Month: February 2020 (Page 1 of 4)

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 (Court Day #342)

I arrived at Derby Park at 9:08. It already felt somewhat warm. It was going to be a beautiful day.

I played pretty well today. I still had my moments of moments of messing up but overall I played well. I was scraping low shots, and getting quick shots back over the net.

For example, Mel and I lead for most of the game against tournament partners Barb S. and John P. It was a fun match, though they went on a 5 point run and beat us. Mel wasn’t playing her best today and was the weak link of our team for this one.

Number of days on a court: 342
Number of total hours: 965

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Sunday, February 23, 2020 (Court Day #341)

I got to Derby Park at 10 minutes to 9. It was going to be a very nice day, if a little breezy later.

My first game was Joe and me against Binh and Stuart. Before the game, Joe wanted to change up the teams. I told him, “Playing against strong players makes you better. I’d rather lose than play against a weak team.” He replied, “But it’s nice to have a chance to win.” I responded, “I think we have a better chance than you think.”

Then we launched into one of the longest games I’ve ever played. It was a minimum of 30 minutes and perhaps even as long as 40 minutes! It was a good battle. Joe and I won a narrow victory. Afterward, I poked Joe in the chest with my paddle handle and told him, “See? What did I tell you?”

I was playing very, very well today. (For left-handed, of course. It still wasn’t near as good as my right hand.)

There was a first time player named Judy who came. I explained the game, then she and I bounced a ball back and fourth outside of the courts. She had very good hand-eye coordination.

I arranged for a game with her, Allan, Gary (82), and me. Judy wasn’t quite as good in a real game. We played a second game and she was a little better. There’s promise there though, just a ways to go yet.

My coworker Alain came again. This was his second Sunday and his third time out after having played on Thursday night too. He brought a friend, a guy named Jake from Los Gatos. I didn’t play with Alain or his friend today. It’s just the way the court sign up board worked out.

As the last game wrapped up, it was 2 minutes to 1:00 p.m.

Number of days on a court: 341
Number of total hours: 962

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Thursday, February 20, 2020 (Court Day #340)

I got to Skypark at 7:15 p.m. Sometimes I can escape from work quickly and sometimes, not so much!

I played a number of games, some good some bad.

My co-worker Alain came to play again after his first outing on Sunday. He had his brand new paddle in tow.

Teenager Tristan is getting better and better. He’s got some speedy serves. In my first game of the evening, it was against Cal and Tristan. A strong pair. I believe Mike (southern accent) was my partner. I was unable to return Tristan’s first three serves. At one point in the game, I pointed to Tristan and smilingly challenged, “Some day, I’ll be back to playing right-handed and I’ll be coming for you!”

I think I lost every game, but two. I generally picked the weakest player of the foursome as my partner, leaving us to face the best two. I want to improve, even if it’s playing lefty. Sometimes that means entering a game knowing you have virtually no chance to win.

The last of us left 8:45. People just aren’t staying late like during summer. I can’t play if there is no one left to play against!

Number of days on a court: 340
Number of total hours: 958

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