City’s Parks & Rec Department has allocated $55,000 to redo the court surface—vegetation is starting to grow up through cracks—and will add two permanent pickleball courts in the process! They also are going to leave two City-owned portable nets at the courts. Some of us are concerned that these nets will be either stolen maybe even vandalized by tennis players. When Brommer added their four permanent pickleball courts, the support wire for one or two of the nets was repeatedly cut.
We went back to playing. The last few times out, my back has been really tired. With all the rain, it’s like going to back to my early days of pickleball where my body isn’t used to the leaning, crouching, squatting and gets fatigued and sore.
I checked my phone: 11:23 a.m. Time to hit the road. On my way out for the day, one of the two parks employees was posting a sign outside the gate.
“Attention park patrons:
On a trial basis, Sergeant Derby courts may now be used for tennis and/or pickleball on a first come, first served basis. Sunday and Wednesday pickleball reservations will still hold true, as demarcated on permanent signage. Additionally, the City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department has provided two portable pickleball nets here at Segreant Derby Park for public use. Any questions and/or concerns should be directed to…”
What did I learn today?
I did ok. People still have a certain awe when you can play with your off hand. Craig made the typical comment today, “I couldn’t play left handed.” I take that with a grain of salt. I think most people, with enough practice, could play left handed. It’s easier for some than others, of course. Some do it. Wayne will switch hands on occasion for a shot and did so today. So will little Barb.
I should practice at home. I still need to get more paddle control. I had some very nice shots along with some shots that were just completely wild. Even bouncing the ball up and down on my paddle would be helpful.
I still get massive amounts of satisfaction winning a net battle left handed. Granted, it’s typically against 3.0 players or maybe a weak 3.5, but nonetheless, it’s that thought of “yeaaaaaah”.
I’m missing tournaments. And I can’t sign up for any since I have no idea when my right arm will be better. And I’m not about to waste people’s time by signing up and playing left handed.
The good news is the weather report calls for clear skies at least through the weekend. This afternoon, Sharyl—the coordinator for Scotts Valley—sent out an email saying that they are back to free outdoor play for this week. Awesome. I think I may go.
Oh, a fellow named Doug—Hi, Doug!—joined my new forum and replied to a mass email I’d sent out to members. He stumbled across my blog while searching for online education and has been a regular reader since. See what happens when you don’t just share photos of your pets and your meals? People actually look at what post! LOL!
Number of days on a court: 245
Number of total hours: 675.5
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