Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Court Day #436)

I was at Derby Park at 8:45 a.m. to set up. Two newish players I didn’t know were on a court with a city net teaching two first-timers—whom I also didn’t know—how play. Board member Dan Bliss was there early to take photos of the courts, but didn’t stay much after my arrival. I had those four new players sign the club release.

Patches

Today was my first time seeing the crack patches that were done midweek. It’s what I would consider a pretty rough job. The court nearest the gate is missing it’s centerline dividing the two service courts on one side of the net—the crack had been right there. Still, it’s better than grass growing up through the cracks!

Emily

My first game was with John P., his wife Diane, and their visiting daughter Emily. I played the game left handed and took it easy. Emily is obviously a rookie, but she had her moments of receiving “nice shot” compliments and also did a reasonable job of keeping the ball from popping up.

John P. was playing a two-handed lefty game. He has unfortunately developed tennis elbow—which I can empathize with far too much!—so he’s switched paddle hands. He’s using his right had just for control and support. John was still serving right-handed though. Diane said John is being careful . . . after watching what I went through for two years, he doesn’t want to aggravate it like I did.

I got into a game with Eric S. and John P. with Tom B. as my partner. Tom and I were not having the best of games. Tom left between points, crossing another court, and came back with a different paddle. I kidded, “Are you are you don’t want to change your partner too?” “No way!”, came back Tom’s quick reply. Nice to hear! We did lose, but it was a fun game.

Toy Drive

Leslie, our official club venue coordinator, appeared mid-morning to announce the toy drive which had gone out to paying club members via email this past week. A woman had kindly made up a sign which hung outside the gate to encourage people to participate.

Leslie mentioned that the patches are a temporary fix and that the courts really need to be completely resurfaced by the city and suggested that might happen next year.

Take it Easy

As John’s daughter Emily left with her parents, she said with a smile, “Thanks for taking it easy on me. I can see how you are playing now.” I was in a game with Eric S., Ted, and Tom B.—we weren’t holding back in that game!

Lesson

This is an old lesson. You serve and it leads to a long 25 hit rally. It’s a battle. Quick volleys at the net, a couple of lobs, resets, an ATP that is blocked and kept in play. Back and forth. Finally, they make a risky but winning shot. You feel good about your play even though you lost the rally. But . . . the impact on the game is exactly the same as you having missed your serve. I missed far too many serves today. Maybe a dozen. After Tom and I lost a game to Eric and Ted, I made a conscious effort to get my serves in and it made a big positive difference. Imagine that.

Monday, November 22, 2021 (No Play)

Yesterday afternoon, the outside of my right knee was sore. There was mild pain when moving it. Nothing major, fortunately. I suspect it’ll be fine in a day or two.

And my tennis elbow is acting up a bit. It seems to be there, kind of like a shadow—it’s there pretty much all the time, but it comes and goes in intensity. Lately, it goes from mild nag to non-existent. Maybe it’ll just be like that going forward. I hope it doesn’t just suddenly get worse.

Number of days on a court: 436
Number of total hours: 2,142.5

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