Thursday, January 27, 2022 (Court Day #461)

On the USAP Ambassador’s email chat group, there was some discussion the USTA (tennis) and their restrictions regarding tennis tournaments. After some discussion, it turns out the USTA umbrella organization does not have prohibition on pickleball lines on a tennis court for tournaments, however, it does allow a section (region) to have their own prohibitions. A couple of USAP representatives have been meeting with the USTA reps to see if they can come to some agreement universally allowing dual marking of courts.

Skypark

I left work a few minutes before closing and was at Skypark by 6:15 p.m. Kristin L. commented, “You are here early!” Due to tennis players (there were six in the complex and two waiting on a bench outside), we were only using the permanent pickleball courts.

Lights

All the lights were fixed, but I initially, I didn’t think so. One court was dark enough that I thought the light wasn’t on. I don’t know if they used a wrong ballast or if the light was partially broken or what. Regardless, people were avoiding that court and would rather play with a well-lit court with dual-striping and a temporary net . . . under normal circumstances, permanent courts are prized!

First Games

My first game was against David (of Aptos, we common family friends) and a man I didn’t know and I had a partner I’d never seen before. We were on the “lit, but dark” permanent court. I had no warm up—usually, not a big deal—and was playing incredibly badly. It was so frustrating. Normally, I can make up for a partner’s subpar play. Not these two games. The first game I lost 11-3 and the second—with a man named Jim against his wife Hillary and regular Wendy—we lost 11-0. Brilliant, right?

New Guys

A couple 30-ish guys showed up. One was named Sam. They said they came on a Wednesday and there were no pickleball players at the courts. I told them that players regularly come on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I wasn’t playing my best tonight. I got better as the evening went on, but nothing to write home about. I try not to fret too much about bad play outings. I feel I’m progressing overall. There will be dips in performance. It happens.

Hit to the deep player

Vince Lombardi, the famous Green Bay Packers football coach, used to assign grades to the performance of a player on a particular play. If you did your job, you got a “0”. If you blew your assignment, you got a “-2”. There was a Championship game where a Packers defender disregarded his assignment, and forced the pressured quarterback to throw an interception ending the game and giving the Packers a championship. Lombardi gave that defender a “-2” on the play.

Why did I tell that story? With Tim back and Casey forward, Paul (near the net) drove the ball at Casey. Casey, not expecting the shot, mishandled it and we won the rally. I mentally gave Paul a “-2”. I didn’t tell him that though. But I did tell him that it’s best practice to hit to the player who is back to keep him back. Paul listened and the next time around, he hit to Tim who was back and after the rally, turned to me and said, “Like that?” Yes, Paul, perfect, like that. You get a “0”.

It’s a wrap

At 8:45 p.m., Tim was done and, hence, my play was done. Tim said he had played three hours this morning. Paul jumped onto a court with three stragglers, they were the last active game. As I was talking to Tim and his son Casey when we were done playing, as I shifted my weight, I realized that I had what felt like a blister on my right foot. Sigh. New shoes. But it doesn’t bother me, so it’s fine.

What did I learn?

There is success to be had being patient. In the last couple of games with Paul against Tim and Casey, I decided to hold off and only attack if I could hit down . . . not across, and not up. It was a successful strategy.

Arm

I iced my right arm when I got home. It seems to be getting a bit better.


Friday, January 28, 2022 (No Play)

There was a PPA tournament, the Carvana Desert Ridge Open in Arizona. The big news was famous Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps as well as famous NFL receiver Larry Fitzgerald would be playing exhibition matches at the venue.

I tracked down video of the event:

It’s pretty obvious that Michael has very little pickleball skill and didn’t really know the rules. Larry, on the other hand, played ok. Maybe a 3.0 level. It’s entertaining just because they are famous people. Beyond the first few minutes, it’s entertaining like gawking at a fender bender.


Number of days on a court: 461
Number of total hours: 2,215.5

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