Friday, July 22, 2022 (Court Day #521)
I didn’t play at Skypark on my regular Thursday night. Instead I was in a remote parking lot on the UCSC campus attending bagpipe band practice for the first time in 15 years.
Brommer Park was gearing up when I arrived at 9:01 a.m. under overcast skies. The clouds would burn off mid-morning, revealing a really nice day.
So, “collapse” the this entry title is a strong word. I was in a game with Ms. J. as my partner against Dan and George—an advanced group. Boy. The first half of the game was miserable. I made a dink into the net, I hit two shots past the baseline, I popped up a dink that Dan easily put away. My team was down significantly in short order. It was embarrassing. But it did get better. I tightened up my game and we tied up the score. They did go on to win, but at least we made a game of it. I can’t let games get into my head.
Taking Things Seriously
Allan K. was very serious this morning. And he got annoyed with me . . . our opponents (Mark D. and Martijn) were back near the baseline I was attempting a fake as if I was going to hit hard but instead I hit the ball softly—but not softly enough and Mark was able to get to the ball to return it plus I invited our opponents up to the net in the process. Bad all around. “You should have just put it away.” And later, “The middle of a game is not time to be fooling around.” Well, the shot worked great in a tournament years ago . . . but it had been bouncing high at the net, not bouncing high at mid-court. It was definitely a misjudgement by me. Everyone approaches rec play differently. For me—sure I like to win—but I much prefer getting better. I’d rather lose dramatically and learn something than to win and learn nothing.
And Out
I had to get to work and I left about 12:15. I wasn’t thrilled with my play today, but I wasn’t completely disappointed either.
Number of days on a court: 521
Number of total hours: 2,399.5
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