Month: November 2021 (Page 2 of 4)

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.

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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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Tuesday, November 16, 2021 (Court Day #435)

It was a chilly and dark night. That was evident as I drove into the Skypark lot and there were a few spots open. One temporary net was up and it was only so because one court light is out—or generally out—leaving a dark and hence unpopular permanent court. Attendance was on the light side.

I spent the evening playing good game after good game. It was a lot of fun. Mike B., Rob A., plus Larry Y. proved to be a worthy, if inconsistent, opponent—he’d whip a rocket to end on rally then slice a ball long or into the net to end another. Overall, he’s getting better and better and better.

Unfortunately, Mike B. was done for the night by 8:45, two hours after I arrived. He said he’d played three hours that morning and was exhausted. I was hoping to play until the lights clicked off at 9:30, but alas, that was not to be.

Mistakes

I played pretty well, I was overall pleased with my play. My biggest issue was hitting dropshots high enough to get attacked. Also, a few of my lobs were too shallow and were easy pickings for a slam.

Arm

When I got home, I iced my arm. It’s holding in there, chronically very mildly sore, and only noticeable at certain times.

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Friday, November 19, 2021 (No Play)

Last night was a family birthday party for my mom, whose birthday is this month, so no Skypark for me last night.

There’s a bit of drama going on with USAPA Ambassadors that’s going back and forth online. The USAPA is requiring background checks for their ambassadors and this process has begun. I have zero problem with this. I don’t want someone with a violent criminal past or someone who has preyed on children to be an ambassador. I think that’s reasonable. And obviously, there is legal liability to the USAPA for volunteers who represent the association. If an ambassador attacks a child, the association could easily be sued. But some ambassadors feel it’s an invasion of their privacy and are resigning. I suspect most are fine with it, but you have loud few complaining. I’m curious to see what percentage don’t submit to the background check. I bet it’s less than 10%. Maybe less than 5%.

Number of days on a court: 435
Number of total hours: 2,138.5

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

Sunday, November 14, 2021 (Court Day #434)

As I drove to Derby Park to open and set up, my right arm was acting up a bit with certain motions on the steering wheel—it’s slightly sore. But not enough to keep me from playing mostly comfortably right-handed today, As I walked in at 8:45, Maia was there hitting a ball back and forth with an older man that I don’t know.

It was already sunny and it was a warm day that other players commented on the heat. We are so spoiled. It’s in the 70s and we’re complaining about it being hot in the middle of November!

Once 10 a.m. rolled around and players were signing up in skill-based colors, I was signing up in red (advanced) mostly with Eric S., Ted B., and Rick.

Ted commented that I was playing really well. He again later praised my net play.

Kids

I looked over to a court near the end and Allan K. was playing with a number of boys, I’d guess between 8 and 10 years old. It brought up an interesting dilemma, that is, they are too young to legally sign the release that the club requires to play during their time (time which is an agreement with the city) and the boys had no legal guardian with them. We want to be welcoming and grow the sport, but the trick is, what if they got seriously hurt? Who do we call after an ambulance? We’d have no one to contact. This will need to be addressed by the SCPC board.

Matt and Sara

The new taller guy with the gray mustache, Matt, was back. This time, he brought his college-aged daughter, Sara. Sara goes to Sacramento State and plays on their D1 soccer team. She’s also a Biology major with medical school aspirations—just a few years behind my own Biology/PreMed-track daughter Charlotte. Med school is super competitive. Charlotte was telling me she applied to school with 190 openings but a whopping 17,000 applications! Sara did ok. Natural athletic ability.

Net Time

Shortly after 12:30, I started taking down nets. Three were on vacant courts. Eric and Ted helped. This new group of players aren’t stepping up to chip in. Old hands are more altruistic and ask to take down nets at the end of the session.

After stowing the club nets, I got talked into another few games and it wasn’t until almost 2 p.m. before I left. A big chunk of my day at the pickleball court!

Mistakes

I think my most chronic error today—and it was only once or twice an hour—was hitting service returns too long. And I’ve mentioned this before, but a slice service return needs to be a full and no-holds-barred commitment, otherwise . . . out the ball goes!

Arm

When I got home, I could feel my arm. It’s a combination of soreness on the inside of my elbow and a little of my tennis elbow. A few hours later, I iced my arm—one cooling pack on the outside of my arm, another on the inside.

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Monday, November 15, 2021 (No Play)

My right arm is experiencing more pain on the inside of my elbow than the outside or the top of my forearm. Unexpected, but better than a relapse of intense forearm pain.

One question puzzling me is, am I as good a player as pre-arm problems or am I now starting to exceed where I was two years ago? Or am I still working back up to my prior skill level? My sense is I may be about back to where I was. Better? Hard to say. I do have some new weapons . . . such as an overhead shot lefty or an even more solid lefty dink for those crosscourt dinks. I guess if I ever get the yips right-handed, I can switch to left. But better righty? Not sure yet.

Number of days on a court: 434
Number of total hours: 2,136.5

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