Tuesday, April 26, 2022 (Court Day #488)

I took my Rogue 2 paddle to work with the intention of shipping it out to get the edging strip repaired.

I was able to get my brother to close at work so I was a Skypark a few minutes after 6 PM. A car left right before I arrived and I slid my car into that open parking spot, refilling the lot.

There were no tennis players as I walked in, but five courts were in use for pickleball.

I realized that I’d left my Rogue 2 paddle in my office at work. Drat. My older ProKennex paddle would have to do instead.

Lighter crowd, but it got busier.

Games

My first game of the night I was partnered with Scott against firefighter Matt, and Casey’s dad Tim. A more challenging game. Scott and I lost the game in definitive fashion. We switched sides and played again with the same teams with the same lopsided results. When we play the third game at my insistence, we also lost that game as well. Video of that last game:

I played a fairly clean game making only five errors most during most of it . . . though I made three in the final few minutes, including the losing point! I’m including the error as mine where Scott and I went for the same ball in the middle and I hit it into the net—Scott should have left that one for my forehand—but nonetheless, I hit it into the net.

Next!

We played another game, changing it up so it was Matt and me against Scott and Tim. This time around, I was on the winning side. Video:


My errors, in chronological order:

  • Hit a ball high, but Scott slammed it into the net. (Dodged a bullet.)
  • Low backhand drive into the net.
  • Took a forehand that should have gone to Matt and popped it up as an easy winner for Tim.
  • Hit a high ball into the net. (I should have dropped the shot.)
  • Returned Scott’s drop shot too deep past the baseline.
  • Returned an easy serve into the net.

Compared to my compatriots, I played a fairly clean game. But am I happy with it? No. I missed some easy shots.

Taking it Easy

I played a game with Carolyn, firefighter Matt’s wife, against Sharyl and Scott. Carolyn and I won the game although it was very close. I was kind of surprised. Carolyn played better than I was expecting . . . and after the game she said she was disappointed with how she played.

Tougher Games

Paul’s friend Aaron arrived and Aaron and I ended up in a game against TK and his friend David. TK has a killer fast—if not 100% reliable—serve. We lost the first game but won a second. (Aaron has only been playing four months, but is really starting to come along.)

TK got me on two “low to the backhand” serves. Low backhands still continue to be an issue after my shoulder surgery. I need to do the exercises that Casey recommended for that more often. It’s easy to forget.

Next up, TK asked his friend Chandler—she said she played with her husband at Brommer recently—to play against Aaron and me, that we were “pretty good”. Aaron and I won that one. David is farther along than Chandler, but Chandler is reasonably solid. I’d never met either of them before.

The lights clicked off at 9:30 p.m., a few minutes after our game ended and it was time to head out.

Connections

Chandler is from southern Oregon but has lots of family up in Yreka—near where my grandparents lived—less than an hour from the Oregon border. She figured that her grandfather was in my dad’s graduating class at Yreka High School in 1960. Small world!

Health

What I haven’t been mentioning is my shoulder continues to be sore. I’m about 18 months now past rotator cuff surgery, but it’s still worse off than before surgery. My PT Casey said that it can take up to two years of healing, so I’m still hopeful.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 (No Play)

I finally got my paddle shipped off to Players. Hopefully, I’ll get it back before my trip out of town that’s coming up.

Our stalwart FedEx Ground driver Isiahas taking my paddle box.

My right forearm is sorer than normal. As a matter of fact, typing hurts a bit. Not a ton, but slightly uncomfortable. Maybe that’s me using my ProKennex paddle instead of the Rogue 2. Time will indicate…


Number of days on a court: 488
Number of total hours: 2,297

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