Thursday, August 8, 2024 (Court Day #698)
A bit more about the varsity high school pickleball program out in Maryland.
Rec Classes
As of this afternoon, I have five of the eight spots in my Intermediate class already booked by former students. That was fast.
Skypark
I arrived a little before 6:30 p.m. It was not nearly as busy as Tuesday and the court rotations were quite quick.
Alex and I played a couple of games against Spencer and Mo and won both. One was 13–12. Close game!
Spencer made a comment about my serves feeling “very heavy.” (That’s the topspin.) Mo said that I needed to teach her my serve. Of course, I hit my next serve into the net! It figures. Spencer said his timing was off tonight. Indeed, he returned two or three of my serves into the net. That’s very unlike him.
Playin’ wid the Boys
I played with Paul against Matt and a fellow named Brian. Brian’s a 3.0. He was unquestionably outclassed in this game. Leading 9-2, Paul and I decided to hit just to Matt. It was still a lopsided win for us. Matt and Paul are usually good for some humorous commentary! As a matter of fact, afterward, Brian said he enjoyed playing with us because we were laughing and having a good time.
Brian left and was replaced by Aaron H., who is part of Matt and Paul’s circle of friends. Paul and I played against Matt and Aaron. We won by a good margin.
We mixed it up and Aaron and I played together and held the the score closer, but still lost 8-11.
The third game was Matt and Aaron again against Paul and me—we won.
The most memorable shot for me for the evening was a really nice forehand roll volley is a ton of topspin that landed right at Aaron’s feet and spun forward between his legs for a winner.
Being a responsible guy, I took down two portable nets. Ofer did the finishing touches on the bin and locked it up as I headed out.
Afterward
I chatted with Jessie and Fabrizio in the parking lot after—DUPR, tournaments, tennis elbow… Jessie she said she had “wins and learning games.” No losses.
I like it. But then again, I want every game to be learning games.
I came home, had dinner, plopped into the hot tub, then iced my knee, and finally crawled into bed at 11:44 p.m.
Overall, I was reasonably happy with my play tonight. Where I need some work is handling drives from my opponents at the net. I think I just need better preparation with my paddle a little bit higher, though I’m not 100% sure. Spencer and Matt drove fairly short balls at me at the net and both resulted in winners for them. I’m not thrilled about that. It is something that needs to be fixed.
Tomorrow is our monthly board meeting. I’ll be playing again at Brommer in the morning.
Uncle Pickleball
While I was playing tonight, my uncle Jerry—who lives up near the Oregon border—texted me a couple of images…
Number of days on a court: 698
Number of total hours: 2,917.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 63.5
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