Thursday, March 7, 2024 (Court Day #632)
Today was the 4-hour Santa Cruz Pickleball Club Board “retreat” . . . basically, a long meeting, spanning from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with a brief lunch break. We covered a lot of ground, but there is a bunch of work to do. After our president, Mark Dettle, had some opening remarks, as Secretary, I launched into a review of the survey we sent out to our membership. The survey covered some biographical information about each respondent along with guidance for on how to prioritize our efforts. There’s no question that adding new courts is the priority. Another insight is that players would rather pay $2 for each outing than have a higher annual membership fee.
Backpack
My Engage backpack was delivered today while I was at the board meeting. I thought I’d asked for it to be shipped to my work, but instead it was delivered to the porch of my house. Later in the afternoon, my wife told me that it arrived, so it hadn’t been stolen. Fortunately, things getting stolen off of porches is uncommon in my neighborhood, but it does happen.
Skypark
The time change is coming this weekend and though I hate getting up an hour earlier, it’s going to be nice having more light in the evening. As I was driving to Skypark, while it was dark, there is still an inkling of light in the sky at 6:45 p.m. My car’s dashboard thermometer read 54°F. That’s not a big surprise, since we’re still in winter for another couple of weeks. Next week, also being an hour later, it’s also going be warmer later.
Last night, I went to a concert in downtown Santa Cruz. I parked at work and walked 10 to 15 blocks to performance location. About halfway through my trek, the interior of my right knee began to hurt a little bit. Tonight, it was mildly aching when had my right foot on the gas pedal or the brake. I’ve been wearing the knee brace at Ted gave me at nearly every pickleball play outing that I’ve had—with the exception of a couple outings.
I pulled up to the courts at 6:50 p.m. I found a place to park in the paved lot over in the corner although it wasn’t striped as an official spot. Nonetheless, I was happy that I didn’t have to drive around the neighborhood trying to find a place.
It was busy, but on the lighter end of attendance.
First Game
I got into a game right off the bat with Matt Babb and David with Casey as my partner. I told Casey that does it take me about three games to get warmed up. Casey smiled and announced to our opponents across the net, “Does anyone else want to play with Andrew?“ I busted up laughing.
As expected, I didn’t play that great and Casey and I lost by a significant margin. The second game was slightly better, but still bad on my part.
In the third game, it was Matt and me against Casey and his dad, Tim. That game I started to dial things in but Matt and I still lost 7-11.
I played a game with Mark Dettle against Mauricio and Diego. We took a quick lead but then Mark started missing shots. We ended up losing.
Overall, I was not happy with my play tonight. I was disappointed.
Maurcio and Diego
Mauricio had carpooled with Diego to Skypark, and when it came time for Mauricio to get home to his fiancé, he suggested to Diego that I could give Diego a ride home. I agreed.
After the lights went off, I drove Diego home which is about 2 to 3 minutes from my house, a mere few blocks away. The company was welcome, it kept my mind busy and not feeling depressed on my way home.
But after I dropped off Diego, that’s when the “play depression“ set in.
Bleh
Today was pretty miserable. Some examples of my play tonight:
- I hit the white tape at the top of the net at least 2-3 times.
- Maybe half a dozen of my drop shots ended up in the net.
- I had 2–3 overhead slams that I hit into my side of the net.
- With Matt as my partner, there is a lob where we both raced back where I had the forehand and defensively lobbed it back… right past my opponents baseline and out! Arg.
- I hit a few of my serves out.
- On either a third shot, or a fifth shot, I lobbed from the baseline (dumb), and it wasn’t nearly deep enough and Mauricio hit it hard, and my partner couldn’t get it back over the net as a result.
Friday, March 8, 2024. (No Play)
I made this morning was one of residual frustration. I want to play better than I am. Talking to Diego last night, he was very interested in drilling with me when I suggested that. He said that he’s not up early, so realistically, it probably have to be after work.
When I mentioned the shared tennis court behind Mauricio and Shay’s house, Diego told me that the court there is not in very good condition. When I asked for more information, he says it is not just that it’s cracked, it’s that the ground is even because tree roots are pushing the surface up. So, unfortunately, it’s a bad place to drill and play.
Engage Backpack
Boy, buying a backpack by mail is proving to be a drag. The Engage backpack is really well made. Heavy material. Some insulation in a few compartments. But… it has no hanging hook—I have to add a carabiner—and more of a concern, not enough small pockets. It has one small pocket. There are two long thin pockets on the sides, but if you want to organize keys, sunscreen, pens, starting server band, protective glasses, snack bars, and an assortment of other bits, then it’ll be a bit of a mess.
Number of days on a court: 632
Number of total hours: 2,739.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 17
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