Tuesday, August 27, 2024 (Court Day #707)

It had been a warm day but started a cool down as it approached evening.

One of my staff agreed to close up our family business so I can leave early for pickleball. As I drove to Scotts Valley, I was sporting a mild headache, but I didn’t think of it once I was on the courts.

As I was driving along the freeway, I noticed that my gas light was on. I looked over to the readout on my dashboard and it read that I had “0” miles left before running out of gas! Arg! (My morning commune is a whopping 2-3 miles, so I don’t often bother to check my gas level.) As soon as I got into Scotts Valley, I stopped at the gas station and filled up. The stop might have cost me one game. (That’s what one thinks about, right?)

Skypark

I arrived at Skypark around 6:05 p.m. Not all the courts were set up yet. I got into a game fairly quickly against Scott (Jeff’s brother) and tall John. Alex was my partner and we won—not a huge surprise. Tapping paddles at the net, Alex said, “That was all Andrew.” But I told him, “No. You played well.” He did.

I got into game after game with Mauricio as my partner against David who had different partners for just about each game. David partnered with Francis, a shorter older guy named James, and someone else I’m forgetting. Those were fun. I was playing well and David is always a challenge.

The last game was the best game. It was Mauricio and myself against David and Mike, the guy who is retiring at the end of the year. We were ahead 8–5, David went on a tear and they went ahead 10-8. Mauricio and I then scored 2 points and tied the game at 10–10. They went on to score 2 more points and win 12–10. Fun stuff.

We’re just enough time to tap paddles then walk over and start taking down portable nets before the lights clicked off a minute or two after 8:30 p.m.

Tonight, I went home happy. I climbed out of my slump and played well. Finally.

Wednesday, August 28, 2024 (No Play)

Pickleball continues to get notoriety. Actor Jamie Foxx was in the news recently for his pickleball parties…

Hollywood’s Most In-Demand Pickleball Game
Jamie Foxx’s three-court compound has become a prime invite: “It starts at 3 p.m. and the next thing you know, you’re dancing and it’s 11 p.m.”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/los-angeles-in-demand-pickleball-game-1235979117

Tennis Pros Play Pickleball

Active top tennis players Alcaraz, Fritz, Wozniacki and Rybakina played pickleball in a short demonstration game with retired great Andre Agassi:
https://www.tennis.com/baseline/articles/carlos-alcaraz-showed-off-his-pickleball-chops-would-you-have-guessed-he-looked-like-a-natural

Number of days on a court: 707
Number of total hours: 2,935.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 69.5

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