In March last year, the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club put on a halftime show demonstrating pickleball—I was one of the four playing.
We were invited again this year, but this time it would be before tip off. Our demonstration was scheduled to take place at 6:20 p.m., 40 minutes before the basketball game was to start.
Club president Mark Dettle arrived early, around 5:15, and I was there by our arranged time of 5:30 p.m.
Mark and I set up the temporary net which he had previously stashed at the end of the bleachers near the concession stand. Then we decided to carry it out back behind the arena and there we started laying out the temporary orange nylon court lines underneath it.
Mark, Elise Hansen (Warriors Group Experiences Representative), Pauly
Once we had the court lines set up, we formulated a plan to walk them in with a group—us SCPC people and some Warriors staffers.
It was nice that it was not raining, so instead of 2025 when players had to warm up in a cramped covered spot, Pauly and I warmed up outside during our wait.
We were getting a little nervous since we were told that we’d be going out on the court at 6:17 p.m. and Jackie and Katy were still not there yet as of 6:05 p.m. But, fortunately, they showed up with five minutes to spare! Cutting it close!
We strategically collected the net and court lines and—unlike last year, when the lines were a completely tangled—this time was a relatively smooth and quick process getting the lines laid out.
I dropped my backpack off on the side of the basketball court, helped with the lines, then grabbed my paddle and lensless protective glasses.
Jackie and I—wearing matching green SCPC club shirts—were on one side and Pauly and Katy were on the other. As the strongest players, Jackie and I normally would have split to balance the teams, but—hey—it’s just a demo game and we visually matched.
Since it was still about 40 minutes to game time, the seats were still significantly more empty than full. But we were given more time to play than the four minutes allotted during a halftime span.
Me walking to my backpack. I was oblivious to the turtle mascot about 10 feet away!
We got to playing and, fortunately, while we had no fences, we had a few of their staff to act as ball retrievers for us. We had several balls at the ready for when one escaped. Pauly was good for at least one tweener or a behind-the-back shot.
I will say, it was a much better experience to have court lines—unlike last year! While Jackie handled little to no warmup better than Katy did, still we had some good rallies. The announcer warned that we had time for just one more serve. We finished that rally then we all went about removing all our gear.
Obligations complete, I ignored my ticketed seat and instead sat in an empty spot next to local pickleball player David Ang and his wife Heather.
Me sitting with David from Aptos, and his wife.
The local basketball team was down by double digits but came back to lead by a few points at halftime. I was tired and hungry and called it a night right then. (Curious, I checked later and found that the visiting team had won by double digits, so I had picked a good time to hightail it out of there!)
The halftime experience in 2025 was much more pressured and limited in time, but the much larger crowd had been into the game more. If we do it again next year, I think we’ll push for halftime again.
Instagram Smack Down
I was hit by a notice saying Instagram removed my joke comment because it was in violation of community guidelines! Wow! That’s a first for me.
Yesterday, Mike Sullivan sent out a group text saying that he and Mauricio had reserved a court at Brommer Park from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. I found it kind of odd that there were no takers. I told them that I would come as long as my back wasn’t any more sore than it already was.
A little bit later, Mike texted asking if I would come from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. I asked about the change in time and he said that they had changed the location from Willowbrook to Brommer. I looked back at his original group text and read it more closely—it had actually said “Willowbrook”! In my haste, I had completely missed the location! Being that I am teaching today, driving all the way out to Aptos and then driving back in time to teach would be a total pain. I could see why there were not a lot of takers, aside from the distance, Willowbrook is not a venue known for strong players.
Today
I set my alarm for 7:20 a.m., figuring I would have plenty of time roll out of bed, put on sunscreen, get dressed, and get out the door. But, boy, I was moving slowly. I typically wake up about an hour later since I don’t have to get to work until closer to 10 a.m. When I reached for my sunglasses and was to put them on top of my head, the frame snapped right near the nose. That’s a spot where no amount of tape will fix it. So annoying. I grabbed a different pair of sunglasses that I had previously taped above the right ear as a stopgap measure. Those would have to do!
The sky was full of puffy thin clouds with patches of blue. It was 50°F . . . a little bit colder than perfect pickleball weather, but it would get warmer as the morning stretched on.
The 49ers got blown out in the playoffs last night, leaving no team with Bay Area connections buying for a Super Bowl appearance, unfortunately. The Raiders, formerly located in the East Bay in Oakland, and now Las Vegas, were eliminated pretty early in the ceiling season in fact that’s the number one overall pick having been deemed the worst team in the NFL. A sad state of affairs, but no games to interfere with pickleball!
Brommer Park
I arrived at Brommer a few minutes after 8 a.m., the guys were already there warming up with Kyle. Kyle stepped out when I got there.
I won my first two games. First with Brian, then with Mauricio (11-4) shown in this video:
Midway in our game, the 9 a.m. court reservation group claimed the court, so we moved to another.
Lost third game 7-11. Me Mike. (Got half game on video.)
Mauricio and I lost 0-11. Ouch. What’s funny is that this is the exact combination that won 11-4. This was a complete flip.
Brian and I won 11-8. We came back from 0-4. It was a rough start, but we got it going.
More Games
Ken and I paired up and lost 6-11 against Allison and Alex. I hadn’t played with Allison before. She often shows up and plays in a group of women at Brommer on one of the reserved courts. She’s not flashy but does a good job getting the ball back over the net.
We played again with a similar outcome, losing 7-11 against Allison and Alex.
Mario and I played against Alex and Mike but lost 6-11.
More Games
The guy named Mickey and I played two games against a young Asian fellow named David, who I didn’t know, and another young Asian guy named Kai. David has really good serves and hard drives, he is a high 3.5 or maybe a 4.0.
The last game was Kai and myself against Marquis and Mickey. Even with me intentionally hitting more shots too Marquis, we won. Kai is a decent 3.5 player. Mickey is more of a high-level 3.0.
Toward the end of the session, I was pretty tired and not moving quickly.
I checked the time after the last game, 11:56 a.m. It was time for me to go home and have lunch and get ready to teach.
I felt that I played ok today. Not great, but ok.
Paddle Testing
USA Pickleball has announced that they will be doing field testing of paddles at Golden Ticket events. There are so many fake paddles coming out of China. Some are showing a “USA Pickleball approved” logo even though they did not go through the approval process. They are fraudulent. It cost nothing to illicitly add an approved logo. Other fake paddles are knockoffs of known brands and even have the brand name on the paddle but use different materials and construction. The association, in conjunction with paddle manufacturers, have decided to take a stand and do something about it.
Distant Line Calls
I was running a drill with my students today which required calling a ball in or out along the baseline. That was not the main point of the drill, but an opportunity presented itself when a student standing outside the net post called a ball in and a student observing behind the baseline called the ball out.
I told them a story from years ago when my partner and I were standing at the baseline and our opponent hit a ball a couple of inches beyond the court. We called the ball out. Our opponent, who was at least 44 feet away, got quite upset and claimed that his ball was in. My partner and I were in the perfect position to observe the ball—we were standing on either side where the ball bounced. It was close, but there was no question that the ball had bounced outside of the court.
I told my students to always accept an opponent’s call in situations like that. There’s no way you are going to be able to make a better call from 5-10 times further away and from a poorer viewing angle.
On the flipside, I told them to never assume that a ball you’ve hit is out when it’s a close call and, instead, just continue to play. There have been instances where I thought that either my serve or my return had bounced just outside the baseline, but we played on. Again, my opponent is always a much better judge of a baseline call when they are far closer to the bounce than I am.
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 (No Play)
My back was bothering me so I didn’t play last night.
PPA Singles Experiment
PPA is experimenting with new court dimensions for singles by eliminating 1.5 feet off of each sideline of the court to help keep the rallies going longer: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTyEgCRkcZj I’m of a mind that the court is already smaller than a tennis court, and the ball slower. Why change? It seems this is more a response to more powerful paddles than anything else.
Pro Advice
Pro Hanna Blatt shared some good advice on social media:
I wish someone told me this when I went pro: 1. Patience is key 2. Winning comes from patterns, not power 3. The first 3 shots decide more points than long rallies 4. Be confident in your shots 5. Paddle face angle > swing speed 6. More margin = fewer errors 7. Grip pressure changes everything (soft hands win) 8. Confidence comes from repetition, not talent 9. The best paddle is the one you trust under pressure
I can’t say that I disagree with any of those.
Friday, January 23, 2026 (No Play)
Upset. Camden Chaffin defeated Frederico Staksrud in singles. Camden is ranked 44th in the world at only 14-years-old and Federico is ranked #2. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT0n5E6EaSk
Typti
Typti, a new sport played on pickleball courts, is starting to gain a little traction. I’ll talk more about it soon. I heard about it last year from a tennis instructor who attended a racquet sport conference, but this is the first I’ve seen or heard anything since: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTv_8UeCmCy
New Pickleball Ratings Record on Network TV
The PPA Masters was the most watched program at the time of broadcast. 791,000 average viewers. 1.05 peak viewers. It beat out college basketball games on NBC and ESPN and also an NBA game on Amazon Prime: https://www.instagram.com/p/DT3N-d9kQOI
So, voice to text decided that “Skypark” really meant “scary part.” So funny!
It has been a bit of a meat grinder at work for the past month. One of my buyers has been on vacation for five weeks, and to top that off, I’ve had at least one person out sick—and sometimes two or three—on any given day. I’ve had maybe one or two days with a full complement of staff in the past month and a half. Today, for example, I was missing two.
I dropped my brother Matt off at my parents’ house after work, hung out for a little bit, then made my way to Scotts Valley in the dark and nippy 55°F evening. I was tempted just to turn around and go home, but—as typical—I could use the exercise.
Skypark
When I arrived, I found one parking spot in the lot. I was thankful for that.
One of the courts opened up and I asked Ahbi if he wanted to warm up with me. After a few minutes, Matt and Paul finish up with the game and join joined us. Matt and I teamed up.
Games
Matt and I found ourselves down 3-8 in that game, but then came back and tied up 10-10 but then we went on to lose 11-13.
We switched sides and play it again, but this time it was Matt and I who won a close game. We switch sides and played a rubber match. This time it was a lopsided win in their favor, 11-5.
We switched sides again, and played the fourth game this time Matt and I won 11-3.
We played the fifth game this time Matt and I lost.
It was at this point that Matt pointed out that all of us had only won on the same side of the court, that is, with our backs against the fence. A funny coincidence.
We switched sides and played one last game to squeeze in what we could before the lights clicked off. True to form, Matt and I were ahead 5-4 and I had just gotten the serve back when the lights clicked off.
It was so weird how the games went. Most were lopsided. It just goes to show the effect of momentum, I suppose.
And?
I felt generally ok about my play. Not delighted, but also not dejected. I hit the white tape two or three times, served once into the net, and once, when an opponent popped up a shot, I angled it too wide and it landed out by about 2 feet. I was trying to hit that ball and a very sharp angle. I got jammed with a few chicken wings tonight.
It was a fun evening. Matt, Paul, and Ahbi are all entertaining to play with.
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 (No Play)
I tell my students that it’s not necessary to always serve hard and fast and that it’s more important to have the serves land deep. Case in point, #1 women’s player in the world, Anna Leigh Waters, is demonstrating that exact same thing in this clip. High arching serves, but deep: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTd-o8ejzo2
In rec play, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen such serves throw off the receiver’s timing and the ball was returned into the net!
I did an A.I. inquiry and got this back: “Yes, students from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, led by twins Boone and Ford Casady, along with Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, founded the L.A. High School Pickleball League to establish pickleball as a varsity sport, creating a framework for other schools and securing early recognition, with plans to become a CIF-sanctioned activity by the 2026-27 school year.”
Yesterday, Carmel finalized the ban of pickleball in their city, making it a misdemeanor to be caught playing. It formally goes into effect in 30 days, though pickleball has been banned there on a temporary basis already.
Saturday, January 17, 2026 (No Play)
Host on late night television, Jimmy Fallon, talked about Anna Leigh Waters new Nike sponsorship on the Tonight Show. Fallon said he likes to play padel, but then his band leader said that he prefers pickleball instead, which lead to an amusing interaction: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTl-oxyDlOU
Reality TV Pickleball
This week, the first episode of the pickleball reality TV show—Pickleball Kingdom Paddle Battle—dropped on YouTube:
Number of days on a court: 891 Number of total hours: 3,365.5 Number of paid coaching hours: 188.5
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