Sunday, March 26, 2023. (Court Day #586)

My sister-in-law texted my wife this morning and shared a featured article that appeared in the San Jose Mercury today. A pickleball advocate up in the Bay Area made it into the Alameda County “Hall of Fame.” Fun.

Here’s the article…

East Bay’s pickleball evangelist inducted into Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame

Play

It was very sunny this morning but it was in the low 40s when I left my house. Later, it climbed to perfect pickleball temperatures just under 60°. It was an absolutely beautiful day though it did get to be very windy by midday.

I got Derby Park early to set up. Barb G. and another player were already there. They helped set up.

The back of my right hand is still not feeling the best—especially with only one day of rest—so I played my first few games, left-handed. The additional intent was to make the games more balanced given the mix of average players.

Advanced Play

When 10 o’clock rolled around and I signed up in Advanced game, I switched to playing right handed. On came my forearm strap and wrist brace. (In addition to my right knee brace.) Playing right-handed doesn’t hurt except for hitting shots backhanded which were between somewhat painful to quite painful.

Today, I was playing poorly. I think drop shots into the net swimming, eyeballs into the net, being out of position on the court, just overall not playing the way I should be playing. (Hmmm. I think speech-to-text while in the car messed up that last sentence. You can use your imagination.) That’s been the case for the past week. I just haven’t really been playing very well. No doubt a a result of not getting to play with the rain but also taking a break and giving time for my hand to rest. It was embarrassing at times.

Later on, I got into some good games with Avery, Eric, Charles, and some others. It was 2:15 by the time I got into my car to head home.

Injuries

I’ve really got to give my hand a rest. And my right knee continues to act up. At the end of February, the PT doctor referred me back to the orthopedic surgeon for my knee. I’ve been biding my time hoping that it’ll just heal up—or get worse so surgery is no question. So far, it’s just nagging.

Number of days on a court: 586
Number of total hours: 2,594
Number of paid coaching hours: 2

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