Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (Court Day #714)

Last night, this popped up as an ad on social media. Just in time for football season. Faux NFL pickleball T-shirts. Clever. I’m almost tempted.

And, Jay, my bagpiping mentor sent me this today:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/850994960544462
Yes, another humorous video short poking fun at pickleball! (And, no, that is not the guy who really invented pickleball!)

Skypark

Arrived at the Skypark Courts at about 6:50 p.m., fortunately a car was pulling out of a parking spot just as I was passing through the lot. It was a busy night and I would’ve had to park down the street and around the corner.

There was a new sign on the pickleball gate entrance that private lessons are only allowed with permission from the City of Scotts Valley. It looked like someone missed the sign tonight since a court in the corner was reserved until 7:30 p.m. and a lesson was going on there. The crowd of players made do with the seven remaining courts.

Tonight, every game I played had at least one weak player. All games were still entertaining and fun, but not necessarily the most challenging. Rallies were generally short, though there were occasionally longer ones.

Crowd Pleaser

My “shot of the night” was a miss in the first game. My partner and I were lobbed deep down the middle. I sprinted back at a dead run, stretched out and just managed to drive the ball back over the net. There was no way to drop it—a drive was all I could barely manage. The ball flew low over the net and toward the right back corner but sailed out by about a foot. I didn’t think much of it until I heard, “Ohhhhhhh” from the smattering of players waiting for games since the effort barely didn’t pan out. Dave Ryan made an approving comment.

Alfred

I had young Alfred was an opponent in that first game. He played very well, but I wouldn’t get into another game with him, unfortunately. He’s gotten a lot better since the last time I’d played him many months ago.

Dumb

Tonight, there were shots I had no business trying to attack. Low crosscourt shots to my forehand. I think I hit 3-4 of those into the net. I was not being patient and shouldn’t have been aggressive on those. I tend to take more risks against weaker opponents. I need to be more consistent and not let myself develop bad habits.

And?

Overall, I was indifferent to my play tonight. I made dumb decisions with some low balls. But I had some good play too.

Chloe and her boyfriend Abe were hitting a tennis ball back-and-forth on the empty tennis court. Ask Chloe if I could hit a ball. I was awful. You would’ve thought that I had never picked up a tennis racket before. Yeah, it’s been at least 20 years, but still, I was hitting the ball into the net, if I even managed to make contact! It was hysterical!

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 (No Play)

September 11. A day we remember those lost in the attacks on the Twin Towers and elsewhere. It’s hard to believe it’s been 23 years already. I remember getting a frantic call from my sister-in-law that morning. I turned on the television and watched live broadcasts of the tragedy taking place in New York. It’s something that you’ll never forget.

Famous People Who Play Pickleball 

This is an old list of celebrities who have taken up pickleball—for example, Matthew Perry died last year. I’m sure there are even more famous folks these days, but this is interesting even if I know only about half these names!
https://www.paddletek.com/blogs/news/celebrities-in-pickleball

Pickleball Noise in the News

A city government in Avondale Estates, Georgia seems on the verge of requiring foam pickleballs at one of their venues to appease neighbors:
https://decaturish.com/2024/08/avondale-estates-plans-to-require-foam-balls-non-resident-fee-at-pickleball-courts/
This may be a trend for the future, but time will tell.

Number of days on a court: 714
Number of total hours: 2,954
Number of paid coaching hours: 72.5

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