Monday, July 13, 2020 (Court Day #358)
I arrived at Brommer Park just before 9. It was overcast. Only two courts were in use with two doubles games going on . . . Dave Cox and Chris playing Lara and Josh on the near court and Dave Black and Kent taking on Kevin and Tony on the far court. I took a seat and waited a few minutes for others to show up. Later, a temporary net was set up on the dual-lined tennis court.
A couple of guys appeared a little while into the session, Peter and Scott. Based on snippets of conversation around me, they had been at Brommer in the past week and they play at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto normally. They are pretty good players, probably on par with David Black and Kent.
One funny moment was when Binh and I were playing Dave Cox and Tristan. While we were facing each other with me on the right side of the court, Tristan slammed a high ball at me and I returned it, and he slammed it again and I returned it, and he slammed it again and I lobbed it over Dave deep for a winner. Dave turned to Tristan and said, “He is embarrassing you!” Poor Andrew playing left-handed, returning multiple slams from the young protege! But I didn’t really embarrass Tristan is still only 16. If he focuses and takes his game seriously and sticks with it, he can become really, really good. He’s already one of the better players around.
12:06. Time to go. I had an important 1 p.m. business conference call.
Later, an email notification showed that USPS had tried to deliver my new paddle at work—which was closed. Tomorrow, tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 (No Play)
My new Players Pickleball Rogue2 paddle arrived today! I like the cut of the paddle above the handle. With the ProKennex, my finger gets sore resting on the lower edge of the paddle face. The Rogue2 has lots of finger room. It’s about 1/2″ longer than a Tempest Wave paddle and about 1/4″ narrower on each side. (There’s a formula . . . the longer you make your paddle, the narrower it has to be.)
Thursday, July 16, 2020 (No Play)
I renewed my USAPA membership last night. It would have expired in a couple of days. They send three free Franklin X balls with renewal, so what the heck.
This morning, my tennis elbow is flaring up. Putting my right arm out straight, palm down, then raising my hand at the wrist as far as I can go is painful at the classic tennis elbow area on the top of the forearm near the elbow. So frustrating. Will I ever play right-handed again? It’s really depressing, honestly. Last night, I didn’t ice my elbow. The cooling packs were both on my right knee. I guess I’m falling apart.
I drilled with Alain after work last night. All lefty. I’d receive the ball, bounce it once on my paddle (control), then hit the ball back to Alain who bounced the ball once on his paddle, etc. Repeat. 10 minutes. Hit, bounce, hit bounce, hit…
My birthday is this month and my parents asked for some present suggestions. I sent them a list of some things . . .
– Rolls of handle grip tape
– Lead tape for paddle edge
– Elbow compression sleeve
– Paddle cover (on sale, $10)
My dad later said it was short of the amount for free shipping and asked for more things to buy for me! Ok!
– USAPA Cap (on sale, $11)
– Some DuraFast 40 balls (6 for $20)
Yet, part of me is thinking, what if this elbow thing just goes on forever? Part of me just wants to quit and find a new activity without the frustration.
Friday, July 17, 2020 (No Play)
Leslie sent out a notice to all the club site coordinators today reminding us all that we are not allowed to unlock the club lockboxes at the courts and bring out any supplies. Players have to use only their own nets, balls, etc. since there is no official sponsored club play right now.
I’m thinking I may take this weekend off from playing. My right knee is still bugging me—I iced it again last night—I should probably give it a rest. Plus I have plenty to do at home. We’ll see. Maybe my desire to try out my new paddle will get the best of me!
John P. called me this afternoon to convince me to try his PT who works out of her own house. I’ve got nothing to lose but time and money, right? And if she can fix my elbow, it’ll be worth every penny. I’m not optimistic, she’d be my fourth PT. He’s trying to connect us.
While I’m winding down for sleep and lying here with ice packs strapped to my right knee, I watched this video. Interesting. It’s kind of fun seeing people you met on video. I talked to Ben Johns and got his signature on my paddle a couple of years ago at a tournament here in Northern California. He was a good-spirited guy. Anyway, backhand roll…
Ok, here’s another video. However, this one—no offense to Kevin Walker who could easily kick my butt on a court—is entirely misnamed and should instead be called “Ball Hog Gets Himself into Trouble”! This is him basically telling his partner that he thinks she is entirely incompetent—or he simply played like this as an intentional joke. Dunno.
Getting the free Franklin balls via the USAPA renewal was a bit tricky. It turned out to be extra unexpected steps. I went to Franklin’s website, entered in my email address and membership number and thought that was it. But I was searching in my Spam folder for an email a few days later when I just happened to notice an email from the USAPA! It was a code and a link to follow to go to the Franklin website for a second time to really, truly, actually, order the free balls included with my membership renewal! Boy. I wonder how many people are going to miss out like I almost did!
Saturday, July 18, 2020 (No Play)
Binh texted me this afternoon and said there would be play at Derby at 9AM. I told him I’d see how my knee would feel. Unless it’s great, as much as I’d like to play, I’m going to give it a break for the weekend.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020 (No Play)
Ok. I’m really tired of this COVID-19 stuff. It’s such a headache. I’m not talking the masks, etc. I’m talking staffing—quarantines, freaked out employees, scheduling with not enough staff, a lack of applicants for vacant positions. I’m so ready for this to be over.
Today, the USAPA announced a new logo. That’s why the USAPA caps were on sale at Pickleball Central. Ah, makes sense now.
I’m continuing to ice my right knee every night. My tennis elbow is acting up. At times it feels like a charlie horse in my right forearm. It might have been the digging I was doing in our front over the weekend—shoveling out tree roots, turning soil over, and digging out some very stubborn plants.
Thursday, July 23, 2020 (No Play)
The complementary balls from Franklin for renewing my USAPA membership was delivered to my work via UPS today.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020 (No Play)
After work on Friday and Saturday, Alain and I did 10 minutes of drilling . . . basically hitting a ball back and forth trying not to knock anything over in the aisles!
My knee has been continuing to bother me. I tried to make an appointment with my doctor and I thought I had one scheduled—they weren’t sure if it was a remote-only slot—but they messaged me back saying my doctor didn’t have any openings this week.
Sunday, August 9, 2020 (No Play)
I had a doctor visit earlier this week on Tuesday, August 3. My GP said he thought that my knee might be a partial torn meniscus and to give it a few months to heal. With the specter of COVID-19 still looming, that’s not a big deal for me. I can wait.
Number of days on a court: 358
Number of total hours: 1,011.5
To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.
Leave a Reply