Monday, January 27, 2025 (Court Day #766)

Apparently, I need more sleep this morning since after I turned off my alarm I fell back asleep until about 9:30 a.m. I had already told my staff that I’ll be taking the majority of the day off for a meeting. I responded to a couple of work related emails before I got to pickleball. The Santa Cruz Pickleball Club board meeting got rescheduled for today after we only had four people show up this past Monday.

I left my house a few minutes before 10 a.m. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but it was also a chilly 48°. The sun was deceiving and I grabbed a sweatshirt.

Brommer Park

I arrived at 10:10 a.m. and parking was easy.

My first game was a decently good one, I teamed up with Tony Sloss and we took on young Ben and Ken. They had played and Tony and I had not. As the game went on, we got better and better, going from a more sloppy play to on to win 12-10.

We had a rematch and this one was more decisive, with us winning 11-5. Yes, we got warmed up. 

Tony and I signed up in a blue box, 4.0+. Tall left Greg signed up in our box. Greg is not a 4.0. George added his name to round out the box. George played with Tony, so I was paired with Greg. Tony and I were the strongest players, followed by George. We lost 7-11. Afterward, Tony said I had some great saves. I made only 3-4 mistakes in that game, I played well. (Greg played in red for his next game, good for him.)

In the next game, it was George and me against Tony and Mark Dettle. As one might expect, we won 11-4.

George and I signed up again in blue. A couple of guys named Adam and Zach signed up. Zach is 19. I asked, but Adam said he is not Zach’s dad, they are just friends. George and I won 11-1. That was a quick game. Our opponents were not playing at a 4.0 level.

And?

George had nice things to say about my play, saying that I’m doing a good job being in the right place and he noticed an improvement on my mechanics.

I felt that I played well today, I love the competition was as strong as I faced in the past on occasion.

There is one shot that I was particularly proud of. I was on the left side and Tony was across from me straight ahead. He hit a forehand shot down the sideline and I had to reach to make a backhand shot. Even being stretched out with the backhand, I successfully made a really nice drop into the kitchen that he had to hit up on. I wouldn’t have changed anything on that shot, other than maybe hitting the ball a bit more toward the center of the court, but that would have made the shot even more difficult.

Meeting Time

When George and I came off to the court and returned to the waiting area, George said that he was done playing. I asked him what time it was and he said it was five minutes to noon and he wanted time to eat his lunch. I grabbed my backpack and wandered over to the bench area in anticipation of the 12:15 p.m. board meeting. The board meeting was officially called the order at 12:22 p.m. and ran until it was adjourned at 2:15 p.m. It was a good, productive meeting.

Testimonial

This morning, while I was getting ready to leave for Brommer, an email came in from one of my students for the class that ended yesterday:
“As a part time visitor to Santa Cruz, and recovering from a late summer fractured shoulder, I was happy to see there was space available in Coach Andrew’s Advanced Beginner class. I found him to be informative, personable and passionate about the sport he loves. Andrew is a great coach with individual attention to detail and is very helpful with comments and suggestions to make one’s playing experience addicting! I have found the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club to be a group of friendly welcoming players and have enjoyed my experiences playing with the group immensely. Thank you Coach Andrew!”

And that is why I coach.

Paddle Manufacturing

A video popped up, showing how a pickleball paddle is made in China:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEJSXf6AmRz

Uh, Yeah, No

My uncle Ed sent me this video… and yes, things are not what is claimed!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEs_akyvX9g

Number of days on a court: 766
Number of total hours: 3,078.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 111.5

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