Sunday, December 15, 2024 (Court Day #750)
Yesterday afternoon, one of my staff came to my office and shared that one of our customers had just come from Scotts Valley and said that a tornado had touched down and flipped several cars. I was astonished. This is almost like saying that aliens had just landed in downtown. In California, our natural disasters are earthquakes. You expect hurricanes in Florida. And you expect tornadoes in states like Oklahoma. Having a tornado here is unheard of. Well, I’ve heard rare stories of waterspouts, which are basically tornadoes over water, but those are almost akin to legendary sea monsters. But it’s easy to accept an odd account when you get texted photos of overturned cars and I hear from witnesses that you personally know.
Seven vehicles were flipped and trees and power lines were knocked down. My brother John had just passed through that area five minutes earlier. A number of people were sent to the hospital, though there were no fatalities, thankfully.
Here are a few videos of the incident:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDk-yCFS9_m (Live twister)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDk5dyQxat_ (A walk through the parking lot.)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDmCr9VxE9B (Drive past carnage.)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDk8aprv1JX (Compilation of various videos.)
Here’s a regional news report from an Oakland station, up in the Bay Area:
Here’s a news report from as far away as Chicago:
This all took place just half a mile from the Skypark courts where I play once or twice a week!
Chilly at Brommer
Before I left my house today, I asked my wife how cold it was outside. She replied, “It’s freezing.” So I grabbed a sweatshirt. It’s a good thing too, because when I arrived at Brommer Park at 8:37 a.m., it was 43°F. For the uninitiated, that’s only 11° above freezing! Brrrr.
A bit of a surprise—or maybe not with the temperature and it was still early—the parking lot was half empty when I arrived.
First Game
Since I was the only one waiting , I had to wait for a game to end for me to touch a ball. I joined Dean against Leslie and a guy named Brian whom I’d never seen before. It was a somewhat sloppy game all-around. Dean was making uncharacteristic errors and I was still getting warmed up. (Dean has been battling some injuries.) In a nice decision, Leslie caught me moving back in from the left sideline and she hit a passing shot that I could only barely get my paddle on before I sent the ball careening into the next court! I congratulated her on that one. Dean and I did go on to win 12-10.
My next game was paired with Oscar against Danny and Jason Brown. It was a challenging back and forth game. We won 12-10.
By now, it was 9:46 a.m. and I was waiting for the next game.
Evan replaced Oscar and we took on Danny and Jason. We found ourselves down 1-8. Ouch. But we were undeterred. We scored 4 points in a row off my serve with their returns either in the net or returned long. (I had decided to dial up the speed of my serves.) Evan and I came back to win 12-10. That was an 11-2 run. Redemption!
Jason and Me
Jason and I paired up against Oscar and Diana. I’d seen Diana around, but I’d never played a game with her. Jason and I went up 9-0 when he suggested we go out of our way to hit more to Oscar. And we did. We closed out the game with a score of 11-6.
Jason and I then took on Rick Arnold and Kirk. I was expecting to win this one by a solid margin, but Kirk went saying, “I can’t do anything right” to playing the absolute best game that I’ve ever seen him play. Jason was having an off-game to boot, he usually much more consistent. The game was ended on Kirk driving a shot from midcourt that passed very low over the net and dropped, passing between my legs at ankle height. It would have been hard for him to hit a more perfect shot. Jason and lost that one 15-13.
Tennis Disappointment
Midmorning, a small group of young tennis players arrived. I felt bad for them. The one dual-lined tennis court had four separate pickleball games happening on it. Yes, they could have but dibs on the tennis court and taken over once the four games were all complete, but that would have been very unpopular. They milled around for a little bit—they appeared to be waiting for one more person who came a little later—then apparently decided to try an alternative plan after their friend appeared.
Marco, René, Rick
Marco arrived. He and I played against René and Rick. We had a very good, long game. At one point, I made 3-4 errors in a row, ending the rally each time. I distinctly remember standing at the net on the left with Marco back to receive and me shaking my head in disgust after I made that series of bad shots.
Why a few bad shots in a row? I accidentally carried a ball on my paddle on a slam while at the net and it would have been a winner, but as Rick correctly pointed out, under current USAP rules, it’s a fault. I gave them the rally. That’s the rule. I’m generally fine with the official rules, but I hate this rule. Most often, a carry is not intentional and unavoidable. Sure, there are those who can intentionally “scoop” the ball and direct it in an unconventional fashion. But that’s rare. And I do get that the point of the rule is to make it easier for referees, who typically can’t judge intentional or unintentional. My brain immediately went to the recent “4.0 to Pro” podcast where they discussed staying mentally focused after an upsetting call. I was annoyed. Not with Rick, but with the stupid rule. It distracted me, but I settled back into the game after a few rallies.
In the end, we lost a close one, 13-11.
Between games, René mentioned in passing her improved tan… she just returned from a couple of weeks in the Caribbean. I’m jealous!
We had a rematch. This time, Marco and I solidly won 11-4.
While waiting between games, I sat next to Mo on the wall and I shared that she and I have a common Facebook friend, the wife of Art “Scooter” Soto. Art and I went to elementary and junior high school together. She said that Art and his wife were her neighbors at one point. Fun. Small world.
Marco and I played against René and Rick for a third game. In that last game, we were up 5-1. The problem was, I made a series of mistakes and soon it was 5–5. From there, Marco and I went on the 6–1 run and finish off the game and win 11-6.
Over the three games, we scored a total of 33 to their 23 points.
Time to Go
I checked my phone after that last game. 12:39 p.m. Time for me to get going and meet up with some friends. I said my goodbyes and as I was leaving, René said, “You played well today.” I kind of shrugged it off and said, “I don’t know, I hit that series of bad shots. “ But then Marco, who is sitting next to René, chimed in with, “But everyone makes mistakes.” An bird’s eye perspective is often a good thing. It’s far too easy to dwell on the faults.
Overall, I was happy with my play today. Not over the moon happy, but “a little bit above satisfied” happy.
Even though it was only 57°, I was still sweating when I left the court. It was very comfortable and just about perfect pickleball weather once it warmed up some.
I realized later that a bunch of the games today ended up at the net in dink battles today. Fun stuff.
Visit to Friends, New Courts?
Later on in the afternoon, my wife and I stopped by and visited one of her former 1st grade students and his dad. The dad, Pete, works for the University as Director of Laboratories & Facilities for the Baskin School of Engineering.
Pete knows I play and mentioned the possible pickleball courts at the UCSC Westside Research Park off Natural Bridges Drive—though often referred to by the cross street of Delaware Avenue—where there are currently rundown tennis courts.
Pete said that the court conversion has been approved by the Executive Vice Chancellor. I looked online later and the EVC is the #2 administrator for UCSC, second only to the Chancellor. The proposed location has a ton of parking and no nearby residents to complain about noise. No bathrooms either, but—like Derby Park—a Port-A-Potty will undoubtedly suffice.
One never knows when and how a project can get derailed, but this purported university approval is a big step forward.
NFL Pickleball
Retired NFL quarterbacks, Cam Netwon and Tim Tebow were spotted playing pickleball.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDmus5SxyHE
Eye Injury
So, I’m a big advocate for eye protection. Ever since I got smacked in the eye off a ricochet years ago, I always wear something over eyes while playing.
Three days ago, pro player Genie Buchard was drilling when a ball flew off her partner’s paddle and hit her in the face, scratching her cornea.
Maybe she’ll start wearing eye protection too!
Friday, December 20, 2024 (No Play)
Monday afternoon, I had a scratchy throat. By Tuesday morning, I had a full blown sore throat. This morphed into aching teeth, a fever, chest congestion, stinging sinuses, the works. Sick. No evening pickleball for me this week! A few days later, I’m now on the upswing, though I’m still congested and coughing some.
Saturday, December 21, 2024 (No Play)
Still congested today, but doing better. I almost went to work, but one of my staff talked me out of it. I would have probably been fine—aside from scaring the staff and customers with blowing my nose and coughing—but an extra day to recover never hurts.
Number of days on a court: 750
Number of total hours: 3,040.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 99.5
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