Still Gaining at Skypark

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 (Court Day #639)

I realized that while out walking our younger corgi, Pepper, that I could take the USA Pickleball player rules test again on my phone at the same time or simultaneously, if you prefer! Sooner or later, I’ll get every question right. But this time, I got 88%. Invariably, there is one that I read incorrectly, plus others that are specific to tournaments such as technical warnings, how long before no-shows are forfeited, etc.

Coaching Validation!

One of my current students, Susana, came into my work today as a customer. She said that she just got back from Panama this morning so that’s why she missed the first class on Sunday. But her husband did attend. She said that the two of them had taken another class from one (non-Rec) instructor and a single private lesson from another coach, but her husband told her that I was “amazing”. She also commented on the long email with information I had sent out about where to get paddles and appropriate shoes locally, some videos on scoring, information about the local pickleball club, etc. Susana said none of their prior coaches had done that. My goal is to give my students an experience that I’d like to have myself.

Skypark

As I drove to Skypark, I had two concerns. Immediate one was where I would be forced to park. The second one was whether I could start fast or would it take me a number of games to dial in my play. I’ve been playing better the last week, so I hope that I can gear up quickly.

Arrived a few minutes before 7 p.m. and apparently recently someone just left because there was a parking spot right next to the wooden fence which I quickly gobbled up.

Once on the course, someone had the sign-up board hung on the chain link fence which is really good because it was needed!

It was a comfortable night. You couldn’t see your breath at all. And it was very busy. I was talking to Paul W. and he said he counted 20 people waiting and with 32 on the courts—that’s 52 people out playing tonight. Yes, Pickleball continues to grow! There is at least a dozen students there from UCSC and some of them were from a Christian club on campus.

I was playing very well. During one game when we were partnered together, Lester complimented me, “Maybe I should take your class!”

I feel like I’m continuing to play better and better. I will say that tonight I didn’t get to play against a full complement of good players. Nonetheless, there were shots that I got, where I kind of amazed myself. Aside from one game towards the end of the evening, I felt I played pretty well.

Even though I wasn’t hungry at all, I ate a protein bar right after closing time at work. I think I really helped me out as I had more energy through the session and wasn’t dragging at the end.

I missed two of my serves tonight, one was the hair long, and for the other one the receiver’s partner was dancing around at the kitchen line. It’s kind of silly, but I proved to be enough of distraction that I hit the ball into the net.

I walked off the court after my last game, and I asked one of the UCSC students who was sitting on the bench and looking at his phone what time it was. He told me “9:30”. I didn’t believe him. It didn’t seem anything like 9:30. I would’ve figured between 8:30 and 8:45, but he showed me a phone. Sure enough, it was indeed 9:30 p.m.! While it wasn’t technically my responsibility, I immediately got to work putting away some of the unused portable nets. I got the nets stowed and locked up the bin then said my goodbyes and headed home.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024 (No Play)

So this image popped up on in my YouTube suggested videos:

With “pickleball” in the description, I had to watch the entire interview, linked here:

While they did touch on pickleball briefly in the interview, there was no reference to his “love of pickleball”. There is this note on the video however:
“NOTE: A portion of this video has been trimmed due to broadcast rights.”

Mystery Person

My daughter doesn’t like me to post anything about her on social media. I won’t tell you who this person is, but she listed “pickleball” as part of her hobbies…

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Thursday, March 21, 2024 (No Play)

I went ahead and ordered a Klitch shoe clip today. $14.99 with free shipping. It’ll allow me to clip my shoes to my backpack instead of having to carry them separately . . . much more convenient!

Number of days on a court: 639
Number of total hours: 2,758
Number of paid coaching hours: 24.5

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